Panama Protests and Rainy Season Sympathies - October 2023
I was thinking of celebrating the one-year anniversary of moving into this house in Panama with a Home and Garden edition of this blog, but life happened.
This is the Rainy Season in its drippiest form. We have been trying to make up for the drought's effects during June through September all in one month. Miguel has come to think that if he cannot hear the rain, it must be clear outside, but the reality is that if he cannot hear the rain (he doesn't often wear his hearing aids), it just means that the rain is not in downpour mode. We still have the sun shining in the early morning, most days from 06:00 to 08:00 or 09:00, so we push open the curtains to catch as much as possible. Often by 11:00, and almost always by 1:00. Miguel can hear the rain outside, and every two days, we have to clear out a major drain that gathers dirt/clay and gravel so that it doesn't overflow. We have neighbors who send guys down to re-dig the ditches constantly, trying to give the water a pathway out, and people go out and clear the streets of rocks and mud so that the passing cars don't fling it into their yards and rocks into their windows.
Not many flowers - they are dripping off the vines.
We are getting a lot of reading done.
You might have heard of protests going on in Panama. The congressional body, Parliament, voted overwhelmingly on October 20th to award/extend a mining contract with a Canadian company, Quantum, for 20 years. The copper mine is an open clear-cut type near Colon on the Caribbean side, and it is ugly, and environmentally unfriendly, and the contract would grow the mine from the 2019 build into a site with 8,000 low-wage jobs and about $375 million a year in tax income, and the government says 40,000 total jobs are affected by the contract. The Canadian firm had already invested $10 billion in the mine, which supplies about 1.4% of the world's copper and about 4% of Panama's GDP, and the mine was closed down on January 19, 2023 so that the Panamanian government could reconsider the contract; Parliament had gone through three re-writes of the contract since January before approving and signing the version on October 20.
The Parliament voted 47 to 6, and 2 abstentions, and then the President signed it before quickly sending everyone home for the weekend. Calls for protest started on Friday evening, and the protests started on Monday morning with major road blockades, claiming bribes, lack of environmental protections, failure to protect workers, too long a contract period with no established reviews, and failure of the elected representatives to consult their constituents. The protests started in Panama City and Colon (as is classically the case), and extended quickly to the Pan-American Highway. In Panama, the best way to make your case well known is to close down traffic, as that is how commerce moves. No trucks, no commerce. No action, then extend to the ports.
As the week progressed, the road closures moved further outward from the main highways. On Thursday, the blockades reached Boquete, where we have a noisy parade of metal spoons hitting metal pots up the main street to the town square daily from 4:00/16:00 to 6:00/18:00, but the remainder of the day is quite open. Panama flags are everywhere, and you can buy one to clip to your car window for a dollar to show your support. BYO cast iron skillet.
In a few places, there has been violence from the volume of people pushing police barriers, and some tear gas and rubber bullets, but not the violence that I would have expected in the US. On the first day in Boquete, there was a bonfire of rubber tires, but the locals asked that they not do that again due to the air quality, and it hasn't happened since. We have seen some non-Boqueteans in town, and that has, perhaps, influenced an increase in opportunistic crime, but in a town of only 14,000, if you do someone damage, you are likely to be recognized next week unless you leave promptly. As a result, the general populace rules have been to stay home unless you need to go out, don't carry more money than you need, and don't appear vulnerable or go into vulnerable situations (like lonely streets in the dark).
Most businesses have closed or have restricted hours to close by 4:00/16:00 if they don't need to feed or medically treat people; schools are closed, and as of Friday, government offices for non-required services will be closed. Since trucks cannot get through the barricades, there are shortages of staples like rice, beans, meat, milk, toilet paper, medications, and gas ran out in Boquete last Wednesday. Even if you can get through to Boquete in the middle of the night, you may not be able to get back.
Boquete has a huge advantage in being in the Bread Basket of Panama - the Chiriqui Province in the mountains is where the bulk of the agriculture happens, both fauna and flora. We are still getting vegetables and fruit, while the rest of the country is hurting. Meat is having trouble getting from the farms to the packing plants, so we are not getting poultry or beef, and thank heavens so many people raise chickens here that share their eggs with neighbors - that doesn't happen in Panama City or David.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/RHUJNMXXMMXWTJG2Z5LWIAYA2Y.jpg)
With so many businesses closed, people have been out of work, protesting or not. Tomorrow is rent day, and that is going to hurt.
The President tried to appease the protesters with a call for a vote on the mining contract on December 17, but used wording that didn't even fool me - he said it would be an advisory vote that wouldn't decide the matter, but would advise the President and congressional body, their Parliament. The offer didn't slow the protests, and the Electoral Court (lower court) rejected the idea, but rumor has it, that the failed effort did send the President to the hospital.
Currently, the matter is in the hands of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of the contract - can Parliament and the President make a long-term contract affecting large tracts of environmentally sensitive land with another country? The Supreme Court has 45 days (around December 15) to reach a decision. That could mean that we are in this lockdown for a while.
Since the basis for the protests is using government contracts for bribery and corruption, the upcoming election on May 5 will prove to be a telling one. As a new resident of Panama, I don't have a vote, and I don't have a lot of opinions on the topics under discussion, but I do support the protester's efforts to call out the corruption that they see and their refusal to be talked down to - if I can tell, it is pretty blatant!
As the protests are extending, the blockades are starting to let trucks through to stock grocery store shelves and replenish pharmacy medications. This morning, I found rice on store shelves again, though no beans, yet (the staples of the diet here for most people). The goal is to not punish the people that the protest is trying to help. The mayor of Boquete reached an agreement with the leaders of the local protests for blockade hours so that people and trucks could start to pass starting tomorrow, and emergency vehicles at all hours. We will have groceries and gasoline again soon. Each town is responding in its own way, so there is no saying that just getting out of Boquete will get you past Dolega and on to David, but every little bit is progress.
