Panama's Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a 20-year concession for a Canadian copper mine, today. The nine judges ruled unanimously, reports Prensa.
The decision comes after weeks of citizen protests against the deal. Environmentalists say the extension of the open-pit mine’s deal would damage a forested coastal area and threaten water supplies.
Court challenges have filed up since the Oct. 20 deal, which opponents regard as too generous, reports Reuters.
The mine has “led to some of Panama's most widespread protests in recent years, including a blockade of the mine's power plant,” reports the Associated Press. “Protesters also blocked parts of the Pan American highway, including a stretch near the border with Costa Rica.”
The decision ratchets “up uncertainty over the future of one of the world’s biggest copper operations,” reports Bloomberg.
The ruling’s impact in Panama could be significant: the mine contributes about 5% of Panama's GDP. “J.P. Morgan warned this month that the odds of Panama losing its investment-grade rating would rise significantly if the contract is revoked,” reports Reuters.
Peru’s attorney general files complaint against Boluarte
Peru's attorney general filed a constitutional complaint against President Dina Boluarte for the deaths of a number of demonstrators during anti-government protests last year. (BBC) Attorney General Patricia Benavides’s move follows an 11-month investigation.
Boluarte rejected a formal complaint against her filed by the attorney general, deriding it as "despicable" in brief public remarks, reports Reuters. She also referred to corruption accusations leveled against Benavides.
Yesterday, one of Boluarte’s allies in Congress, Ruth Luque, filed a Constitutional complaint against Benavides after a special anti-corruption team started an investigation against her closest entourage for allegedly being the leader of a corrupt criminal network, reports Pirate Wire Services.
Benavides rejected the investigations against her, which she said seek to "destabilize the independence of powers" in Peru.
Boluarte’s approval rating was 8% in the poll published by La Republica newspaper on Sunday. (Bloomberg)
Chile
Chile’s Congress has passed a rule in the 2024 Budget that “prevents the National Immigration Service from ‘regularizing foreigners who have clandestinely entered the national territory or whose entry is not recorded by the immigration authority,’” reports La Tercera. (Via Americas Migration Brief.)
A CEP survey finds that 69% of Chileans strongly agree or agree that immigrants increase crime rates, “28 points more than the measurement carried out in April-May 2017.” The survey also found majority support for equal access to education for regular migrants and access to health care for all immigrants, regardless of status — Americas Migration Brief
Chile is home to the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Middle East, numbering as many as 500,000 people, and many have rallied to the Palestinian cause in the context of the current conflict, reports the Guardian.
Regional
Germany and Chile plan to launch a club of governments to help developing nations invest in decarbonizing industries like steel and cement-making at the COP28 climate summit, Reuters reported last week.
Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced a public-private partnership to recover precious artifacts from a Spanish galleon that sank in the Caribbean Sea in 1708, despite opposition from scientific and cultural groups advocating for the preservation of the archaeological site, reports El País.
Mexico
In western Mexico forests are being razed at a breakneck pace, fueled by the U.S.’s voracious appetite for avocados, reports the New York Times. “A combination of interests, including criminal gangs, landowners, corrupt local officials and community leaders, are involved in clearing forests for avocado orchards, in some cases illegally seizing privately owned land.”
Culinary Corner
“In the food-obsessed port city of Belém, sweet, savory and sometimes addictive dishes are made with fresh ingredients that are tough to come by in Rio de Janeiro, let alone outside Brazil,” reports the New York Times.