The Panama Solidarity Movement (MPS), made up of various social organizations, expressed its rejection of Bill 163, which proposes reforms to the Social Security Fund (CSS). At a press conference, economist Juan Jované, on behalf of the MPS, denounced that this governmental proposal goes against national interest and does not recognize social security as a fundamental human right.
Jované argued that the bill should start by establishing dignified pensions, protection against labor risks, and security against unemployment for contributing workers as rights. He pointed out that it is unjustifiable to eliminate the solidarity principle of the CSS by prohibiting it from making investments that increase its reserves and strengthen its fundamental pillars.
The economist warned of significant errors in the text emanating from the Consensus of the Health, Labor, and Social Development Commission of the National Assembly of Deputies, which affect the CSS. He emphasized that the text does not mention the intragenerational and intergenerational solidarity that should govern social security, distorting its true meaning.
Regarding the proposal, Jované recalled the words of Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who highlighted the importance of a public social insurance to achieve a convenient and equitable intergenerational redistribution. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC), in August 2024, more than 120,000 Panamanian workers were in informal labor conditions, highlighting the need to strengthen social security rather than weaken it.
The economist stated that Bill 163 favors the interests of national and foreign financial entities, seeking privatization and deregulation, which presents unacceptable risk and uncertainty for the population. He called for popular mobilization to reject these measures that could endanger the Panamanian social security system and condemn current and future generations to precariousness.
