This is the scenario in which many Panamanians find themselves, following the abrupt unilateral approval by the national government, through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI), of a resolution allowing Minera Panamá (First Quantum) to process, export, and commercialize the rock material exposed at the Cobre Panamá mine in Donoso. This decision was made in the absence of a valid contract with the company and without the completion of the required environmental and forensic audits, which are a basic input for a serious and objective evaluation. The current government had committed to considering these factors to avoid the missteps, hasty actions, and improvisations that have historically characterized our country in matters of concessions and contracts, with the already known disastrous results. Democracies are founded and sustained on respect for the law and on the delicate balance that must exist between the exercise of power and the citizens' right to know how public resources are administered. Similarly, the Panamanian government's Ministry of Education has diligently modified the chemistry curriculum, incorporating mining in Panama as a central study topic within "Advanced Metallurgy and New Metallic Materials" for twelfth-grade students. This decision reopens the debate in classrooms about an activity that has polarized the country. On repeated occasions, President Mulino has stated that his government will always act with transparency, responsibility, and a sense of patriotism, ensuring that every decision is based on the law and technical evidence. Severo Sousa, president of the Panamanian Mining Chamber, indicated that the authorization to process the exposed material represents an important step and assured that it will generate a positive economic impact due to the investment it represents. Consequently, it is no coincidence that the mining company in question sponsors baseball teams, advertises on television, and is present at country fairs promoting mining as a panacea for national problems. Similarly, he has highlighted the importance of accountability and citizen oversight as fundamental pillars to ensure that mining operations respect the rights of the State and the population in general. However, paradoxically, he warned that no new mining concessions have been granted nor have any prohibited extraction operations been reactivated. These statements are openly in contrast with the text of Law 407, approved on November 3, 2023, which establishes an indefinite moratorium on metallic mining in Panama, prohibiting the extraction, transportation, and beneficiation of metallic minerals throughout the national territory. As expected, First Quantum Minerals Ltd., through its CEO Tristan Pascall, expressed to the media his satisfaction with the recent government decision and showed his willingness to resume operations at the Cobre Panamá mine. This balance requires a clear premise: the general interest is not accessory; it is central and irreplaceable. In this context, it is unacceptable that the current government has decided to ignore the will of the people on the streets, as well as the ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), which, at the time, declared the State's contract with Minera Panamá unconstitutional. With a single stroke of the pen, it has granted the green light for this same company to, in practice, resume processing, export, and commercialization operations under the same and predatory parameters of a contract declared illegal by the CSJ. With what moral authority does the national government dare to argue, before the eyes of the world, that it respects and is based on the decisions of the CSJ when it decided—with good judgment, as it did—the exit of Panamá Ports from the ports of Balboa and Cristóbal, and, in contrast, does the opposite regarding Minera Panamá, under the pretext that if we don't open the mine at all costs, Panamanians will die of hunger? Regarding the validity of Law 407 of 2023, which prohibits the granting of new mining concessions, Minister Moltó reaffirmed that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry fully recognizes this regulation. The author is a writer and painter.
