Panama: Unions cut off from government and block roads amid high fuel prices

Social organizations broke an agreement with the Panamanian government to open the country’s main roads in exchange for lower fuel prices and announced that they would continue the demonstrations.

“We warned the administrator that we should consult the bases. It was signed under duress, but the bases have already decided and I accept their decision,” said Luis Sánchez, one of the pact negotiators. “By the way, we don’t have any deals,” he added to TVN-2 after appearing on camera tearing up a piece of paper.

The Panamanian government and a group of associations announced yesterday that after days of negotiations in the city of Santiago de Veraguas, 250km from Panama City, they have reached an agreement to lower fuel prices and end road blockades.

Protesters are calling for a single dialogue table to negotiate with the government an immediate reduction of not only fuel but also a range of food and medicine. An agreement was announced yesterday, first with the indigenous communities of Chiriquí in the west of the country, then with a table in Veraguas. But several unions in Chiriqui and Veraguas denounced being left out of all conversations.

Panama Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa, mediator in the conflict, called today a “one table” to engage in “an open dialogue with the best desire to seek solutions for the benefit of all Panamanians”.

The protests caused millions of casualties and fuel and food shortages in various parts of the country, according to employers’ unions.

Panama was born with numerous demonstrations and roadblocks by groups that rejected the deal signed yesterday. The main traffic disruptions occurred in Panama City, where workers from the nation’s largest construction union (Suntracs) blocked different accesses to the capital and main roads, causing congestion.

Saúl Méndez, Secretary General of Suntracs, said today that the union is in contact with the Catholic Church to foster a new dialogue.

It was reported that the blockades on the Pan American highway connecting Panama with Costa Rica were lifted yesterday and new roads were closed to traffic. This highway is the key to trade and transport of goods throughout the country.