Recently our country has been having some issues. We are fine and most people in the country are fine. The problem is there are a few groups that have demands for the government, so they are blocking the roads. The PanAmerican Hwy has been blocked for a few weeks - it started out with just a few locations, then went to many locations. Currently, only a few holdouts are left.
You see, the president and leaders of many groups signed a deal the other day for gas prices to be frozen at $3.25. This deal was also set to end the protests, but some groups did not agree. That means many of our towns are here with no gasoline, diesel, basic food supplies, propane, etc.
The deal is, they've already signed a few times. The other day it was signed at $3.40 and then at $3.30. The groups all sign and then "change their minds" and continue protesting. How does one sign a contract and then claim it is invalid the next day?
They are protesting the corruption in the government - getting lower gas prices by reducing the public budget is what they want, not higher taxes on them. Panama has the canal and should have a lot of money for its people, but the corruption runs deep.
They claim they don't want to hurt the Panamanians, but they want the government to listen. Instead, they are causing many Panamanians to not be able to get to work, doctors appointments, home, etc.
Another issue is a typical Panamanian makes around $20 a day, so when they start losing out on work, things get bad. I saw online that the average price for a liter of gas in the world right now is $1.44. That's where we were a few weeks ago, but with the deal the president made, it now sits at $.86 a liter for Panama. Pretty good deal - that includes regular, premium, and diesel fuel for all vehicles with no registration.
Another thing I noticed yesterday was that the White House announced that Biden was taking measures to lower gas for families - pricing is seen as low as $3.99 for many states. It seems so weird to me that these have come at the same time. What other countries are lowering gas prices for their residents?
I have heard that there are other countries protesting because of inflation - Sri Lanka, Albania, Argentina, Kenya, Ghana, and more.
Panama is still set to receive subsidies for various foods and medications - those prices are yet to be hammered out at the negotiation tables, and thus the protests and road closures continue.
Is this all coordinated somehow - to take out the economies of these countries? To cripple the dollar? To bring in famine? To usher in the next world war? The more I hear about what is going on in other countries and compare it to Panama, the more I start to think about all of that...