Frustrated Panamanians took to the streets to protest for more than a week, relying on anger over fuel costs that have nearly doubled to show their overall discontent with the government.
Protests intensified on Tuesday despite President Laurentino Cortizo’s promise the day before to make the gas value freeze for all Panamanians bigger than just public transportation.
Thousands more marched through Panama’s capital and cities, while roadblocks paralyzed traffic on the Pan-American Highway.
Cortizo said Monday he understood citizens’ discontent and blamed the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the price hike.
Protesters held on Tuesday.
“The cup of tolerance and patience that other Panamanians have shown to various (administrations) has spilled into the value of fuel, which is abusive, among others,” said Miguel Antonio Bernal, a professor of Political Science at the University of Panama. “In addition, we have the wonderful corruption that has been unleashed. “
Leaders of a teachers’ strike, which gave the initial spark that sparked national protests more than a week ago, criticized Cortizo’s announcement to freeze fuel value while talks were underway to end the protests.
They called the offering insufficient. Other teams have called for further relief in the gasoline charge.
“The value of gasoline is overwhelming those we have to teach in our schools,” said Ilbis Rujano, a public school teacher in the central province of Veraguas who participated in the protests. “The most sensible thing about that, the collection of food has gone up, which is a blow to the poorest families who have to send their children to school. “
“This will be tolerated,” he said.
Panama, a country of four million people, has maintained a fairly strong service economy that uses the U. S. dollar as its official currency. This has almost made inflation not a problem lately. Today, economists estimate inflation at around 4%, which is significant however, it is well below other countries in the region, such as Mexico, where it hovers around 8%.
Protesters say basic goods through Panamanian families are more expensive.
Indigenous teams in western Panama, among the poorest in the country, joined the teachers’ protest, as did Panama’s hard-structure industry, which called for protests on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the government asked protesters not to block buses using the Pan-American Highway with migrants entering Panama from Colombia toward the Costa Rican border so they can continue their adventure north. , the government said no migrants were injured.
Early Tuesday morning, staff of the structure temporarily closed an important road to the capital, while thousands of teachers marched towards the National Assembly.
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