Panama's Ngöbe-Buglé indigenous groups are protesting against open pit mining. Large groups blocked the Pan-American highway to protest mining laws that don’t forbid exploiting mineral reserves in indigenous areas. The Cerro Colorado mine, on Ngöbe-Buglé territory, is thought to contain one of the world's largest copper reserves.
The thousands of people who blocked the highway at San Felix about 400 km west of Panama City had walked several days from their villages in the Ngöbe-Buglé region. They are demonstrating against reforms planned to mining laws that hope to entice foreign investors. The group was joined by international environmental groups.
The leader of the Ngöbe-Buglé people Rogelio Moreno said that it was a peaceful demonstration against the reform of the mining law. The new law was approved by President Ricardo Martinelli this month. It will change the rules that have been in place since 1963, and those in favour of it have said that it will increase the royalties paid by mining companies and will also raise environmental standards.
However the broad coalition of people who are against it see it more as a plan of the government to seel out the nation’s mineral resources to the highest bidder amongst the multinationals. Students also stopped traffic on a major thoroughfare in the capital city to add to the protestors.