LatinNews Daily - 29 April 2025

*Panama’s leading private sector lobby Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada (Conep) has warned of losses caused by the indefinite strike staged by leading teachers’ association Asociación de Profesores (Asoprof) which began on 23 April, and which the powerful construction workers’ union Sindicato Único Nacional de Trabajadores de la Construcción y Similares (Suntracs), joined yesterday. In a press conference yesterday, Alejandro Ferrer, the president of Panama’s chamber of construction (Capac), one of Conep’s members, put daily economic losses at US$100m. The strike is over opposition to the recently approved social security (CSS) reform as well as discontent with the right-of-centre government led by President José Raúl Mulino regarding the security agreement recently signed with the US which has prompted fears of an increased US military presence in the country and loss of Panamanian sovereignty. Unions are also alarmed about the future of Panama’s largest mine, Cobre Panamá, which is owned by Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) and was shuttered in late 2023 after the supreme court struck down a new contract with FQM that had prompted major unrest. President Mulino has sparked speculation over the mine’s future after offering concessions to FQM which resulted in it discontinuing arbitration proceedings against Panama a month ago, although the president maintains that a new contract law will not be approved. Suntracs secretary general Saúl Méndez yesterday said that over 93% of the construction industry was paralysed yesterday due to the strike, which saw classes suspended, and which was accompanied by protests in the capital, Panama City, and other parts of the country.

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