Amid ongoing protests against inflation and corruption, Panama’s president on Monday announced a cut in gasoline prices and price freezes on several other key products.
“I understand the dissatisfaction of different sectors with the situation we are experiencing, caused by the impact of the pandemic and the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine,” Laurentino Cortizo said in a statement.
The price of gasoline for personal vehicles will be cut to $3.95 a gallon starting July 15, he said, down 24 percent from the price at the end of June.
Public transport has been benefiting from the lower price since May.
Hundreds in Panama protested Monday for the second week of demonstrations against hikes in fuel prices, which have risen 47 percent since January.
Cortizo also announced that his government would draft a decree to freeze the prices of a dozen essential commodities.
However, several unions say protests will continue until prices are cut across the board and gas prices drop below $3 a gallon.
In the western provinces of Veraguas and Chiriqui, near the border with Costa Rica, protesters blocked the Inter-American Highway that connects the country to the rest of Central America.
In Panama City, a group of students clashed with police around the University of Panama, where a group of people temporarily impounded a squad car and smashed its windows.
Inflation “means fewer and fewer people can live with dignity,” said Saul Mendez, general secretary of the country’s largest construction union.
According to Mendez, in order for citizens to regain their purchasing power, the prices of medicines, food, electricity and petrol must be reduced or frozen in addition to a general wage increase.
The Panamanian government set up a roundtable Monday in the city of Santiago de Veraguas, one of the hotspots of the protest, but no agreement was reached.
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