Panama: In the face of Donald Trump’s attacks, the broadest possible unity

     Since Donald Trump was declared the winner of the US presidential election, he has intensified a campaign of lies against the Panama Canal administration. Not only does he seek to misinform, but he has even openly hinted that he does not rule out the use of force if Panama does not follow his orders.

     Their offensive is based on manipulating the US population with falsehoods such as:

• That the United States ‘gave’ the Canal to Panama (initially, Trump claimed that former President Carter sold it for one dollar).
• That the Panama Canal is under Chinese control.
• That Panama imposes unfair tariffs on US ships.
• That 30,000 US citizens died in the construction of the Canal.
• That the United States will ‘take back’ the Panama Canal.

These arguments are neither casual nor innocent. They are part of a strategy to fuel imperialist nationalism and justify further interference in Panama. Trump and his followers are resorting to the same old expansionist doctrine: the Monroe Doctrine, which in the 19th century was used to expel European influence from Latin America with the slogan ‘America for the Americans’.
Today, history is repeating itself: they seek to bring Panama under Washington’s power and blackmail the Mulino government into giving in to their demands.

The response of the government of José Raúl Mulino
With nationalist rhetoric, Mulino has declared that the Panama Canal is Panamanian. However, his actions contradict his words. Instead of a staunch defence of sovereignty, he has hired Republican Party figures – akin to Trump – to lobby in Washington, supposedly to ‘inform’ President Trump about the reality of the Canal and demonstrate that it operates without Chinese interference.
But behind this ‘lobbying’, what is clear is that Mulino does not intend to confront Trump, but to please the United States. He has made it clear that his government prioritises relations with Washington over any other nation, including China, evidencing his alignment with the interests of the US power.
Meanwhile, Panamanian businessmen are awaiting the arrival of Marco Rubio to ‘clarify’ that the Canal is administered by Panamanians, in an attempt to preserve ‘good relations’ with the US. These same relations have historically meant submission of the Panamanian bourgeoisie to the dictates of Washington.
On the other hand, the Assembly of Deputies continues to discuss the handing over to the banks and other businesses, and the funds of the Social Security Fund. These funds belong to the Panamanian workers.

The response of the Panamanian people and the working class
But history is not written by corporate governments. Sovereignty is defended by the people. The youth, women, native peoples, peasants, and the working class as a whole, reject Trump’s threats, and denounce his imperialist and racist policies, which are not only aimed against Panama, but against the whole world. It is not only about the Canal: it is about the dignity of the people and their right to decide their own destiny.
Trump has shown himself to be an enemy of the peoples with his policy of:

• Dispossession of the Palestinian people by extermination through the Zionist state of Israel.
• Attacks, persecution and imprisonment of migrants at the Guantanamo base.
• Violation of the rights of women and dissidents.
• Economic and diplomatic aggressions against Mexico, Greenland and Canada.
• Destruction of the environment.
• Cuts and elimination of social programmes that affect the most vulnerable, among others.

Panama cannot give in to these threats. Sovereignty is not negotiable. It is defended with unity, conscience and struggle. It is time to close ranks against any attempt at foreign domination, wherever it may come from.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to point out that part of the population has been influenced by the idea of not defending Panamanian sovereignty over the Canal and the territory, arguing that ‘the Canal gives them nothing’ and that ‘the rich take it all’. Now, faced with the consequences of this submission, some sectors remain indifferent.
This position is rooted in two facts:

1. The businessmen are the great beneficiaries of the Canal, accumulating wealth while the people continue to live in precariousness.
2. The income that should improve the lives of the majority is not reflected in the welfare of the people, remaining concentrated in a few hands while the population continues to lack access to decent basic services.

Added to this is the deliberate strategy of the United States, through its embassy, and carried out with the approval of Lucinda Molinar, since the government of Ricardo Martinelli and in the current one, as Minister of Education, to erase the historical memory of the Panamanian people’s struggle, especially after the patriotic deed of 9 January 1964. They have tried to weaken the sense of sovereignty and national dignity, promoting dependence and resignation.

     In the face of this, it is urgent to take concrete measures to strengthen sovereignty and the welfare of the people:

• Immediate recovery and nationalisation of the ports of Cristóbal and Balboa, as well as the electricity, telephone and other state companies. Keep the airports under state administration and not give them away in concession, as Mulino is negotiating behind the backs of the people, to French companies. Ensuring with these measures that national resources benefit the working people and not foreign interests.
• A public works plan that guarantees drinking water for the entire Panamanian population, putting an end to the privilege of a few over a fundamental right.
• Massive repair and construction of public roads, to dignify the conditions of mobility and development throughout the country.
• Guarantee food sovereignty, promoting national production and reducing dependence on imports that only enrich the transnationals.
• Urgent economic injection to the Social Security Fund, strengthening a solidarity system that protects the working class and the most vulnerable sectors.

Sovereignty is not negotiable, it is defended with the organisation, consciousness and struggle of the working class and the people.
The Martyrs spoke clearly: A Canal at the service of the workers, not of the businessmen, the shipping companies or American interests!
Marco Rubio Non grato!
Trump gets his hands off of Panama!
One territory, one flag! Long live the Martyrs of January 1964!