Camila Aybar (27) is one of the leaders of the youth group “Sal de las Redes”, which organizes protests against the development of mining in Panama.

Their presence on the street is not a whim. He studied business administration, but found work in environmental sustainability fields.

He loved what he did and specialized in the field. Since then, he has devoted himself to the defense of natural resources.

He is part of a group of young people who promote cultural and social management and citizen participation.

And now he’s joining forces “more than ever” to mobilize a country against mining.

Along with fourteen other youth leaders, Aybar mobilized nearly 40,000 Panamanians every day last week in the streets and avenues across the country.

They managed to rally more than 500 young people to their fight and, through WhatsApp groups and virtual meetings, they are in constant communication and coordination of protest demonstrations.

Carrying the national emblem, banners with messages of “no to mining” and “let’s protect our natural resources” and hand-held megaphones led the masses and became a special phenomenon of the protests.

They have a clear objective: they demand that the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) declare unconstitutional a contract between the State and the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals to exploit the Cobre Panamá mine for 20 years, renewable for the same period, within shortest time possible. . , located on the Caribbean coast, which is the largest in Central America, he explained.

It wouldn’t be the first time that this had happened, he comments. On December 21, 2017, the highest court declared the mine’s operating contract unconstitutional. He did so 20 years after the appeal was filed.

“As young people, we demand that the Court does its job again, but that it be much more agile,” he said.

The urgency that brings them together is the preservation of the Mesoamerican biological corridor (a connected system of protected areas, which extends from Mexico to Panama), which the mining project crosses.

And according to the activist, mining activity would cease to exist, waiting another 20 years before the Court rules.

Young people have seized public space to exert pressure and do not plan to abandon it until they have achieved their objective.

“This ends with the termination of the mining contract,” warns the young activist.

They did this by arguing that the government obstructed dialogue measures and that the conversations that took place in different regions of the country to stop the development of mining activity led to nothing.

According to him, there is enormous national discontent: the population does not want to back down.

“Get off the grid” was born from the discontent of generations of Panamanians who do not approve of the development of mining activity in the country. He encourages young people to abandon social media and take to the streets to show the world that there is a new generation of Panamanians ready to defend the country’s biodiversity.

The youth group is part of the “Panama Without Mining” movement, which has existed for years and carries out environmental activism teaching, content dissemination and community organizing against mining.

Aybar assured that it is an independent movement that does not come from any party and that it is the product of the organizational power of the youth. However, he assured that there have never been so many young people in the history of humanity as today.

“Those of us who are protesting today and calling on others are the same ones who are not going to re-elect the deputies or the same candidates as always. If actions are not taken and people, who are mostly young people, are not listened to, we are not going to vote for them in the 2024 elections,” warned the activist, in a slogan that seems real and latent.

The young people were joined by adults who lived through the era of the Panamanian military dictatorship and who, according to the activist, praise the strength of the movement that was formed.

The protests, however, led to clashes between crowd control units and demonstrators. Street and avenue closures, carried out mainly by construction unions, have prevented thousands of Panamanians from finishing their workday.

And they cause nearly $90 million in losses to the economy every day, according to estimates by professional associations.

They have led to acts of vandalism on public and private property.

President Laurentino Cortizo called for common sense, respect for laws and institutions, private property and free movement.

He assured that he would not tolerate anarchy. Cortizo also recalled that mining activity would generate 8 thousand direct jobs and 4 thousand indirect jobs.

For the young activist, the president’s words are nothing more than a slogan aimed at undermining the fight against mining.

To your knowledge, this contract does not protect workers. This also does not represent a significant number of jobs to revive the economy. “Panama needs 100,000 jobs,” he explained.

Regarding workers who would be unemployed if the contract was repealed or declared unconstitutional, Aybar stressed that the government must give them answers.

“We, as citizens, as young people, are not the ones who should answer to the workers. Citizens must receive the proposals and determine whether they accept them or not. Just as we decided not to accept the mining contract,” he concluded.

Thousands demonstrate for the eighth day

mining conflict

Yesterday, since 2 p.m., the National Central of Workers (CNTP), the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity and the teachers’ unions were on Via España – near the church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen – to protest in a manner peaceful against the new commercial relationship between the government and the Canadian company.

While a large peaceful gathering took place from 3 p.m. in front of the “PANAMÁ” sign on Cinta Costera. This call was carried by “Get out of the networks”, a group which brings together different sectors of organized civil society.