Panama Awaits Supreme Court Verdict on Mega Mining Contract
By Circles Robinson
HAVANA TIMES – It’s been five weeks since large scale protests erupted throughout Panama over a controversial mining concession to the Canadian company First Quantum. Since Friday, the Supreme Court is holding marathon sessions to determine whether the contract is unconstitutional with demonstration vigils being held at its doorstep.
The First Quantum mine in the province of Colon is the largest open pit copper mine in Central America and the concession gives the company highly preferential treatment ignoring Panamanians’ environmental concerns. The company’s stock has dropped over 55% since the protests began.
Approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Cortizo with little public input, opposition to the 20+20 year contract united many sectors of Panamanian society opposed to environmentally destructive mining. Teachers, construction workers, university students, health workers and indigenous communities all have been blocking the country’s main highway as well as urban avenues in the capital.
Nearly a dozen lawsuits questioning the mining contract, know as Law 406, were filed since the signing and the Supreme Court is studying the first two after a period of input from attorneys and from some civil society groups.
Protest activities and vigils have been taking place day and night at the entrance to the Supreme Court.
Citizen roadblocks have kept most freight and passenger transport at a near standstill along the Pan American Highway running from the border with Costa Rica to Panama City. While in recent days there have been some intermittent openings to let products through, and for medical emergencies, the closures have put extreme pressure on the government with businesses suffering losses demanding a resolution of the conflict.
The few times that gasoline has been available the lines have been enormous. Police using tear gas have made numerous attempts to open the roads but have been only successful for short periods.
As is common with any long-term peaceful protest situations some violence and theft has occurred on the fringes of the demonstrations and a small number of frustrated citizens have attacked those determined to see the effort through to repeal the mining contract.
A very unpopular president Cortizo initially fully supported the mining contract, exalting the higher contribution the Canadian company would have to make to the national coffers. After the public outcry, he has spent the last weeks trying unsuccessfully to defuse the protests and buy time, calling to wait for the Supreme Court decision, which could now come in a matter of hours, days, or weeks.