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Panama Explodes With Protests Against Canadian Copper Mine
Photograph Source: SportingVVE – CC0 1.0
Panama is on fire. Massive protests are rippling across the country. Road blocks.
Unions on strike. School classes canceled. Workers, teachers and indigenous groups are in the streets. They’re protesting the government’s approval of a renegotiated contract with a Canadian mining firm for the operation of Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine.
They say it’s a threat to the environment and an attack on Panama’s sovereignty. Political analysts say the issue is having such an impact, because of the country’s long history of foreign intervention in the country, and particularly the US control over the Panama Canal, which lasted throughout the 20th Century.
Transcript
The following transcript is from a video produced by The Real News Network.
Michael Fox: Panama is on fire. Massive protests are rippling across the country. Road blocks. Unions on strike. School and university classes canceled. Workers. Teachers. Indigenous groups are in the streets. They’re protesting the government’s approval of a renegotiated contract with a Canadian mining firm for the operation of Central America’s largest open-pit copper mine. It’s a massive land concession, almost the size of the city of Miami. They say it’s a handout to a foreign company. An attack on Panama’s sovereignty. And a threat to the environment.
Cristel Jimenez: And as a Panamanian, I’m sad, because they are ruining our natural resources. Threatening the animals. We are not in agreement with this law and the president signed it without consulting the people. And sadly this is all that the people have left… to fight.
Michael Fox (narration): The people in the streets say they will not back down. They have just one demand: Revoke the new contract.
Juan Smith: While the government does not rescind this law, we will remain in the streets, united. Because a united people will never be defeated.
Michael Fox (narration): The copper mine is run by Canada’s First Quantum Minerals, with investors including the Chinese state, the U.S. Capital Group, Fidelity, Vanguard, and BlackRock, among many others. It has been in production since 2019, and extracting 300,000 tons of copper a year. But two years ago, Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that the state contract with the mine was unconstitutional, because it did not serve the public good. The contract was renegotiated. This one, government officials said, was a huge improvement, offering windfall profits for the state. Last week, it was fast-tracked through Congress and signed into law by the president. But not without resistance.
Walkiria Chandler: These protests are going to grow like the night, when the sun goes down and that’s what we’re seeing outside and across the country. Because this assembly and the government that controls the country have not wanted to listen to the shouts of the Panamanian people, who continue to say that Panama is not a mining country. And they don’t want this mining contract.
Michael Fox (narration): The government has celebrated the new mining contract. They say it’s a huge win for the country that will save 40,000 direct and indirect jobs and provide sizable profits from mining royalties to the state.
Federico Alfaro: The contract ensures a minimum payment to the state of $375 million dollars a year, for the next 20 years. If you can compare this with what the state was receiving before, which was $35 million a year, it’s a substantial improvement to the past.
Michael Fox (narration): In an effort to appease the growing unrest, president Laurentino Cortizo spoke to the country on Tuesday and announced that by next month his government would be using these funds to lift pensions for retirees to a minimum of $350 dollars a month, a 75% rise over the current minimum.
Laurentino Cortizo: Today, I’m announcing that as of November 20, this increase will be a reality for 120,000 retirees who receive less than that each month.
Michael Fox (narration): But it only fueled the fire in the streets. Most Panamanians saw the proposed measure as an attempt to buy off retirees, while ignoring the central demand of the protest. Roads and major portions of the Panamerican Highway remained blocked across the country.
Construction Workers Union, Suntracs: This is the handing over of our land and our country to a multinational company. We will be here, until the people who approved this law, roll it back. Because without a fight there is no victory! Fight. Fighting! This is not one person’s fight! This is everyone’s fight!
Michael Fox (narration): This sentiment that the contract is an attack on Panamanian sovereignty runs deep. And it’s an important reason why the protests have gained so much traction. Political analysts say that in order to truly understand why so much of the population is against this mining contract, you have to look to the past.
Claire Nevache-Weill: From 1903 to 1999, Panama had an enclave in the middle of its territory, which was the Panama Canal Zone. Throughout the 20th century Panamanian citizens fought to get rid of that enclave of the most powerful country of the world, which was the United States, which was stuck in the middle of Panamanian territory, where Panamanian citizens could not enter that area. Where they couldn’t manage the most valuable asset of the country, which was the Panama Canal and its geographical position. So this is something that is very, very present in the Panamanian psyche. All of this has been underscored in the public opinion, by the NGOs that are fighting against the contract, as a return to the 20th century. To the same struggles that Panamanians already knew. And which took so many years to free themselves from. So, for Panamanian citizens, this is impossible to accept. It’s humiliating and it’s a feeling of returning to a moment of neocolonialism in which part of the country is being sold again to a foreign power. And that is something that the majority of Panamanian citizens are not willing to accept.
