In July 2022, protests broke out in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. They were reportedly triggered by rising inflation, corruption, and a cost of living crisis. The economy has suffered as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, and the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...

. On 18 July,

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

saw the country's largest protest. President

Laurentino Cortizo Laurentino "Nito" Cortizo Cohen (; born 30 January 1953) is a Panamanian politician who has served as the President of Panama since 2019. Cortizo is the former President of the National Assembly and Minister of Agricultural and Livestock Devel ...

's government deal to cut fuel prices was rejected by trade unions. Protestors blocked sections of the transcontinental

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in ...

. On 27 July, security minister Juan Manuel Pino Forero said that the roads were clear for the first time. On 2 August, the teachers strike concluded.

Background

The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

initially selectively froze fuel for collective and selective transportation carriers at US$3.95/gallon at the start of June; they subsequently extended the price freeze to transporters of agricultural cargo. After this price freeze, the National Assembly celebrated the re-election of its president, Crispiano Adames. This joined a long list of other complaints of corruption which have not been investigated by the corresponding authorities, like the approval of the re-election of the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí or the supposed nepotism in the management of the Assembly payroll, among others.

References

2022 protests Protests July 2022 events in Panama August 2022 events in Panama {{Panama-stub Labor disputes in Panama Social movements in Panama

Background

See also

References