The street won. Tuesday, November 28, the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Panama declared unconstitutional the concession granted to the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals (FQM) for the exploitation of a gigantic open-air copper mine in the west of the country. , Cobre Panama. When the decision was announced, the young people who had been camped around the court for several days let their joy explode. “CSJ: the people are watching you”, could we read on a banner hung near the court building. Waving the country’s blue, red and white flag, demonstrators in their thousands celebrated their victory after five weeks of struggle. “No to mining, yes to health”, “Panama’s gold is green”, “Out with the rats who sold the country”, the signs proclaim, all over the country.
In the evening, during a brief televised speech, President Laurentino Cortizo promised to engage “the transition process for an orderly and safe closure of the mine”. In doing so, the Head of State put an end to the hopes of those who considered a renegotiation of the mining concession desirable and possible. Mr. Cortizo will leave office in seven months.
“A new and powerful dynamic”
Never since the end of the dictatorial government of Manuel Antonio Noriega (1983-1989) has the country experienced such a protest movement. “A new and powerful dynamic of national unity has been expressed”, considers political scientist Harry Brown, of the International Center for Political and Social Studies. The almost daily demonstrations for more than a month have affected all regions; roadblocks disrupted transport and supplies to cities. The National Council for Private Enterprise estimates the losses recorded at more than 1.7 billion dollars (1.5 billion euros).
The Supreme Court’s ruling is obviously very bad news for FQM. The Cobre Panama mine, recalls the company’s website, is ” one of the largest mines opened in the world in the last decade. The deposit would contain 3 billion tonnes of copper reserves “proven and probable”. In the opinion of experts, Cobre Panama is FQM’s most profitable asset.
Stressing that the Cobre Panama mine provides 8,000 direct and 40,000 indirect jobs, that it contributes 5% of the country’s domestic product and that the royalties from the contract amount to $375 million, the Panamanian government and those responsible for FQM tried – without success – to convince the Panamanians of the virtues of the mining contract.
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