Michael Fox (narration): There is no end in sight for the protests. And many say Panama could be looking at a repeat of last year, when widespread street demonstrations and road blockages shut down the country for three weeks over inflation and rising gas prices. Analysts say that in comparison, today’s level of discontent may be even higher and include an even wider cross section of Panamanian society.
Claire Nevache-Weill: Last night, for example, there were construction unions calling for marches in the street. There were environmental NGOs also calling for marches. There were students from public universities in the street. Today there were high school students on the street. Panama’s Evangelical Alliance issued a statement. Panama’s Episcopal Conference issued a statement. In the neighborhoods with the greatest purchasing power in the city, people were banging pots and pans, which is a style of protest that’s much more typical of the higher classes of Panamanian society. So there really seems to be quite widespread discontent.
Michael Fox (narration): And there has been repression by the police. Dozens have been arrested. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. At least one photographer lost an eye, when he was fired on by state security forces. The future is uncertain. This all comes only eight months out from Panama’s 2024 presidential elections. It’s still unclear the impact the mining contract and the protests may have. But for those on the streets, what matters right now, is that they’re not going anywhere and the country is expecting a prolonged fight.
Cristel Jimenez: The people need to unite so that we are even stronger than those people in the legislative assembly. Those people who approved this contract. We only have left to fight and not to be silent.
This article is syndicated in partnership with Real News Network Syndication.
Anti-mining protesters in Panama say road
blockades will be suspended for 12 hours on
Monday
MEGAN JANETSKY
Sun, November 12, 2023
A demonstrator waves a Panamanian national flag during a protest against a mining contract between the Panamanian government and the Canadian mining company First Quantum, in Panama City, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Indigenous anti-mining protesters that have paralyzed Panama's key roadways for weeks said they will temporarily suspend blockades for 12 hours Monday as a show of good faith to citizens affected by the demonstrations.
Demonstrators are demanding the Panamanian government annul a contract allowing the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals to continue operating an open-pit copper mine in a richly biodiverse jungle.
Roads will be opened from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, at least in northern Panama, to allow people to access fuel and food, after shortages in many regions caused by the blockades, said Juan de Dios Camaño, secretary general of the Association of Chiricano Educators.
“The war isn't the people against the people. The war is against these criminals we have in the government,” he said in a video posted to the group's Instagram account.
He said the protest would resume in full force after the 12-hour suspension.
The protests erupted late last month over the contract allowing the mine to keep operating for the next 20 years, with the possibility of the company extending it for a further 20 years.
Demonstrations gained international attention after authorities confirmed that two demonstrators were killed last week. Local reports and video circulating on social media appear to show a man wielding a pistol attempting to pass through a barricade and protesters lying dead on the ground. Police said they arrested one suspect in the incident, but did not identify him.
While Panama’s government has said the mine is a key source for jobs in the Central American country, Indigenous groups say the mining is a threat to many of the delicate ecosystems they protect.
Such unrest is rare in Panama, but the protests come at a time that environmental protection is gaining increasing importance for many in Latin America, home to some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world.
Opposition to big projects is especially intense in rural Indigenous communities, which are often disproportionally affected by climate change and other environmental destruction.
Canadian mining concerns, which by some estimates make up 41% of the large mining companies in Latin America, are often criticized in the region of environmental damage, lack of accountability and other abuses.
But critics of the blockades say they are damaging citizens more than the mining company. One Panamanian business association estimates the road blockages are causing a daily loss of $80 million to local businesses.
Late last week, police announced they planned to break up the road barricades, using force if needed.
“We are going to use the necessary force so that the roads are opened, and the well-being of all citizens is achieved,” Police Commissioner Elmer Caballero said.
Analysis-Panama court likely to revoke First Quantum copper mine contract
Valentine Hilaire and Divya Rajagopal
Mon, November 13, 2023
FILE PHOTO: View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Aris Martínez
By Valentine Hilaire and Divya Rajagopal
(Reuters) - Panama's top court is likely to rule against Canadian miner First Quantum when it decides on the fate of a key copper mine contract in the coming weeks, a majority of lawyers in a Reuters survey said, citing precedent for a similar verdict.
The court's nine judges are weighing whether to revoke First Quantum's contract for the Cobre Panama mine, a significant resource that contributes 5% to Panama's GDP and 1% to global copper production.
The contested contract, which was approved on Oct. 20, provides First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years, in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama.
