Caribbean & Central America - June 2018 (ISSN 1741-4458)

Panama may have one of the strongest economies in Latin America, with 5.5% growth in 2017, expected to rise this year and through to 2019, but the country’s indigenous communities continue to be crippled by inequality and poverty. In March, the World Bank (WB) approved a US$80m loan to aid the implementation of the Comprehensive National Plan for Indigenous Peoples (PDIPIP), created on the recommendation of James Anaya, former United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples (2008-2014), following his July 2013 visit to the country.

The project focuses upon much-needed infrastructure and equipment in the short term, the pilot-testing of services in the medium term, and transforming the capacity of government and indigenous communities to work collaboratively in the long term. The plan will directly benefit 200,000 people, though Panama’s seven indigenous groups – Emberá, Wounaan, Naso/ Tjërdi, Guna, Bribrí, Buglé and Ngäbe – totalled 417,559 people in the 2010 census, making up 12.3% of the population.

The government led by President Juan Carlos Varela has been vocal regarding its commitment to recognising “the rights of native peoples as the backbone of Panamanian culture”, in the words of María Luisa Romero, former interior minister (2017-2018), who claims to be “leading the integration of Panama’s indigenous peoples in building a new Republic”. Recent policies have acknowledged the specific challenges faced by indigenous communities; the security ministry’s (MinSeg) launch of the National Strategy for Public Safety (ENSC) in April concentrates on marginalised indigenous groups and women. In July 2017, José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), signed four cooperation agreements with Varela, in efforts to tackle malnutrition which affects some 60% of indigenous peoples.

Yet many of Panama’s indigenous communities struggle to obtain territorial rights. The 1972 Constitution lawfully recognised indigenous, semi-autonomous territories known as ‘comarcas’, but only five were created. Panama is one of few Latin American countries that is yet to ratify International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 169 – considered the main international treaty on the human rights of indigenous peoples – despite repeated promises to do so. Meanwhile, a law passed in 2008,(Ley 72) represents an alternative means to obtain the titling of collective lands beyond comarca boundaries, but few grants have been issued. March saw the Wounaan indigenous people protest outside the environment ministry (MiAmbiente), appealing to environment minister Emilio Sempris for collective ownership, after two years of delays.

Life within comarcas is by no means free of challenges, and while semi-autonomous, comarcas are still threatened by external activities, without consultation or consent; the controversial Barro Blanco hydroelectric project, which promised to bring benefits to local communities, flooded the Ngäbe-Buglé territory, the largest, most populous comarca, located in the west of the country. Comarcas suffer shocking poverty rates of over 70%, with extreme poverty affecting over 40%. Access to healthcare is limited, reflected in high infant mortality rates. Education is a continued problem, with scarce resources and teachers. Informal labour is common, working conditions poor and most labour laws unenforced.

Varela’s policy-building since his term began in 2014 may have bold ambitions and international backing, but it is yet to make significant improvements to the difficult and daily reality faced by Panama’s indigenous communities.