Panamanians protest against a memorandum of understanding with the US, in Panama City, April 29, 2025. Photo: Matias Delacroix/AP.
The protest leaders are also calling for the release of Jaime Caballero, a member of one of Panama’s main unions.
Panamanian labor unions are considering resuming their call for an indefinite general strike as a protest against the controversial reform to the Organic Law of the Social Security Fund (CSS), approved last March by the government of President JosĂ© RaĂșl Mulino.
The amendment to the law, according to workers, seeks to privatize social security, “steal” its funds and those of pensioners, and hand them over to banks, while raising the retirement age and implementing other economic adjustments against the population promoted by President Mulino.
In this regard, the National Union of Construction and Related Industry Workers (SUNTRACS), one of the main union forces in Panama, reported that the indefinite strike in its sector, in addition to demanding the repeal of the reform, also calls for the release of Jaime Caballero, one of the union’s leaders.
SUNTRACS Secretary General SaĂșl MĂ©ndez said Caballero is in prison and facing trial, accused “amid a rigged political trial and persecution of leaders,” in a case of alleged money laundering, Prensa Latina (PL) reported.
SUNTRACS members, who have been lobbying the Panamanian government for months and staging days of protests, have the support of key sectors such as education, health, and others, who have also denounced government repression before the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The possible general strike would add to the various measures to exert pressure taken since mid-April by teachers and other sectors, such as the National Association of Nurses of Panama (ANEP), which announced a staggered work stoppage that would be supported by workers from the National Oncology Institute and the Children’s Hospital.
DĂa 22 de la HUELGA đ„
La mĂĄxima autoridad del SUNTRACS, la ASAMBLEA ha hablado:
La HUELGA SIGUE >>> pic.twitter.com/TbxQ4tmJqy
â Suntracs Panama â (@SuntracsPanama) May 19, 2025
Rejection of foreign troops
In addition to challenging the controversial reform, other sectors, such as indigenous peoples’ organizations and community leaders, are calling on the population to remain united and support the fight against President Mulino’s measures.
#InformatPanamĂĄ Congreso General Guna Yala pide la derogaciĂłn de la Ley 462 y del memorĂĄndum con Estados Unidos. pic.twitter.com/Ewb2tP1ElH
â Informa T PanamĂĄ (@informatpanama) May 18, 2025
Among these actions is the protest against the presence of foreign troops on Panamanian territory, especially those from the US, after the Mulino administration agreed with the Donald Trump administration to allow the entry of US military personnel.
Similarly, President Mulino’s intention to reopen a copper mine in the province of ColĂłn, despite a ruling by the Panamanian Supreme Court in November 2023 ordering its closure due to environmental pollution, has been criticized.
The leadership of the NgĂ€be BuglĂ© General Congress called for the defense of the territory, sovereignty, and environmental balance, as well as for people to join the demonstrations for a “more just and sustainable” Panama, because President Mulino’s measures “violate indigenous rights and promote resource exploitation,” according to PL.
(RT)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JB/SH
