This November Commemorates One Year Since Panamanians Stood Up Against Mining in Our Country

This November we commemorate one year since Panamanians joined together to offer future generations an opportunity to grow and to enjoy a healthy environment, clean air, rivers and forests.  A year ago, after weeks of protests in the streets and decades of struggle, our people made possible a Mining Moratorium Law that put an end to hundreds of applications and a dozen metal mining concessions that loomed like shadows over every corner of our land.  Law 407 of November 3, 2023, “ in accordance with the precautionary principle, which implies the duty of the State to ensure the health of the population and guarantee that they live in a healthy environment free of contamination”, declared a moratorium on the granting of metal mining concessions for an indefinite period for the entire national territory.  In the city and in the countryside, and from border to border, for forty days the people bravely faced the disastrous mining contract and the project to turn our home into a land of extraction and disposal.

Today, in the spirit of the national holidays, we honor with gratitude each and every one of those who filled the streets to defend our natural and emotional heritage:  To the women and men, students, teachers, workers and farmers who came out, and to those who, from their homes, gave strength and care so that others could raise their voices.  To the indigenous nations, guardians of resistance; to the social, union, guild, environmental, community and church organizations; to the youth and the warriors of the sea who courageously defended from the waters the right to a healthy life.  We especially honor those who sacrificed their lives and those who still suffer the impacts of violent repression. Their sacrifice guides us like a compass to persist.  We are a territory full of life and color that resonates in the song of the birds, the mist of the mountains, the rivers that run through us and the coasts that bathe us.  Here we are and here we will continue, tireless vigilantes, defending the sustainable future of our forests, waters, biodiversity and communities, for all the people and species that our beloved Panama shelters today and those who inherit it.