LatinNews Daily - 01 December 2023

* Panama’s minister for trade & industry (MICI), Federico Alfaro, has announced his resignation, days after the country’s supreme court (CSJ) struck down a new law (406) approving a new contract between Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals (FQM)’s Panamanian subsidiary, Minera Panamá S.A. (MPSA) and the government led by President Laurentino Cortizo regarding the country’s biggest mine. Alfaro, who had been in the post since June 2022, is the first high level official to step down over the mine dispute. In a resignation letter addressed to President Cortizo and shared on social media, he alluded to the contract and supreme court ruling which he said could have “serious consequences for the country” such as job losses, economic instability, international claims from investors, and a negative response from credit rating agencies. President Cortizo has named national energy secretary Jorge Rivera as Alfaro’s replacement.