Panama: Protests Expand and President Mulino Threatens
Facing growing protests President Mulino Warns: “Whatever the Cost, This Country Will Not Be Shut Down”.
By Mario De Gracia (La Prensa de Panamá)
HAVANA TIMES – President José Raúl Mulino declared on Thursday, May 15, 2025, that “whatever the cost, this country will not be shut down,” in response to road blockades across various regions of the country as a form of protest.
“Criminals, opportunists, leftists” were the labels the president used to describe labor unions, teachers’ associations, and Indigenous communities protesting against Law 462, which reformed the Social Security Fund, as well as against a possible reopening of a massive open pit mine and the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the United States.
Pointing to political figures, Mulino targeted Crispiano Adames, a deputy from the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), and Juan Jovane, former director of the Social Security Fund.
Regarding Adames, the president claimed there were “countless corrupt appointments in the National Assembly that report to him,” linking this, in some unspecified way, to the deputy’s opposition to Law 462 and an alleged “campaign against the government in Indigenous territories.”
He accused Jované of leaving the CSS in debt during his tenure as director from 1999 to 2003.
Mulino did not hold back when addressing Suntracs: “I will not allow this country to be held hostage by Suntracs. There has been a nationwide effort to keep the country connected, at great cost and wear on our public forces (…). Whatever the cost, this country will not be shut down,” he stated.
Mulino remains unyielding. “I cannot negotiate,” he said, linking this to the ongoing clashes between security forces and protesters. He also stated that law enforcement operations and interventions would continue “to maintain order.”
As for the suspension of constitutional guarantees—an idea suggested on social media by former Supreme Court Justice Arturo Hoyos, who is close to government circles—Mulino said no decision has been made yet, but warned that the possibility is not off the table.
At Thursday’s press conference, Mulino was joined by three of his ministers—Jackeline Muñoz (Labor), Frank Ábrego (Security), and Julio Moltó (Commerce)—as well as Dino Mon, director of the CSS. The show of unity followed a failed government attempt to reach agreements through dialogue with union leaders in the province of Bocas del Toro, where banana production and key roads remain paralyzed.
The government delegation left the province without holding the usual press conference at the Changuinola airport, leaving the public in the dark about any progress or setbacks in the negotiations.