Protests taking place in Panama are of central importance to the political situation not only in Panama but also in countries across Central and North America. Under the right-wing president José Raúl Mulino, the government has launched an offensive that includes renewed attacks on the living conditions of Panamanian workers. This coincides with Donald Trump’s policy aimed at undermining Panama’s sovereignty by attempting to seize control of the Panama Canal and establish new military bases in the country — essentially transforming Panama into a new U.S. enclave.

For Panamanian workers, the demands for improved living conditions and their defense against the national government’s attacks, which align with the White House, are part of a simultaneous struggle against imperialism. This connection is key to understanding the current situation in Panama.

Three Weeks of National Mobilizations and Strikes

The mobilizations and strikes have reached a national scale. They began April 23, when teachers’ unions across the country, many affiliated with the United People’s Alliance for Life, called for a national strike. The National Union of Construction and Related Workers (SUNTRACS) joined the strike on April 28, paralyzing a significant portion of construction projects nationwide. They were later joined by banana workers in the Bocas del Toro region of the northern Caribbean; these workers had been on an indefinite strike in the industry for over 12 days.

Various unions have also joined, including those of doctors, dentists, and other professionals from the Social Security Fund, as well as school supervisors and representatives from the influential National Association of Nurses of Panama. Students, workers, and professors at the University of Panama also joined the protest movement from its inception, holding daily demonstrations. From the main campus, they express their opposition while facing repression from crowd-control units of the Panamanian Public Forces, the repressive arm of the police.

The central demand of the rallies, strikes, walkouts, roadblocks, and street closures is the rejection of the Law Reforming the Social Security Fund (CSS), the state institution that oversees health care and pensions. This law aims to maintain miserable pensions, raise the retirement age, increase worker contributions, and create individual accounts separate from the collective fund. Most importantly, it paves the way for the privatization of the entire pension system. Consequently, the anger of the Panamanian working class has spread, encompassing an increasing number of sectors that support this struggle.

On Friday, May 9, members of the National Association of Nurses of Panama (ANEP) took to the streets shouting “No to Law 462!” during the Great White Walk, a march that crossed the Calidonia sector and reached Plaza 5 de Mayo, moving toward the president’s office. This action was part of several ongoing protests that could lead to a general strike beginning on May 19. Student groups from various schools also participated in the Great White Walk, carrying banners that read “We’re trading our notebooks for banners because my future does matter.”

These struggles have overlapped with another major demand of the Panamanian people: their fight for national sovereignty. This is why anti-imperialist banners are prominent at the protests, calling for the immediate dissolution of the Memorandum of Understanding between President Mulino and the Trump administration, rejecting the establishment of U.S. military bases, and, above all, defending the canal. “One flag, one territory,” the protesters chant.

Furthermore, social movements and the Panamanian people have protested new attempts to reopen mining operations. Just a year ago, large-scale demonstrations rolled back Mulino’s mining policies. This time, they are also fighting the reopening of the Donoso mine and the construction of a reservoir to supply water to the Panama Canal on the Indio River, in line with the demands of local Indigenous and rural communities.

The protests and strikes in Bocas del Toro, led by the Banana Workers Union and other unions, have gained significant momentum. According to some reporters, “It’s no longer just about the union and teachers’ organizations; the entire families of these workers are at these points,” referring to the roadblocks in this region. “The blockades, initially driven by teachers and union organizations, have spread with public support, generating complete paralysis in the province,” regional media outlets report.

The National Government’s Response: Repression and Refusal

The Mulino government has responded with repression across the country and has violated the autonomy of the University of Panama by deploying military personnel to arrest students and workers who have come out to protest. During the protests on May 7, clashes erupted between protesters and police units in various locations, including Santiago, La Chorrera, and the areas surrounding the university. There, 17 professors were arrested and taken to local police stations.

The National Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples recently denounced the arrests of protest leaders, the brutal use of excessive force, and human rights violations, particularly concerning the right of communities in the Ngäbe-Buglé region to protest. Clashes also erupted between protesters and units of the National Police and the National Border Service in Chiriquí, in western Panama, near the border with Costa Rica.

“We support the national outcry calling for the repeal of Social Security Law 462, the non-reopening of the mine, and the resolute rejection of the memorandum with the United States, which seriously harms national sovereignty and brings back past eras of foreign military presence in Panama,” declared representatives of the Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples, while denouncing reported acts of violence against Indigenous peoples in Tolé, Ojo de Agua, San Félix, and other communities.

We are witnessing a significant process of struggle in Panama. The current national strike by large sectors of workers is part of a broader pattern of strikes that have occurred in Panama in recent years, including protests in 2022 against the cost of living and a teachers’ strike against mining in 2023, among other major struggles. This dynamic can inspire other workers and oppressed peoples in the region.

The Trump Effect on Central America and Support for the Struggle of Panama’s Working Class

Trump’s aggressive policies toward Central America are beginning to elicit responses from the peoples of the region, as evidenced by the protests in Panama. Anti-imperialist banners are taking center stage in the struggle for sovereignty, making this process notably progressive. Trump’s aggressions manifested in an “agreement” between Mulino and Marco Rubio, authorizing U.S. military deployments in Panama and allowing control over the Panama Canal. According to Trump, U.S. presence in the country aims to combat China. But in reality, it only reinforces imperialist domination over Panama, Central America, and the Caribbean as a whole.

In light of this situation, the weak Panamanian bourgeoisie has shown no hesitation in adopting Trump’s position and allowing U.S. soldiers to enter Panamanian territory. Their presence is already being felt at former military bases and in ongoing military exercises with Panamanian troops. The working class, through this new process of struggle, is offering a radically different perspective, raising anti-imperialist banners.

A world in a “multicrisis” allows the working class across all countries to better understand the role it must play: to lead struggles alongside other oppressed sectors. The working class must step forward to defend its living conditions while also standing up for sovereignty against imperialism, to which servile bourgeoisies like Panama’s, led by the Mulino government, are complicit.

To confront Trump’s aggressive policies, it is essential to mobilize the broadest coalition of workers, popular sectors, peasants, and Indigenous peoples in our countries, alongside the American working class. Therefore, the U.S. working class must oppose Trump’s Panama policy by fighting its own imperialist bourgeoisie, as it has already demonstrated through significant mobilizations in many cities.

We call on unions in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to organize internationalist worker solidarity events with the workers of Panama. Defeating the policies of the pro-imperialist President Mulino is crucial to strengthening the struggle and pushing for more. Additionally, if Trump’s policies in Panama are defeated, it would challenge the broader imperialist agenda against our peoples and encourage mobilization among all the working classes and oppressed peoples in the region.

Originally Published in Spanish in La Izquierda Diario on May 9.