This webinar will take place on Zoom with simultaneous Spanish-English interpretation. Register here.
DATE: Wednesday, May 7th
TIME: 11 AM PST / 2 PM EST
A year and a half after First Quantum Minerals’ Cobre Panama’s closure order and the historic nationwide protests against the mine, Panamanians are facing a new threat: the Panamanian government and First Quantum Minerals have signalled they will soon start negotiations to potentially reopen the mine. How are Panamanian communities and organizations responding?
Former President Laurentino Cortizo ordered the mine’s closure in 2023 following a Supreme Court ruling which found First Quantum Minerals’ concession contract unconstitutional – for the second time. First Quantum, a Canadian mining company, responded almost immediately by filing a 20-billion-dollar international arbitration lawsuit against the Panamanian government. The lawsuit has hovered over Panamanians ever since, until recently when First Quantum announced it was putting the lawsuit on hold in an effort to negotiate with the Panamanian government. But the implications of this suspension are not clear. Join us to hear directly from Panamanian community representatives and civil society organizations about how the mine’s reopening would contravene the Supreme Court ruling, why they are fighting for a safe and definitive closure of the mine, how they are resisting an unjust international arbitration system, and what you can do about it!
Panelists:
- Joana Abrego, Legal Manager at the Centre for Environmental Advocacy (CIAM), and Coordinator of the Technical Working Group for Mine Closures in Panama for the Panamanian Committee of The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and member of Panama is Worth More Without Mining (Panamá Vale Más Sin Minería)
- Carlos Cruz, Professor and member of “The Warriors of the Sea” (Los guerreros del mar)
- Olmedo Carrasquilla, Ecological Voices Collective (Colectivo Voces Ecológicas), the National Network in Defense of Water – Panamá (la Red Nacional en Defensa del Agua-Panamá), Radio Temblor, and member of Panamá Vale Más Sin Minería
- Damaris Sanchez Samudio, Foundation for Integral Community Development and Ecosystem Conservation in Panama (Fundación para el Desarrollo Integral, Comunitario y Conservación de Ecosistemas en Panamá - FUNDICCEP), the Red Nacional en Defensa del Agua-Panamá, and member of Panamá Vale Más Sin Minería
Participating organizations:
- Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM) / Center for Environmental Advocacy
CIAM is a civil society organization founded in 2007 to support public interest legal actions for environmental justice. Since its founding, the team has led a series of high-profile legal battles, including the 2009 constitutional challenge against First Quantum’s mine contract. The Supreme Court first declared the contract unconstitutional in 2017, forcing the company to negotiate a new one. CIAM is part of the “Technical Working Group for Mine Closures in Panama” of the Panamanian Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), created in November 2023. - Los guerreros del mar / Warriors of the Sea
Dubbed the “warriors of the sea”, these fishermen joined nationwide protests that brought Panama to a standstill in 2023. They took direct action, blocking entry to First Quantum’s port with their boats, thus forcing the Canadian mining company to respect the Supreme Court ruling and suspend its operations in Panama. - Fundación para el Desarrollo Integral, Comunitario y Conservación de Ecosistemas en Panamá (FUNDICCEP) / Foundation for Integral Community Development and the Conservation of Ecosystems in Panama
Founded in 1996, FUNDICCEP works on many high-profile environmental issues at the community and national level, addressing policy and legal issues stemming from megaprojects in Panama, especially in the province of Chiriquí. - Colectivo voces ecológicas / Ecological Voices Collective
Using a political ecology framework, Colectivo Voces Ecológicas promotes the defense of socio-environmental rights and sustainable development of communities through popular education and alternative media. They run the media outlet, Radio Temblor. This alternative platform provides vital information related to socio-environmental issues to rural and ecological communities. They provide a space to interview campesino and Indigenous activists in the environmental movement in Panama. - Panamá vale mas sin minería / Panama is Worth More Without Mining (PVMSM)
A coalition of 40 organizations and communities working in the defense of natural resources in Panama and against metal mining. CIAM, FUNDICCEP, and Colectivo Voces Ecológicas form part of PVMSM.
ORGANIZERS: Earthworks and MiningWatch Canada
ENDORSED BY: Panama is Worth More Without Mining (PVMSM), Americas Policy Group (APG) and Common Frontiers.
Photo credit (flyer photo): Jesús Anaya