First modification: 04/11/2023 – 03:20

This Friday, November 3, 2023, the National Assembly of Panama approved a mining moratorium law of indefinite duration which prohibits the granting of metal mining concessions in the future and orders the rejection of those in progress on all the national territory.

This project, sent by the Executive and ratified by President Laurentino Cortizo after its approval, was born in response to the citizen rejection of the renewal of the contract between the government and the Canadian company First Quantum Minerals (FQM), which operates the copper mine . the largest in Central America.

However, the new regulation does not comment on the situation of the Canadian company, since, on Thursday, November 2, the Assembly modified the project and repealed the article that referred to the controversial contract, which revived protests in the streets .

With this decision, It will be the Supreme Court of Justice of this country which will have to decide whether this contract is valid or unconstitutional, an action which, on the one hand, arouses distrust in various sectors and alerts lawyers, because it assumes that the company could sue the State if the contract is refused.

Once the standard was sanctioned, President Laurentino Cortizo declared that he was “awaiting” the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The massive protests in Panama have led to marches and blockades on main roads, led by the Single National Union of Workers in Construction and Similar Industries (Suntracs), which opposes this contract with the FQM for 20 years extendable for open-cast mining.

With the EFE and the AFP