The trigger for the unionists’ reaction was a guarantee judge’s decision to impose precautionary measures on Genaro Lopez—a historic leader of the construction workers’ union—and Marco Andrade, Secretary General of the National Confederation of Independent Trade Union Unity (CONUSI), over accusations of the irregular handling of those groups’ funds.

Speaking to the press, Yamir Cordoba, Secretary General of the Single National Union of Construction and Allied Workers (Suntracs), rejected the accusations and maintained that the legal proceedings constitute political persecution of labor leaders by the current government.

Cordoba stated that funds could only be disbursed after passing the oversight controls of the Panamanian Institute of Labor Studies, the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development, and the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic; he therefore questioned the current allegations of irregularities.

The leader believes these legal actions are a response to a complaint recently filed by the unions with the International Labour Organization (ILO), in which—as he noted—violations of trade union freedom and labor rights in the country were exposed.

He also recalled that the ILO’s Committee on the Application of Standards included Panama among the 23 governments required to answer for complaints regarding alleged labor rights violations.

Suntracs lawyer Antonio Vargas denounced the Public Prosecutor’s Office for pursuing rigged proceedings intended to weaken the union, particularly at a time when the debate over the copper mine in Donoso (Colon province) has reopened—a project that labor organizations, alongside the grassroots movement and environmentalists, continue to firmly oppose.

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