Panamanian construction workers, teachers' unions, and popular organizations launched an indefinite strike April 28 to protest [11] the government's proposed reforms to the pension system and to demand an end to US interference in the country. The protestors, led by the construction union SUNTRACS, were met by police repression [12] in various parts of the country, including tear gas [13] aimed directly at students. In addition to fears that reforms to the country's social security system will lead to its privatization, the country's grassroots organizations believe that President José Raúl Mulino has undermined Panamanian sovereignty by not being firm enough [14] in his negotiations with the Trump administration over control of the Panama Canal.
Saúl Mendendez, the general secretary of SUNTRACS, said in a press conference [16] that workers "must remain firm to defeat Law 462 and the sale of the homeland." He also criticized the re-opening of talks [17]on a controversial copper mine, concessioned to a Canadian company, that had been shut down after massive protests [18] in late 2023. Though the Ministry of Labor argued the strikes were illegal, [19] large-scale protests continued on May 1 to commemorate [20] International Workers Day.
From NACLA Update [21], May 2
