Young people swell the ranks of mining protestors

Friday saw the culmination of a week of protests across Panama by people from civil society and union members marching in rejection of the mining contract, endorsed by President Cortizo on October 20.

Their numbers were swelled by thousands of young people and their teachers.

In recent days, the protests have intensified and ended in clashes with crowd control agents who have an automatic tear gas launcher to quickly disperse the protesters.

“We are more and we are not afraid”, those of us who love Panama”, were part of the slogans shouted by the young people who marched for the fifth consecutive day from Cinta Costera to Calle 50.

Due to the acts of vandalism that tried to tarnish the legitimacy of the march in recent days, the organizers of ‘Sal de las Redes’ have asked people not to go hooded.

They also changed the hours of the demonstrations, now they will be from 2:00 pm so that the protest does not end at night.

They add that the demonstrations will continue until Law 406 of the mining contract is repealed.

There are thousands of people who, despite the incidents of Thursday night, have come to continue their fight, while people from buildings people support them by banging pots.

The protesters shouted “down with mining”, highlighting that this Law was approved without listening to the people, and asking that a public consultation be held so that Panamanians decide whether or not they want mining activity.

On Friday, one of the destinations was the Supreme Court and in the hands of the magistrates there are several demands of unconstitutionality against the Law, and there are already several sectors that have added their voices so that a quick process is given to the same and a decision is made on the issue. in La Chorrera, teachers and civil society also marched through the main streets of the district towards Libertador Park.

and school bus drivers made a caravan accompanying the teachers from Plaza Italia to the park, all under the same slogan, “no to mining in Panama”