The fallout when the government fails to listen

If the Minister of Commerce and Industries has any shred of dignity left, his resignation should have arrived yesterday at the Palacio de las Garzas. Counting on the strength that the majesty of the State confers on such a high position to, precisely, enforce the interests of the country, the official allowed himself to be overwhelmed by a “concessionaire without concession.”

In an act as serious or worse than the previous one, he spent months disguising a contract that had been declared unconstitutional. How to explain then that he, also being a lawyer, discarded and hid the legal opinions issued by the Administration Attorney, no less than the official consultant of the officials. In them, he warned him in a thousand ways that what he proposed to do was unconstitutional.

The voracity of the miners always found justification with the argument that now they would pay more than before. And the Panamanians got fed up. Its cry was unmistakable. How long will the only value that is rubbed in our faces is that of dollars and cents, while schools fall apart, there are no appointments or medicines and public transportation is cannibalized? And decency, and equity? And our forests and rivers, all for sale?

“It constitutes an affront to the separation of powers that, in the face of a declaration of unconstitutionality by the highest Corporation of Justice, a concession contract has been negotiated incurring the same errors; And it is striking that in the new contract converted into Law No. 406 of October 20, 2023, the previous contract is not even mentioned, as if the ruling of unconstitutionality had not been issued.”

The ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice has completely exposed both the minister and the rest of the cabinet. They acted, unequivocally, outside the Constitution and in the best interests of the country, always in collusion with the insatiable chamber of deputies.

And where is the father’s fault for this tragedy? The one who promised us good government, prudence, and honorability, and who still does not understand why the people have become fed up with the corruption and voracity of their co-partisans.

President Cortizo, you know this because you have gray hair. A while ago he should have asked his entire cabinet to resign, as was done in Panama and is customary in large democracies in times of serious crisis and lack of credibility. It must be renewed with prepared people of impeccable honor who will help us navigate the remaining months and who, in addition, will be guarantors of an impeccable electoral tournament.

Reading the ruling pronounced by the Supreme Court is an obligation for every citizen. First, because it imposed the rule of the Magna Carta over the legislated laws. Second, it has once again put a stop to the years of manipulation, appeals, and supposed clarifications of the sentence that have been rehearsing this succession of owners of a business that was born crooked. They wanted to inflict the same mistake on us again with the argument that it creates investment and jobs, always hiding the pirate flag with which they track their next loot.

The sanction of the contract, through a vulgar and offensive move, was the trigger for the massive social movement that brought together the entire country. It is not only a rejection of mining, but also the repudiation of lies, witch payrolls, abuses, an infernal debt, and the unforgivable indifference of officials who govern without checks and balances and behind the people’s backs.

The Government did everything wrong: it did not listen to experts who warned that the contract was leonine and unviable; He ignored the inhabitants of the towns adjacent to the mine, who denounced damage to their environmental surroundings, and he disregarded the opinions of dozens of the country’s best jurists. Not to mention the pro-government deputies who are also responsible for the damage that the country has suffered. They reacted with scorn when others voted against it, and almost none paid attention to repeated warnings against the contract. – LA PRENSA, Nov. 29.