Protests and strikes end in Panama while debates continue
While the protests in Panama have subsided, a single dialogue table has just begun. July 30th, the debate on medicines and education opened at the Cristo Sembrador Center in Penonomé Coclé.
La Prensa reports that the conversation is being mediated by the Catholic Church.
Among the points of consensus that are being analyzed are access to medicines, transparency in the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund, and the profit margin in the drug purchase and supply chain.
For their part, the teachers’ unions and authorities of the Ministry of Education (Meduca) have signed an agreement to end the strike (Monday, Aug 1st, 2022). Educators promised to return to the classroom starting Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022.
According to the consensus document, the last quarter of the Panamanian school year will run from Monday, October 10 to Friday, December 30 of this year. Initially, the school year was scheduled to end on December 16.