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Title: Unrest in Panama Author: Anarchist Communist Group Date: 20th July 2018 Language: en Topics: Panama, Juan Carlos Varela Source: Retrieved on 2020-06-02 from https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2018/07/20/unrest-in-panama/
Born into a rich family in Panama, Juan Carlos Varela is an entrepreneur
who is fiercely in favour of the free market. He led his conservative
Panamenista Party into the elections in 2009, but was then bought off by
his rival Ricardo Martinelli, who offered him the vice-presidency if he
stopped running against him. In 2014 he won the presidential election,
coming in on promises to develop the economic infrastructure of Panama
and to proceed with urban renovation in the free trade zone city of
Colon.
There has been some economic growth in Panama in recent years, double
the average for central America. However almost 27% of the population
lives in poverty and almost 16% in extreme poverty. This is worse in the
countryside.
In March of this year the urban masses in Colon told Varela what they
thought of his “urban renovation” there, which they equated with social
cleansing. They rioted. They were also fed up with the slow pace of
renovating the sewers and water supply system, the decay of public
schools and healthcare. A large march protested against all this and
rioting then broke out with some buildings being burnt down. At the same
time a two-day strike broke out in the port. As one local community
organiser said: “what mainly motivates us is the perverse aim of
Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela to use our money to kick poor
people out of the city and hand it over to the rich.”
Things got worse for Varela on 16th July with announcement of 8.4% price
rises in electricity. A 24-hour general strike broke out, backed by 18
different sectors of worker. Perhaps the most militant have been the
building workers and the teachers. Building workers had already been out
on a four-week strike demanding a 60% pay increase. The union leadership
sabotaged the strike by stopping strike pay and ending the strike.
However, the electricity hikes galvanised the building workers again.
Anger against the union leader Saul Mendez surfaced and he was accused
of being a thief and sell-out by angry workers.
Meanwhile 90% of the teachers walked out to join the strike. This
followed strikes in March and April demanding the payment of unpaid
benefits and an increase in the education budget.
In addition, workers at the sewage and water authority went out on
indefinite strike, demanding the payment of unpaid benefits and a pay
increase.
Simmering discontent at the privatisation of many industries is
increasing, as workers’ pay and benefits are driven down and more and
more are in precarious work as a result, as many families have their
water cut off for non-payment.
115 millionaires collectively own $16 billion whilst a fifth of the
population live in poverty.
Throughout Latin America the tempo of the class struggle is increasing.
Workers and peasants and the urban poor need to reject the politics of
both the right and left parties, who falsely promise economic renewal
and a struggle against corruption. They need to rely on only themselves
and go on to build an autonomous mass movement that sweeps aside the
union leaders and the politicians and confronts the rich minority and
its servants.