protests against a government contract to operate a copper mine

Panama has been going through an exceptional crisis for three weeks now. Tuesday November 7, two environmental protesters were shot dead by an angry resident. They had set up a roadblock to block the Inter-American Highway that connects Panama to the rest of Central America. These activists were demonstrating against a very controversial mining project: the renewal for 40 years of the concession for the largest open-air copper mine in Central America, awarded last October to a Canadian company.

This mine, which covers nearly 17,000 hectares, exports 300,000 tonnes of copper per year. Located 240 kilometers from Panama City, it generates 4% of the country’s GDP and provides 75% of export revenues. Since the president came to power Laurentino Cortizo in 2019, mining is considered one of the pillars of Panama’s economy in terms of job creation.

Except that environmental activists consider that this mine, which began operating in 1997, causes enormous environmental damage: polluted river water, dead fish, skin problems for the farmers who live nearby. The mine is also located in a natural protection zone where indigenous communities live. The inhabitants of Panama are very concerned about the environment: it is one of the few countries in the world whose carbon footprint is negative (it absorbs more CO₂ than it emits). There are vast expanses of tropical forests and mangroves where 10,000 species of plants and animals live. Biodiversity threatened by deforestation, but also by extractive activities.

8,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs could disappear, according to the president

Added to this are political problems which risk leading to a crisis. The conditions for awarding the mining concession were not at all transparent. A first contract was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Panama because there had been no call for tenders. The government then chose an accelerated procedure: the law granting the concession was debated, voted on and then promulgated in just three days. Hence the anger of environmental activists who denounce a forced passage.

President Laurentino Cortizo puts forward economic arguments: in the event of non-renewal of the exploitation contract, Panama would risk losing 8,000 direct jobs and 40,000 indirect jobs linked to the mine. This was not enough to calm the demonstrators, including many young people involved in the environmental cause. They were joined by workers’ unions, doctors, and representatives of the transport sector. Everyone believes that the contract goes against the interests of the country. To try to defuse the crisis, Parliament adopted a moratorium on a brand new mining concession. The head of state even proposed a referendum. It will ultimately be up to the Supreme Court to decide on the future of Minera Panama.