In Panama too, people are taking to the streets because of skyrocketing prices

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Dissatisfaction with the soaring prices of energy and food is spreading to more and more countries. For days now, people in Panama have also been protesting because they can no longer afford to live.

About two weeks ago, people in Panama began protesting over the rising cost of public transportation, which is trying to compensate for rising fuel costs with fare increases.

But in the meantime, the protests are spreading because the cost of living is skyrocketing too high. Meanwhile, protesters repeatedly block the country’s ports and main traffic routes.

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The country’s construction workers announced they would call a 24-hour strike on Wednesday. Panama Canal unions declared solidarity but were not allowed by law to strike themselves.

Students and impoverished indigenous people from the country’s west also joined the protests. A wide range of people expressed their discontent.

🇵🇦 #Panama goes out to protest high fuel prices and corruption from the province of Veraguas, the Inter-American highway is closed. pic.twitter.com/noynoKXkKf

— PN News (@PN_News_EN) July 6, 2022

President Laurentino Cortizo declared last Monday that he would set the price of gasoline at $3.95 per gallon for all consumers after initially (since May) applying it only to public transportation.

But protest leaders want another 25 percent cut. According to the Panamanian leader’s announcement, capped prices will soon be set for other essential products such as pasta, beef, cooking oil, and canned sardines.

Hundreds protest in Panama against rising fuel prices and corruption : Demonstrations against fuel price hikes and corruption have been going on for more than two weeks in Panama, in one of the largest waves of protests in the country in the last three decades. pic.twitter.com/uTyZwgwTkw

— 🌐World News 24 🌍🌎🌏 (@DailyWorld24) July 14, 2022

However, such price ceilings could mainly lead to a shortage of the corresponding goods on the shelves. This should be known from history. And even more: empty shelves cause greater resentment than high prices.

On Tuesday, the government announced that public institutions would start cutting salaries by 10 percent and also reduce other expenses. However, given that the population (and, by extension, public employees) are facing sharply rising prices, this move will mainly lead to more resentment among public employees and corruption.