Panama's president said Wednesday that he iswilling to cancel plans to sell state-owned land in a duty-free zone on thePanama Canal following a week of sometimes violent protests in which a10-year-old boy and two adults died.
President Ricardo Martinelli said on his Twitter account:"If the people of Colon don't want the land in the duty-free zone to besold, the sale will be canceled."
Late Tuesday, Martinelli's economy minister offered to useproceeds from the proposed sales for development projects in the city of Colonafter a woman and a man were killed by stray bullets. The boy was killed duringa confrontation between police and rioters Friday.
Despite the government's statements, hundreds of residentscarrying signs that read "Colon is not for sale" burned tires on thestreets Wednesday. In the capital, Panama City, construction workers andstudents protesting in support of the people of Colon threw rocks at heavilyarmed police who responded with tear gas.
Protesters object to legislation signed into law Friday thatwould let export-import businesses buy land they are now leasing in theduty-free zone, an area that city residents consider their patrimony.
Critics of the law say the lease charges should be increasedand the money invested in the impoverished Caribbean coast province of Colon.
"We've said clearly that we do not want a law thatseeks to sell the land," said protester Felipe Cabezas, a member of theColonense Broad Movement. "As long as the law is not revoked, we won'tdialogue."
The duty-free zone houses about 2,000 companies that leaseland next to Colon, a city of about 50,000 people. Colon province is home toseveral Atlantic ports that service ships using the Panama Canal and supply thecountry's only oil refinery. It's economically the second most importantprovince after the province of Panama, where the capital is.
But the bustling duty-free area and ports have had littleeffect on improving conditions for the province's 245,000 people. The new lawhelped revive resentment against the national government over it taking thelease money directly to the capital.
"Nothing ever comes into the province," saidRoberto Chiari, a 48-year-old bricklayer in Colon. "We have lived in theduty-free zone all our lives and no government had ever come up with the crazyidea to sell the land."
The government gets about $33 million in rent a year that godirectly to the state's budget. Martinelli proposes selling the land andallocating 35 percent directly to Colon's development. It is estimated thegovernment would get $400 million from land sales the next two years.
Protesters don't believe the money will go to the provinceto build more housing, fix water treatment plants and do other much neededinfrastructure improvements.
"In Colon, there is an economic system that clearlyshows its injustice," political analyst Jose Blandon said. "On oneside is the canal, the duty-free zone, and on the other is the city where halfof the population lives in poverty."
The duty-free zone, established in 1948, belongs to thenational government and it is separated from Colon. But residents haveconsidered the zone part of their heritage because its port plays a crucialrole for their region 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Panama City.
"The government thought about selling the land(because) it doesn't understand that historically it has been the patrimony ofthat province and they will fight for it," Blandon said.