https://void.cat/d/NU3ZiCnjG27xaKaiUUesoA.mp4

Major clashes erupted for the fifth consecutive day across Panama as police forces cracked down on massive protests against the looting of the country's natural resources by a multinational copper corporation. Security forces responded with tear gas as protesters threw stones, lit tires, and blocked several roads.

Concerned about the potential environmental damage and loss of control of their country's resources, the protesters, including many Indigenous people, are demanding the repeal of a contract allowing continued operations at the largest copper mine in Central America, representing more than 75% of Panama’s exports. The copper mine is owned by the Canadian firm First Quantum, one of the biggest copper extractors in the world.

The new contract, passed last Friday, determines that the company will pay the government at least $375 million each year, ten times more than previously. In turn, it allows First Quantum to operate in Panama for an additional 20 years, renewable for another two decades. On top of this, in 2021, Panama's Supreme Court ratified a ruling that the original concession of mining rights granted to the subsidiary Minera Panama until 2037 was unconstitutional.

#Panama #CopperMineProtest