Panama: Indigenous Mining Protest Blocks Pan-American Highway · Global Voices
Ariel Moreno

Todo lo acordado con los indígenas ha sido cumplido. Ahora elementos foráneos desean que no haya hidroeléctricas. Eso hará triplicar la luz
That's how President Ricardo Martinelli of Panama made excuses via his Twitter account (@rmartinelli) [es] for the road closure that on February 3, 2012, marked its fifth day. The indigenous people of the Ngäbes Buglés region have blocked the Pan-American Highway up to the Chiriqui Province to demand that the government comply with the agreement reached last year with regard to mining in the region.
The closure has caused millions of dollars of losses as this is the main transportation artery for the country. It has also caused hundreds of people to be trapped in the massive congestion, leaving them without water or food. As reported in La Prensa [es]:
Cientos de viajeros y conductores de vehículos de carga atrapados por el tranque de la vía Interamericana, en el distrito de La Mesa, clamaron por ayuda de las autoridades de la provincia de Veraguas, debido a que después de cuatro días de protesta se han quedado sin agua y comida.
Up until now, the government has chosen to ignore the protests and look for alternate routes for transporting people and goods, like the so-called “Air Bridge” that would transport people and goods by air.
Woman wearing a nagua (skirt), typical dress of the Ngöbe-Buglé in Chiriqui, Panamá. Image by Flickr user Lon&Queta (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
The shaky image of Ricardo Martinelli's government appears even worse on social networks, where people have repudiated the apathy and arrogance with which the president and his team have handled the situation, although there are also those who see the attitude of the indigenous people as self-centered and showing little concern for the country.
Roberto Troncos B. (@tronky22) [es] writes to the president:
@rmartinelli Es inadmisible q un sector de la población nos tenga de rodillas, pero tmbn es inconcebible que no se tenga vías de solución
Jaime Correa (@JCorrea1293) [es] is upset by the autocratic manner of the president and states that he often confuses this with controlling his supermarket chain (Super 99):
Martinelli todavìa sigue pensando y creyendo que Panamá se administra como un Super 99 y que al ser presidente, es dueño de los recursos
Fermin Osorio (@MeisterBrake) [es] on the other hand, thinks that people are exaggerating a little to point to Martinelli as being responsible for everything bad that happens:
Todo lo que hace martinelli ta mal, fren en mi opinión el a echo muchas cosas y buenas, también sus defecadas pero bueno.
Maria Moreno (@ascadelia1986) [es] Maria compares the current government with Manuel Antonio Noriega's dictatorship:
est gobierno esta peor q el gobiern o d noriega nadamas falta q martinelli salga planeando y alzando el machete
Daniel Acosta (@Daar05) [es] states that all politicians are responsible for the crisis the country is currently in:
Yo siento que toodos los de la politica en Panamá son culpables de lo que ocurre! Martinelli debe buscar rapido alguna solucion!!!!!
Blogger Erick Simpson Aguilera shares his perspective in his blog Pma507pty [es]:
Finalizo solidarizándome con la lucha de los hermanos Ngäbes por la defensa del territorio nacional, el cual el gobierno autócrata de turno pretende vender a las mineras canadienses y coreanas, para depredar y saquear nuestra riqueza natural. Y, haciéndole un llamado al gobierno en el sentido que, no insista en mantener al país al borde de la ingobernabilidad y el caos, dando al traste con la imagen de Panamá, afectando las inversiones, el turismo, y el crecimiento económico que experimenta la nación; lo cual evitarán si dialogan con las autoridades Ngäbes Buglés y aceptan formalizar legalmente, la no exploración, ni explotación minera, ni hídrica en la Comarca.
Although the solution seems far away right now, Panamanians have not lost hope of finding a solution beneficial to all.