Businessmen in Panama warned that they will not accept any agreement generated from the dialogue carried out by unions and social groups with the government to put an end to the protests that continued on Wednesday to a lesser extent than in previous days in the Central American country.
As a result of this dialogue, in which the Catholic Church acts as a facilitator, an agreement was reached to lower and regulate the prices of 72 foods in the basic food basket.
“We have not been able to participate by making our observations… what has been agreed puts the activity of the productive sector in danger. We start from the basis that the concept of price regulation should not prevail since it has demonstrated its failure in the countries where it has been implemented”, said Rubén Castillo, president of the National Council of Private Enterprise. “An exclusive table cannot be endorsed,” he pointed out.
Yesterday, the members of the dialogue advanced to examine the reduction in the cost of medicines, after they reached agreements on the issue of fuel.
agreed points
The parties agreed, among other things, to include all types of machinery in the benefits of the subsidy, although the cap of 3.25 dollars per gallon of gasoline at the national level was maintained, a three-month subsidy that the government agreed to implement starting last week. pass. The unions proposed a reduction of 0.25 cents, but it was not reconciled.
Among those pending are measures to confront corruption, social security and compliance with a law that establishes that more resources be dedicated to education.
