Panama has erupted in protests the biggest since 1987 when the people wanted to depose the military dictatorship of General Manuel Noriega. But it is the environment at the centre of current unrest
The Canadian mining company whose contract with Panama’s government has triggered weeks of protests said this week that it has reduced operations and soon may have to suspend them due to a blockade of its mine’s power plant.
Minera Panama, the local subsidiary of First Quantum Minerals, said in a statement that small boats had blocked its port in Colon province, preventing supplies from reaching the copper mine.
“If the illegal actions continue impeding the necessary supplies to operate the power plant, the company will reduce the remaining processing train this week and will temporarily suspend production,” the statement issued to AP said.
Last week, naval police reported that a ship carrying coal decided to turn back rather than dock in the mine’s port due to “hostility from a group of protesters who from their boats threw rocks and blunt homemade objects” before being dispersed by authorities.
But environmentalists oppose such development, maintaining that the nation owns the mineral wealth — not the Canadian miner. Significantly, expanded exploration will disturb the lives of the indigenous population and contradict efforts to preserve the rainforests and keep CO2 releases in check. Moreover, copper mining competes with the Panama Canal and the rainforests for fresh water, while acid mine drainage could harm water quality and safety.
“Our government does whatever it wants with our resources,” says Juan Monterrey, executive director of Geoversity in Panama City and Panama’s former lead climate negotiator, told Forbes. “So protests erupted — 250,000 marching in a country of 4.4 million people. The government is playing the long-term battle, betting the people get tired. It has sold out the country.”
