Leaders of the National Union of Construction Workers and Similar (SUNTRACS) held a meeting with the metropolitan archbishop, José Domingo Ulloa, and leaders of various religious groups to denounce official persecution and human rights violations in Panama.
In this regard, the general secretary of SUNTRACS, Saúl Méndez, accused the government of President José Raúl Mulino of committing a series of abuses against members of popular organizations opposing the privatization of the Social Security Fund (CSS) and U.S. interventionism in the country's internal affairs.
The situation is exacerbated by the package of reforms proposed by the Executive Branch, which seeks to transfer CSS funds to private banking, covertly increase the retirement age, and approve economic measures unilaterally, without the consensus of citizens. Méndez stated that the persecution against SUNTRACS and other social movements is carried out by the state’s repressive apparatus and self-proclaimed "independent" sectors.
In the meeting, the union members presented the religious leaders with an alternative proposal from social movements for detailed analysis. A large gathering of leaders and a mobilization is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18, as part of the preparations for the strike and opposition to the bill being discussed in the Assembly of deputies. Méndez emphasized the need to call for active resistance at the national level.
