Protestors return to the streets

Despite the rain, hundreds of protestors returned to the streets on Thursday to protest changes made to bill 544 on electoral reforms, the actions of deputies of the National Assembly, and corruption in the three branches of the State.

They were mostly dressed in white following the path of the civilistas during the Noriega dictatorship “No to narco politics”, “not everything legal is moral; no to the double application ”,“ we do not lack resources; we have plenty of thieves ”, read some of the banners carried by the protesters stationed in front of the National Assembly.

For the most part, the crowd was dressed in white and waving Panamanian flags. Songs like Patria, by Rubén Blades, and Speak, people, speak, sounded from some speakers, an anthem that identified the civilistas who fought against the military dictatorship.

It was the second “citizen watch” convened so far in September

Among the slogans, complaints about the opacity in the handling of the legislative lists, the inflated budget, and the possible political proselytism with public funds also came to light.

One of the protesters was retired General Rubén Darío Paredes, who said that the situation in the country worries him. “I consider that the country is kidnapped by the political class … a group of 500 people have kidnapped us,” he said.

In his opinion, President Laurentino Cortizo “is aware of what is happening and is part of the national imbalance.” He hopes that the president will “react” and that the majority of the people will take to the streets to demand their rights. He described the current administration as “very poor” and added that the modifications to the electoral reforms show that the political class seeks to “perpetuate itself or remain in power.”