Panamanian Citizens Demand Respect For The Supreme Court Ruling With An Anti-Mining Protest

(MENAFN- Newsroom Panama) A group of citizens participated in a vigil called“For Our Water” on the Cinta Costera strip, specifically in the area of ​​the Panama sign, on Sunday afternoon, March 23, 2025. They reject metallic mining activity in Panama. The organizations were chanting:“Panama is worth more without mining,”“Get off the grid,”“Adopt Forests,” etc. Alibel Pizarro, the spokesperson, said that it is“a vigil for the defense of water and one of the main attacks we see on water in our country is mining.” “So we're here showing that we're not just a bunch of people, as the president has said, but rather a conscious people, who know what we're saying, who want the rule of law to be respected,” he added. “Vigil for our water, Panama is not a mining country” is the motto of this vigil.

Last week, at his press conference, President José Raúl Mulino said he would move forward with the second item on his agenda: the legal status of Cobre Panamá. The company has already announced that it has instructed its legal team to meet with the government to suspend the six or seven arbitration claims it had filed following the Supreme Court of Justice's (SCJ) ruling of unconstitutionality. The suspension of these arbitrations was one of the conditions set by the government for resuming talks on the mine's future. However, in his regular morning press conference this Thursday, March 20, Mulino stated that“they have not been notified of this suspension” and that until they are notified,“there will be no formal talks.”

However, the president explained that starting this Monday, March 24 he will hold his first meeting with his government team related to this issue. One of the main meetings will be the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI), which previously negotiated the contract on behalf of Panama. At that first meeting, Mulino explained that they would address in more detail“some ideas we have been outlining over time regarding the mine issue.” Mulino authorized the removal of the copper concentrate that remained in the Cobre Panamá warehouses. On November 28, 2023, the full Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) unanimously declared the unconstitutionality of Law 406, which established the contract between the State and Minera Panamá.

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