People’s Alliance calls  mass demonstration on July 1 

The Alianza Pueblo Unido por la Vida —the movement of union, social and popular organizations that emerged in the negotiations after the clashes of July 2022— warned Wednesday, June 28, that on Saturday, July 1, they will be at the gates of the  National Assembly to protest breaches of the agreements of the Single Dialogue Table and their rejection of the mining contract.

On July 1, the National Assembly,  elects new authorities of the Chamber are elected and President, Laurentino Cortizo delivers a report on his mandate.

In a statement, the Alliance reiterates that the Panamanian people are experiencing a difficult situation with the increase in the cost of living and the abuse and speculation of the business sector in the price of food, medicine, and fuel.

“Despite the agreements reached at the Single Dialogue Table, the situation faced today by the most disadvantaged sectors continues to be the same or worse than a year ago. The price of food, essential products, and services have increased, great problems of the population continue without a solution due to the non-compliance of the agreements by the government and the sabotage of the business sector in the second stage of the dialogue,”

They maintain that the shortage of medicines in the Social Security Fund (CSS) demonstrates, once again, “the lack of will to definitively solve the problem and put an end to the negotiation and speculation of the business sector that profits from the health of the population, while the National Government, irresponsibly, ignores the serious problems of the CSS, after the failure of the rigged dialogue” convened by the director of the institution, Enrique Lau Cortés.

The Alliance also rejects the mining contract between the State and the Minera Panamá company, since it “grants broad rights to the multinational mining company, exposes the population to serious environmental risks and deeply damages national sovereignty.”

The note ends by calling on social, union, and popular organizations to promote unitary actions and popular mobilization, to “undertake the actions that are necessary to defend the right to a dignified life.”