Recipe of the dictatorial regime of Mulino and his Minister of Labor, to guarantee the implementation of the economic adjustment plan
Carlos Ernesto Guevara Villar
Supporter of the International Socialist League
The recent struggle against the reform of the social security system, the memoranda of understanding with U.S. imperialism and the advance of mining extractivism has exposed what for years was an open secret: the presence of bureaucratic leaderships within the workers’ movement, willing to sell their soul to the devil – in this case, to the regime in power and the bosses – to preserve their economic privileges.
This complicity translates into the surrender of the combative leaderships, such as those of the construction workers (Suntracs) and the educational guilds (Asoprof, Aeve, among others), as well as the renunciation of historic labor conquests: decent wages, environmental protection, safe working conditions, freedom of association, the right to strike and collective bargaining, all of them obtained after arduous struggles that have claimed countless martyrs throughout the country.
The above explains why neither CONATO (private sector workers) nor FENASEP (public servants) called for a general strike before or during the moments of semi-insurrection that the country experienced, particularly in areas such as Darién and Bocas del Toro, where the population, tired of their situation, spontaneously rose up to fight for their own demands. On the contrary, that bureaucracy – which today, without any modesty, allies itself with the dictatorial regime of Mulino and his Minister of Labor – was the same one that, in an embarrassing and even criminal way, in the middle of the strike, called for a “dialogue”. And not as a political way out to avoid a defeat, but to secure their share of the educational insurance, ignoring the slogans and demands of the movement that opposed harmful measures for workers.
Recently we have witnessed how this yellow, complacent workers’ bureaucracy, committed to the pro-business and pro-American regime of Mulino, has illegally and arbitrarily allied with the Minister of Labor of the far-right government to strip the teacher comrade Nelva Reyes of the leadership of the General Workers’ Central of Panama (CGTP). It is a maneuver that aims to replace a historical anti-imperialist fighter, tireless defender of the rights of the working class and national and international reference of the revolutionary left, by a submissive leadership, willing to place itself without the slightest blush on the side of the government and the bosses.
This internal coup seeks not only to silence an uncomfortable voice, but also to pave the way for the imposition of new adjustment measures in such sensitive areas as higher education, access to water, mining, labor legislation and the tax system. By alienating those who defend principles and historical achievements, this bureaucratic-governmental alliance tries to weaken the resistance capacity of workers, compromising rights won with decades of struggle and sacrifice.
As the old popular saying warns: “To lie and eat fish, you have to be very careful.” And that was exactly what we saw yesterday, when representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, an instrument of the repressive apparatus of the bourgeois state, were publicly reprimanded by a judge of guarantees for trying to open a criminal investigation, against the compañera Nelva Reyes, without a single indication that proved the commission of any crime or the connection of any person. This maneuver is part of the criminalization offensive against the workers’ and popular fighters.
It is evident that the regime is deepening its campaign, this time against fellow teacher Nelva Reyes, who, through illegal maneuvers and with the open complicity of the Ministry of Labor, was stripped of the leadership of the combative General Central of Workers of Panama (CGTP). To complete this outrage, they used yellow union leaders, docile to capital and willing to serve as a transmission belt for the bosses and the State.
This outrage not only deserves the broadest repudiation of the trade union and popular movement, but also demands a united and combative political response. It is demonstrated, once again, that the so-called bourgeois legality, administered by a judicial apparatus corroded by corruption, is nothing but an instrument to legitimize the offensive against the working class. Faced with this, only the conscious organization and mobilization of the workers will be able to stop the criminalization of the social struggle.
We are still stunned after the recent strike. Although some may describe it as a defeat or a “half-victory”, the reality is that the movement remains on the defensive, in a dangerous rearguard. Since the end of the struggle, there has not been a forceful call to regroup in a united, democratic and combative front, which articulates all sectors with a program of action that collects the old flags of struggle and the new slogans that the crisis imposes.
Meanwhile, the adjustment plan is moving forward every day. The dictatorial regime of Mulino knows this and that is why it persecutes, criminalizes and judicializes those who struggle, intervening and co-opting the workers’ organizations with the complicity of the usual yellow bureaucracy. Its objective is clear: to politically disarm the working class in order to facilitate the offensive of capital.
Faced with this, it is urgent to regroup in a revolutionary leadership, which overcomes the wear and tear of the old apparatuses and convenes workers, peasants, indigenous peoples, youth and popular sectors. Only in this way will we be able to resist the onslaught of the pro-business government and make way for the true alternative: a government of the workers and the people, which once and for all breaks with imperialism, repudiates the payment of the foreign debt, expels the mining transnationals, nationalizes strategic resources – including the Panama Canal – and puts all national wealth at the service of the exploited majorities.
Panama, September 24, 2025
