The Panama Canal: A World Wealth, but Locally Precarious

Panama not only connects oceans but also dignities. To conclude, it is important to highlight the idea of Omar Torrijos Herrera regarding the use of the Canal's economic revenues, whose foundations were social justice and national progress. It is a system that perpetuates precariousness and makes inequality normal: some amass businesses, while others barely subsist with loose change. It is impossible for Panama to continue disconnecting its population from the prosperity it produces. Private ports, for example, those of Balboa and Colón, manage more than 7 million containers annually, which allows this country to position itself as a leader in maritime connectivity at the regional level. The figures are a reason for national pride: Panama is a key point for world trade. The first step for the wealth of the ports and the Canal to become common well-being is to appreciate the importance of human effort. The Canal and the ports will continue to be engines of the world, but the question is whether we want our employees to continue moving only their survival. "The Panama Canal: a wealth at a world level, but locally precarious." This title should not be a slogan, but an urgent call for social justice. The Panamanian people are the legitimate owners of the Panama Canal. By Luis Carlos Samudio G. Lawyer, teacher and mediator. "We are left with the tips while others are left with the business." The phrase reflects a paradox that runs through Panamanian reality: a country that moves world trade thanks to the interoceanic Canal and its ports, but that does not guarantee prosperity to those who sustain that machinery with their daily work. The State received more than 2,500 million dollars from the Panama Canal in 2024. The goal of this approach was to transform the canal's revenues into a tool for national dignity and social cohesion. Together let's work in favor of peace and peaceful coexistence! Country development: It was expected that the sovereignty of the Canal would result in a balanced and autonomous economic progress for the entire nation. It focused on investing in health, education, housing and reducing poverty to favor the marginalized majorities, thus converting geographical wealth into collective prosperity. Likewise, the main points of Torrijist thought: Combating poverty: Torrijos stated that the benefits of the Canal should be the engine to improve the lives of the most vulnerable Panamanians. The disparity is clear: despite the fact that multinationals working in the area report million-dollar profits, local employees have to count coins to make ends meet. A model that transfers to the consumer the responsibility of obtaining a decent income is what characterizes the tip economy. Dignity in the workplace demands more than applause and speeches; it needs public policies that guarantee fair wages, stable contracts and access to social benefits. However, behind those figures hides an inequality that we cannot overlook. On the other hand, on December 17 (EFE), the Panama Canal reported a contribution to the treasury of 2,965 million dollars for the 2025 fiscal year, a historic amount that occurs in the midst of the uncertainty that has characterized international trade in recent months due to the trade war promoted by the US Government. Workers in related services, such as waiters, waitresses, dockworkers and truckers, subsist with minimum wages or depend on tips that barely serve them to meet their most basic needs. Instead of ensuring fair wages and stability in employment, reliance is placed on the "goodwill" of the consumer. The minimum wage is around 600 dollars a month, but the cost of living in the capital far exceeds it. "Long lights" (long-term perspective): It promoted investment in infrastructure and structures, instead of short-term solutions, for example, the creation of dams to generate energy (nationalization of resources). Social investment: The benefits of the waterway should finance education and optimize basic services, with the objective of eradicating the idea of the Canal as an external entity.