Pensioners and poisoning victims cause massive traffic jams

Traffic jams spread across Panama City on Friday, October29, as two groups of protesters blocked Via Transimica for six hours.

A group of retirees seeking to get President Ricardo Martinelli to keep an election promise of a pension increase started the log jam at 11 a.m.and ended their protest in the midst of a downpour at 1 p.m.
Eladio Fernández, leader of the Association of Independent Retirees of Panama, said the group would continue protesting if they have not received a response from the government..
As part of the demonstration, protesters ate rice with pigeon peas and roasted plantains, cooked at the site..
 Two hours later they were replaced by a larger group of victims and relatives of some of the over 150 people who died from diethyline glycol poisoning from government issued medicines. They blocked the route for over three hours, forcing many bus passengers to get out and walk.