The forests are alive and they are sacred
2017 Junio Panamá
A document titled “Management Plan for the Community Forests of Cerro Flores, Cerro Congo and Llano Seblés” prepared by the Ngäbe residents of those...

A priest, a coop and a peasantry that regulates the elites
2017 Febrero Panamá
Which peasant cooperative in Central America is the strongest in trade? Which one is in charge of all stages of coffee processing—removing the pulp,...

Reflections from the Ngäbe-Buglé region: Food security or food sovereignty?
2014 Noviembre Panamá
Years ago, a strong and healthy Ngäbe man told me he was raised on a diet of frogs’ legs. That surprised me because we associate frog’s legs with fine...

A portrait of young Ngäbes who migrate out of the comarca
2013 Junio Panamá
The Ngäbes are the largest ethnic group in Panama, comprising 59.3% of the Panamanian indigenous population. In a lot of writings they speak of the...

Notes on the Ngabe culture
2012 Julio Panamá
In the last three years Panama’s Ngabe people have leapt onto the international stage due to unpleasant circumstances. People have tried to impose mining...

“Non-histories” of the Ngäbe and the Buglé
2012 Marzo Panamá
In his homage to the famed Howard Zinn, among so many other things author of A People’s History of the United States, Noam Chomsky speaks about “non-history”...

They’re Threatening Us with “Open Inferno” Mining
2011 Abril Panamá
In 1979, Daniel Núñez, bishop of Panama’s David diocese, wrote: “The children play outside with smiling faces, despite the worms and malnutrition. Their...

The Panama Canal, Or the Canal’s Panama?
2005 Marzo Panamá
Panama has an extraordinary wealth of natural resources. It ranks 19th in the world for the variety of flora and fauna that inhabit its territory: 225...

Does Torrijos Bring More of the Same?
2004 Junio Panamá
Juan Jované is a strong defender of grassroots unity built on horizontal relations and devoid of people seeking to hog the limelight. A passionate follower...

Martín Torrijos in the General’s Shadow
2004 Junio Panamá
Martín Torrijos was exultant the night of Sunday, May 2, when the president of Panama’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal phoned to inform him he had won the...

The Centennial Stewpot
2004 Enero Panamá
Last year, Panama celebrated the centennial of its November 3, 1903, separation from Colombia with a proliferation of activities. How can we evaluate...

More Than Just a Canal
2003 Agosto Panamá
Panama has always been “sold” as a tax haven, a place where you can get a good price for domestic appliances and, of course, the country with the canal....

Electoral Results: All in the Same Boat
1999 Junio Panamá
Divided government or shared government? Either phrase could be used to describe the results of the May 2 elections. All of the parties ended up in the...

On the Eve of Great Change
1999 Marzo Panamá
On December 31, 1999, the last day of the 20th Century, Panama will run head-on into a situation whose resolution will quite literally determine, both...

US Chemical Weapons in Panama: A Dangerous Legacy
1998 Septiembre Panamá
In early 1998, the United States went to the brink of war with Iraq over the latter country's refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions regarding...

Challenges Before 2000 A Dream for 2020
1998 Agosto Panamá
On December 31, 1999, according to the agreements signed by Panama and the United States in 1977, Panama will receive 34,000 hectares of land with 4,829...

Something New Is Happening
1998 Julio Panamá
Emerging from the shards of a fragmented history and a reality of inequities, Panama in recent years has been searching for and building paths to democracy...

Promises Gone Up in Smoke
1996 Mayo Panamá
With almost a year and a half of Ernesto Pérez Balladares' government gone, the electoral promises made by his Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) under...

US Military Bases: Five Theses
1996 Enero Panamá
As part of national debate, the theme of the ongoing US military presence on Panamanian territory holds a prominent place. Mixed into this issue are...

Gambling on a Dangerous Adventure
1995 Noviembre Panamá
Panama in the 1990s is going through a broad transition process. With options for political transition seemingly closed, labor, economic, demographic...

The Honeymoon's Over
1995 Agosto Panamá
After over six months of a "truce" with the government of President Ernesto Pérez Balladares, various sectors in Panama are now beginning to speak out...

Will the US Go in 2000?
1995 Mayo Panamá
When Ernesto Pérez Balladares was inaugurated as President of Panama in September 1994, Panamanians were full of hope that the new government would be...

Top Down Economic Plan Designed for Few
1995 Enero Panamá
With a banner headline befitting top level bureaucratic documents "Public Policies for Integral Development: Social Development with Economic Efficiency"...

The "Bull" is in the Ring, Full of Promises
1994 Octubre Panamá
"I invoke the protection of God to guide my presidential administration, to help me get to the heart of the nation's problems, so that every day my identification...

Oligarchy Displaced? Power to the People?
1994 Julio Panamá
"Neither the military nor militarism will return," declared Ernesto Pérez Balladares, President elect of Panama, at 11 pm on election day, May 8. By...

What Will the Winner Win?
1994 Mayo Panamá
As May 8, election day, draws near, the parties and coalitions in Panama's presidential race are pulling out all the campaign stops. In this last lap...

The Electoral Post is Boiling
1994 Febrero Panamá
How does an electoral campaign resemble a pot of boiling water with maracas, horns, a women's shoe, a tie, a cross, a star and a rooster? Maybe it resembles...

Another day older and Deeper in Debt
1993 Abril Panamá
Since 1980, payment on its public debt has become the Panamanian government's number one priority. The final version of the Ford Plan recently reaffirmed...

The State Dismantled
1992 Mayo Panamá
Two years after the US invasion of Panama called "Operation Just Cause," President Guillermo Endara's government has become a subjugated, weakened and...

The Monroe Doctrine and the End of Torrijismo
1990 Mayo Panamá
Your majesty, in your vision you saw standing before you a giant statue, bright and shining, and terrifying to look at. Its head was made of the...

The Last Word: Comments on the US invasion of Panama
1990 Febrero Panamá
“The presence of US troops in Panama represents the threat of an invasion to any nation in Latin America, but first and foremost to Nicaragua.” President...