The constant threats of street closures, picketing and other demonstrations by carriers and other civil society unions keep the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede) concerned, Elisa Suárez, president of said union, said this Monday. .
“We are concerned about the inaction of the authorities in addressing the fair demands of the community and organized civil society in the face of various problems and as a result of these lack of concrete actions, citizens opt for street closures, affecting the productive movement of the country and the right to free transit of all Panamanians”, Suárez specified at a press conference.
He added that these closures are pressure alternatives, “which from the Apede we have repeatedly rejected, because with them the battered economy continues to be hit; a ‘boomerang’ effect that causes millions in losses to companies, and that above all directly affects citizens, who cannot get to their jobs, schools, medical appointments or transport products that guarantee the livelihood of our producers”.
Apede demands that local and national authorities assume greater leadership and establish permanent dialogues with these communities, in order to guarantee the right of free transit enshrined in our Political Constitution in its Article 27.
“Let’s prevent radical ideological groups from using the legitimate needs of citizens to cause anarchy and chaos,” he stressed.
During his speech, Suárez also referred to Law 550 in which a new general regulatory framework is proposed for institutions that are run by boards of trustees, among other administrative figures, and in a respectful manner, said association made a call to President Laurentino Cortizo to veto the aforementioned law.
“Civic clubs are voluntary organizations with high prestige and trust in public opinion and have run the boards of public hospitals efficiently for more than 25 years,” he said.
Regarding the increase in fuel, he said that we cannot continue thinking about subsidies, “we must be more creative and look for formulas and we are willing to collaborate in any work table that allows us to find creative, prudent and achievable solutions to alleviate this situation” .
