The Ministry of Government has signed the second prison food agreement so far this year. On September 26, the food for the prisons in Chiriquí was awarded to Moovi, S.A. for $31,994,077.50. This is the amount the State will pay to feed detainees, guards, and police within the Panamanian penitentiary system. Copali is made up of Compañía Alimentando Panamá, S.A., a society registered in the Public Registry in November 2012. The Colombian businessman Juan Carlos Almansa Latorre appears as the attorney in the documents. There was no competition. He was the only bidder who arrived at the public act. The amount is $209,690,750.50. The Ministry of Government has already decided who will provide food for the prisons in the province of Panama for the next six years. The contract was awarded to the Panamanian Food Consortium (Copali). That is the name that appears in the official documents. The food will reach La Joya, which is actually three prisons in one complex, in addition to the Female Rehabilitation Center, Tinajitas, and El Renacer. In total, an estimated population of 17,401 people. That company was registered in October 2016 and its president is María Auristela Delgado Diez. Meanwhile, Colón is still in the process. Full ration. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Two consortia are in the running: C&J Food Services Panamá, with a proposal of $29 million, and Consorcio Panameño de Alimentación Colón, which asked for $33.6 million. In Panama, prison food has become a big business, with long-term contracts, high amounts, and sometimes, with only one diner at the table. Of that number, 16,409 are deprived of liberty, 424 are guards, and 568 are police assigned to the penitentiaries. The price was set: $5.50 per person per day. All legal. And there is competition here.
