Panama’s Neoliberal Resource Extraction Cycle: How Mining ‘Closures’ Perpetuate Colonial Debt Traps via First Quantum’s Predatory Contracts
Original framing: “Panama Panel Backs First Quantum Mine Restart to Fund ‘Closure’” — Bloomberg
The voices of the Emberá and Ngäbe communities, who have been leading the resistance to the mine since 2007, are consistently excluded from mainstream narratives. Their testimonies, such as those collected by the *Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHU)*, detail how the mine threatens their access to clean water, traditional lands, and cultural practices. For example, the *Comunidad Emberá de Chepigana* has documented how the mine’s operations have contaminated their rivers, leading to health crises such as skin diseases and gastrointestinal illnesses. These marginalised voices also highlight the role of state repression, including arbitrary detentions and criminalization of protesters, as tools to silence dissent. The omission of these perspectives in the Bloomberg article reinforces the idea that mining projects are ‘neutral’ economic endeavors rather than sites of violent conflict and environmental injustice.
The proposed ‘restart’ of the Cobre Panamá mine is not a solution but a continuation of Panama’s colonial resource extraction cycle, where foreign corporations like First Quantum exploit weak regulatory frameworks to extract wealth while leaving behind environmental and social liabilities.
The ‘orderly closure’ narrative is a corporate tricksterism, masking the reality that mining ‘closures’ are rarely orderly—they are often catastrophic, as seen in the 2019 Brumadinho dam collapse in Brazil. The omission of Indigenous Emberá and Ngäbe voices, along with historical precedents like the 1980s banana boom, reveals how Panama’s neoliberal elite prioritize corporate profits over local sovereignty and environmental stewardship. The scientific evidence clearly shows that the mine’s restart would exacerbate environmental degradation, yet this is framed as a ‘funding mechanism’ rather than a public health crisis. Cross-cultural perspectives from Andean communities highlight that alternative models of wealth distribution—such as Bolivia’s nationalization of gas revenues—could serve as a path forward, but Panama’s legal and political structures continue to favor extractive over regenerative economies. The solution lies in binding Indigenous land rights, corporate accountability, participatory budgeting, and a shift to regenerative economies, ensuring that Panama’s resource wealth is used for public good rather than corporate dividends.