Coclé province wakes up in the same spirit: an economic Christmas, without queues, with the people up before the rooster crows. In Llano Marín, Coclé, the Christmas markets of the Agropecuary Marketing Institute (IMA) kicked off at 3:24 a.m. on Tuesday, December 9. The movement was so fast that by 4:45 a.m. there were no more lines, confirmed director Nilo Murillo. From early morning, thousands approached to buy the festive combo, which this year remains at $15 and includes a picnic ham, rice (5 lbs), oil or pineapple, sugar, and gandú. Although buses arrived from neighboring areas, the IMA states that the supply is sufficient and distribution is under control. The Christmas markets remain active in 132 points across the country, having started a few days earlier in Chiriquí, Herrera, and Los Santos. 'It's not ideal, but it happens,' said the official, warning that the resource is not infinite. For example, in La Pintada, 3,300 hams were sent, almost 10% more than the total number of households in the district. In Penonomé alone, about 7,000 people had been served before the sun was fully up, and the flow remained fast: enter, buy, leave. Murillo insisted that the program is designed for households, not for repeated individual purchases. 'Here the boxes are per family, not per person... but we know that some come two or three to get them. The moon was still up when people were already lining up.'
