Panama Supreme Court declares mine contract “unconstitutional” that sparked protests

O Supreme Court of Panama declared this Tuesday “unconstitutional” the concession contract for the largest copper mine in the country Central Americawhose approval in Congress triggered protests that left the country semi-paralyzed for more than a month.

“We unanimously decided to declare unconstitutional the whole law 406” of contract between the Panamanian State and the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM), announced the president of Máxima courtMaría Eugenia López, announcing the decision after four days of deliberations among the nine members of the court.

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After the announcement, celebrations were started by a group of protesters who spent the entire night outside the court.

““More than a victory for the institutions, it is a victory for the democracy of the people”, said environmentalist Raisa Banfield to the Telemetro channel, shouting “yes, it was possible”.” with a megaphone outside the Court celebrated the decision handed down on the day Panama celebrates its independence from Spain.

To the proteststhe biggest in Panama since the fall of the former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega in 1989, and the resulting road blockades caused losses of more than 1.7 billion dollars in the agricultural, tourist and commercial sectors, according to the business union.

After the decision, protesters began to erect some roadblocks, according to local media.

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Mining moratorium

The movement broke out on October 20, when Congress approved the contract signed by the government and FQM to operate for 40 years my open pit copper mining in the Panamanian Caribbean.

He contract was signed in August between the government and the Canadian company, after in 2017 the Court Supreme will declare unconstitutional the original 1997 agreement.

FQM argues that the my generates 50 thousand jobs, contributes 5% of GDP and which contract includes annual royalty payments of $375 million, ten times more than the initial agreement.

O my Since 2019, it has produced around 300,000 tons of copper concentrate annually, which represents 75% of Panamanian exports. It also has around 2,500 suppliers in the country, who sell goods for 900 million dollars annually.

Environmentalists claim that my seriously damages the environment by being in a biological corridor that connects Central America It is Mexico. American actor Leonardo Dicaprio and Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg made reference to the protests Panamanians on their social networks.

Trying to minimize discontent, the Congress approved on November 3 the suspension for an indefinite period of concessions for the exploration and use of metallic mines. In turn, he left it in the hands of the Court Supreme the future of contract in FQM and the government.

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And now what?

The company, which invested in Panama more than 10 billion dollars, notified the government of its “intent” to “submit arbitration claims” under the protection of the Free Trade Agreement between Panama It is Canadain force since 2013.

“These types of notifications do not constitute the start of arbitration, but, on the contrary, seek to avoid the need for arbitration, allowing the situation to be resolved. [mediante diálogo] during the 90 day period“The company said on Monday in a statement.

The government of Laurentino Cortizo he said he was ready “to defend national interests” facing a possible arbitration, which if lost would imply multimillion-dollar compensation to the public coffers.

Some experts believe that the government will have an easier time defending its position after the government’s decision. courtNow you can claim that the sentence caused you to break the contract.

“Of course there is more strength with an error”the lawyer told AFP Ernesto Cedenowho presented one of the unconstitutionality appeals.

Philip Chapmanmanaging partner of economic consultancy Indiahe told AFP that “it is a complex scenario, but there are ways out and solutions”.

“If it closes (the my), its contribution to the size of the GDPwhich will take a few years to recover, as well as employment and tax revenues” he claimed chapmanfor whom the country can promote other activities in the medium term, such as tourism.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.