Vice president breaks silence on mining protests

In a short video, the vice president of the Republic and presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), José Gabriel Gaby Carrizo, broke the silence he entered after the massive citizen protests over Law 406 of October 20, 2023, which adopts the contract between the State and Minera Panamá, an issue that has the country plunged into a crisis. social, economic, and political.

Consistent with his government’s narrative of blaming previous administrations for the problems the country is experiencing, Carrizo says that they inherited “disinterest and apathy” by not addressing the country’s mining status.

He shows images of the former presidents Juan Carlos Varela and Ricardo Martinelli, and the former president Mireya Moscoso, but does not show her face. He immediately sends a challenging message: “But we know how to overcome the most difficult challenges, wherever they come from.” At the same time, photographs of the Panama Canal and the distribution of food bags are shown, presumably during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finally, he sends a message to the PRD: “Let’s keep our union solid and decisive.”