“Paradise Lost.” -Tourism takes a Bocas hit

Letter to the Editor:

We are North Americans who visited Panama as tourists in June. We loved the amazing beauty of your country and the warm hospitality of its people. We would so much want to return for another visit in the future. But we are disturbed by the direction of the current government, and what it means for the future of tourism.

The new “Chorizo Law” makes Panama much less inviting for tourism. Tourists will not want to visit a country that has weakened regulations to protect its rivers from mining wastes and hydro dams. We will not want to stay at a hotel where construction workers have died in an avoidable accident, because their labor unions and safety protections have been diminished. And we do not wish to visit a country where we may see the police arrest pro-democracy activists–or shoot down striking workers and indigenous people–with little fear of punishment.

We were drawn to Panama because it seemed cleaner, more developed, and less repressive than much of the rest of Latin America. Now, we are beginning to see Panama as once again a place of fear and uncertainty. Until the recent trend is reversed, we will be advising our friends to visit other nations. We hope this trend will not last, and we will be able to return soon to your beautiful country.

Christopher Babiarz
(Madison, Wisconsin)
Zoltan Grossman
(Olympia, Washington)
Lisa Koenig
(Madison, Wisconsin)
Robert Koenig
(Madison, Wisconsin)
Debra McNutt
(Olympia, Washington)
John A. Smith
(Madison, Wisconsin)
Matthew Stewart
(Oakland, California)
David Strother
(San Francisco, California)
Monica Vivanco
(San Francisco, California)
Marcy Weiland
(Madison, Wisconsin)