Both sides are taking action because of the protests. Government offices are closing indefinitely. Holiday celebrations for November Independence Days have been canceled for this coming week. National buses have been canceled. Almost all unions, including teachers, nurses and doctors, bus drivers, airport workers, and others have scheduled to join the protest marches (remember that often the marches are scheduled).
Is it dangerous? I don't feel at risk, but I don't take risks, either. I don't carry more than $40, so I am not going to lose more than that to someone feeling desperate to eat. I don't walk alone. We don't go out at night walking. Opportunistic crime is the greatest risk, and we don't leave stuff around, or doors unlocked, or money hanging out of our pockets. The protests have nothing to do with us - they are against corrupt officials.
There have been instances of "Gringo tolls" at road blockages, which is not unexpected, as gringos carry cash, and people out of work don't have cash for food or rent. We don't go to road blockages, so no one is tempted by my blonde whiteness to ask for cash. Miguel blends, at least in looks; I don't.
In case you find this interesting, here are some resources:
- An article in El Pais on October 27 gives a concise and unbiased review of the situation and its history: https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-10-27/mass-protests-in-panama-to-reject-new-concession-for-largest-copper-mine-in-central-america.html Information this clear has not been easily come by from inside Panama - my assessment.
- Robert L. Adams, an international financial analyst and former writer for Barrons and international missives, now lives in Panama. He writes a report 4-6 times a year on what he sees going on in the world and how it affects Panama, or what he sees going on in Panama and how it affects the world. This November report speaks to the financial status of Panama compared to other countries in Latin America (and why we chose to come here), and then, on page 14, discusses the mining contract and how he sees the protests. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59f786e01f318d89961fbe50/t/653ea9366da31c6ff71531f4/1698605368635/RW+-Nov-2023+report.pdf
- Panama's Cobre Copper Mine and the Quantum Minine Company of Canada - Google Search. Their viewpoint: https://www.google.com/search?q=minerales+panama+cobre+mine+parliament+panama&sca_esv=113b8b716d56494a&rlz=1CAPUVO_enUS1022&sxsrf=AM9HkKkRPyRiXoXRtnkmUY53YIFo78tiaQ%3A1698791328990&ei=oH9BZYaGPIuTwbkPlqWTyA8&oq=Minerales+Panama+Cobre+Mine+parliament&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiJk1pbmVyYWxlcyBQYW5hbWEgQ29icmUgTWluZSBwYXJsaWFtZW50KgIIADIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAFI9nhQ9RdYhFZwBngBkAEAmAGPA6AB1juqAQYyLTYuMTi4AQHIAQD4AQHCAgoQABhHGNYEGLADwgIEECMYJ8ICBhAAGBYYHsICCBAAGIoFGIYDwgIHECEYoAEYCsICBBAhGBXCAggQIRgWGB4YHeIDBBgAIEGIBgGQBgg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#ip=1
- Panama Protests Today - if you do a Google search on this phrase, you can get an update on what's going on. I suspect the protests will go at least through November 4, as the first of the Independence Month holidays is November 3and many are saying they will go through the Supreme Court deadline of mid-December so long as food basics like rice and beans can get through the blockades. We will see!
Bird News! The Baltimore Orioles are back!
November awaits!
November is Independence Month in Panama, and the holidays abound. We've got:
November 3 Separation Day from Colombia
November 4 Flag Day
November 5 Colon Day
November 10 Shout for Independence Day (Women's Day) aka
November 28 Independence from Spain
And as we move towards December, the rains will lessen, and we will start to see some of the rainbows.
MaryBea y Miguel
FAQs and How to find us:
No photos? I might have made it too heavy if this got to you with no pictures. Go to the site where all the old posts are sitting, and read it there - much more colorful. https://seattletopanama.digitalpress.blog/ghost/#/site If you cannot get in using this link, let me know, and I will send you an email invitation - it likes to know you are expected.
Replies to blog postings via email: If you hit "reply" to this email and get a "no reply" address, use the x to knock it out, type in MaryBeaGallagher@gmail.com, and I will get your response. Quirky.
Email: Use our Gmail accounts for email - My Comcast/Xfinity doesn't work consistently in Central America.
WhatsApp is the best route for texts and voice calls, but it is uncertain for video calls. We are officially in the Outback of Panama now, in a valley with mountains and extinct volcanos around, and the added interference of lightning and thunderstorms in the afternoons, so there are periods where transmissions will not get through. Find WhatsApp for your phone or computer at your favorite App Store.
Phone calls: In theory, our phones can connect, but the reality is that usually, it rings once, and then a voicemail transcription shows up, and sometimes it never rings, and a voicemail transcription shows up days later. Don't trust it. If you try and we don't pick up, we probably aren't seeing or hearing it ring. If you don't use WhatsApp, stick to email as more likely to get through. We are in the outback and reliant on many factors that may not all align.
Blog Post Subscription:
- Current: I subscribed everyone receiving this as an initial mailing, so you are already signed up. See below if you wish to change your email address or add someone.
- Add: If anyone wants to get on the list for the future, you can send me their name and favored email address, and I will add them, or they can sign up through the Subscribe button on this page: https://seattletopanama.digitalpress.blog/page/2/?ref=Seattle+to+Panama-newsletter.
- Remove or change email address: Let me know if you want to be taken OFF the list or if you prefer that I use a different email address.
- Otherwise, you will get all future posts as you have received this.
Past Blog Posts: Go to this site and poke around to find past posts, some as old as January 2022. https://seattletopanama.digitalpress.blog/ghost/#/site If this link argues with you, let me know; I can send you an email from the site, and the link in that email should get you right in.