GNV News 2025–6–8

 In Panama, anti-government protests led by teachers opposing social security reforms began in 2025–3 and escalated into a strike starting on 4/23. Following the teachers, doctors, farmers, Indigenous groups, university students, community organizations, and even banana plantation workers have joined, and it has continued for more than 1 and a half months. Amid nationwide protests, clashes between police and civilians have also occurred sporadically.

Dissatisfaction with the social security reform lies in the background. The passage on 2025–3–18 of Law No. 462 increased employer contributions to the Social Security Fund and has sparked backlash over concerns about multiple future conditions unfavorable to workers。 

However, there are factors beyond dissatisfaction with the social security reform. One (1) is that President José Raúl Mulino decided, through an opaque process, on a plan to resume copper exports from the mine that was closed in 2023 following large-scale protests over environmental concerns, which many see as reversing gains achieved by past demonstrations. Another (1) is the growing criticism of the Panamanian government’s concessions in a security agreement with the U.S. government, against the backdrop of a plan to hand over Panamanian territory for the construction of multiple U.S. military bases and a plan to allow U.S. warships to pass freely through the Panama Canal.

As of now, there is no prospect that the strike will subside。 

Learn more about Panama → “One Year After the Panama Papers: Panama, a State Where Wrongdoing Lurks”

Learn more about protests → “Was ‘The Year of Protests’ Reported?”

Photo: Presidential Palace of Panama (Carlos J. Ramirez / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0 ])