Indigenous activist, new ambassador to Bolivia

PANAMA’S new ambassador to Bolivia is, like his mother, a prominent leader in fighting for causes dear to the indigenous population.

Bernardo Jiménez Carrera, who is the son of the Ngäbe Bugle leader, Silvia Carrera, was described in a Foreign Ministry Statement as a regional leader “with extensive experience in defending the rights of indigenous peoples . He was active in opposing the Barro Blanco Hydro project on indigenous land.

The official statement said the newly appointed “Ambassadors and Consuls have a large mission in compliance with the requirements defined in the plan of President Juan Carlos Varela in the execution of a foreign policy for development of Panama as bridge to the world based on respect for international law and based on the defense of democratic values .”