Panama president appoints commission to tackle social claims

From the Coclé Hotel, the President specified that the Vice President of the Republic, Jose Gabriel Carrizo, would be the executive liaison with the organizations that have been protesting in the streets for 18 days against the high cost of living.

He also appointed the Minister of Labor and Labor Development, Doris Zapata, to take over the technical secretariat on the eight priority issues for protesters to consider, while promising to provide unrestricted support for dialogue.

The governor also announced that he instructed the head of the Trade and Industry portfolio, Federico Alfaro, to present to the Council of Ministers next week the repeal of two laws that support tourism incentives, to be referred afterwards to the National Assembly (Parliament). consent.

The so-called Laws 122 and 314 have been criticized by experts, and even by the hoteliers themselves; and by grassroots organizations because they do not solve the real problems of that industry, in addition, they require millionaire expenditures from the budget only for the benefit of five powerful economic groups.

Cortizo also called for the lifting of road closures that affect food distribution, cancer patients who need treatment and small producers. “We can’t hurt each other,” he stressed.

The dialogue table was definitively installed in the Cristo Sembrador Center of the Diocese of Penonomé, in Coclé, with words from the Archbishop of Panama, Monsignor José Domingo Ulloa, and other representatives of the Catholic Church, serving as facilitator of these talks.

Minister Zapata welcomed these reconciliation efforts in turn, and said on behalf of the government that they share the concerns of the people demonstrating in the streets, all of whom are members of a noble country but with huge disparities, she said.

In the midst of a complex scenario in about three years of this administration, he said, we trust dialogue and make the commitment to find solutions together to the priority issues on the agenda and to go to communities with concrete answers from the population you expect. Based on a better quality of life.

The first discussions focused on aspects related to the methodology when approaching point to point in the plenary, first of all, lowering and freezing the prices of the basic basket without affecting the product.

Among other issues previously set by social organizations, the high prices of fuel, medicine and electricity stand out, as well as the fact that at least 6.0 percent of GDP is allocated to the educational system.

They will also assess how to solve the problems of setting up the social security fund without privatization and ways to deal with corruption. They also called for the establishment of intersectoral tables and follow-up tables for all these issues.

On Thursday, leaders of the People’s United for Life Alliance, groups from the Ngabe Bogli district, the Peasants and the National Alliance of Organizers (Anadebo), were joined by representatives of the Veragüenses Teachers’ Association.

The day before, the dialogue table was marred by the repression of police units against demonstrators in the provinces of Veraguas and eastern Panama, as well as by violence by people outside the affected groups who detained a humanitarian shipment traveling from Chiriqui to the capital. Food, water, medicine, gas and fuel.

jha / ja