However, the contract has faced numerous legal challenges due to protests that claim it favors the miner too much and allege corrupt practices in its approval. Such protests have escalated into an anti-government movement, resulting in two deaths.
The miner's contract has snowballed into a lightning rod ahead of the May 2024 Panama election. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's has revised Panama's economic outlook to negative from stable due to potential risks to investors' confidence.
The uncertainty has also wiped about C$8 billion ($5.80 billion) from First Quantum's market value. Amid the rout, China's Jiangxi Copper Co Ltd, First Quantum's biggest shareholder, last week raised its stake in the Canadian company to 18.5%.
Two Panamanian prosecutors have deemed the contract unconstitutional after examining legal challenges submitted to the court.
However, Maritza Cedeno, the president of the country's bar association, noted that past rulings have deviated from the initial positions of these officials.
She declined to disclose her stance, saying the court should work without pressures.
Four out of the seven lawyers polled by Reuters predicted the top court will nullify the contract, possibly as soon as mid-December. Two others believe the court will uphold the contract, while one remains uncertain.
"There is precedent...," said lawyer Ariel Corbetti, pointing out that the contract has similarities to the initial First Quantum deal, which was scrapped by the court in 2017.
That contract was inherited by First Quantum in 2013 after it became the operator of the mine. However, Panama's top court in 2017 deemed unconstitutional the law under which First Quantum was operating the mine.
The ruling was upheld in 2021, resulting in last month's fresh deal with the government.
A representative for Panama's top court declined to comment on the possible outcome, and directed Reuters to a statement saying resolving the challenges is the body's "number one priority."
First Quantum did not reply to a request for comment on the future of the contract pending court proceedings.
BAN ON NEW MINING LICENSES
Granting a concession requires a public tender, which did not happen with First Quantum, Corbetti said, adding that foreign state-owned entities cannot own mining resources, which he said happens in this case with China.
If the court deems the contract unconstitutional, Panama would be in a tricky spot, lawyers said, as the government on Nov. 3 signed a bill banning all new mining concessions and extensions. That would prevent the two parties from negotiating a new deal.
Panama has issued seven orders to cancel mining concessions to abide by the new law, the trade ministry said last week, without providing detail.
Corbetti also said authorities should seek an agreement with the company for its exit to avoid international litigation.
Panama's mining chamber has urged against canceling the contract, saying First Quantum could sue Panama for at least $50 billion.
Another lawyer said the court could also move to declare parts of the contract unconstitutional, which would not annul it completely.
Others say the court will rule in First Quantum's favor.
"This conflict cannot be solved in a temperamental way," said lawyer Juan Carlos Arauz, former head of the country's bar association, adding he does not see a scenario under which the court would deem the miner's contract unconstitutional.
Arauz said revoking the contract would put Panama in a weak spot if the matter goes to international arbitration and could open leaders to litigation.
Lawyer Victor Baker said proper consultations were conducted for the contract's approval and there was no need for a bidding process since the miner had existing operations, as he expressed confidence in a ruling favoring the company.
($1 = 1.3802 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Valentine Hilaire and Divya Rajagopal; Additional reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by Denny Thomas and Marguerita Choy)
Canada's First Quantum cuts ore processing at Panama mine as protests block port
Reuters
Updated Mon, November 13, 2023
FILE PHOTO: View of the Cobre Panama mine, of Canadian First Quantum Minerals, in Donoso, Panama, December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Aris Martínez
(Reuters) -First Quantum Minerals has reduced ore processing at its sprawling copper mine in Panama as weeks-long protests against the project is blocking access to the port, the Canadian miner said on Monday.
The new contract for the Cobre Panama mine, which contributes 1% to global copper production, was approved on Oct. 20. However, the agreement has faced numerous legal challenges due to protests that claim it favors the miner too much and allege corrupt practices in its approval.
The company has denied all allegations but the uncertainty has triggered a 45% drop in its shares since the new contract, through Friday's close. They fell another 4.3% on Monday.
First Quantum said it had ramped down operations at one ore processing train as the blockade at the mine's Punta Rincon port has affected the delivery of supplies for its on-site power plant and is impacting the loading of copper concentrates.
The reduction of ore processing could impact about 2% of Panama's national workforce, the company said, adding two ore processing trains remain operational.
A Reuters survey earlier in November found that a majority of lawyers believe that Panama's top court would revoke First Quantum's contract for the mine, which contributes 5% to the company's gross domestic product.
The mine would need to reduce the purchase of supplies and services that are equivalent to $20 million in weekly revenues to more than 2,000 Panamanian companies if the stoppages continue, the company added.
(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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