The plenary session of the National Assembly approved the suspension of bill 491, which proposed leveling the pensions of those who receive less than $600 per month. With this, it is expected that this discussion will return to the second debate.
Graciela Hernandez, deputy of the Other Path Movement and proponent of the project, said that it was a strategic pause and not a defeat, with the objective of ensuring that retirees receive greater funds, which according to the project would come from an additional charge of $1.50 for each container that arrives at Panamanian ports.
Hernández defended the decision to pause the bill, ensuring that it is a strategic measure and not a legislative setback. Just this Thursday, April 30, it was scheduled to be approved in the third debate.
A day before, the Maritime Chamber had warned that Panama competes with other logistics centers in the region for the same cargo flows, so an increase in container mobilization costs could translate into lower volume, diversion of merchandise to other destinations and loss of competitiveness.
“We are not here to defend anything other than the quality of life of all Panamanians,” he said before the Plenary Session, while detailing that the suspension of the debate responded to a strategic decision given the possibility of a veto by the Executive.
“Faced with an imminent veto, we have made the strategic decisions to act with a cool mind and determination.”
President José Raúl Mulino had said earlier that, Even if the National Assembly moved forward with approval in the third debate, the outcome would also depend on the Executive: “The Assembly will have to decide… and so will I.”
Read more: Project for additional charging for containers advanced without consulting the MEF or the AMP
Hernández reiterated that the decision does not imply the closure of the issue. “This is a strategic pause. Nobody gives up, nobody gives up and nobody is going to let go of this cause,” he warned, before a group of retirees who had just come to the plenary session to defend the project.
The representative was visibly shocked, especially when she mentioned that 70% of the population “passes Niagara by bicycle”, an expression that refers to going through extremely difficult economic situations.
During his participation in the plenary session, he also raised the possibility of building an agreement with the Executive to ensure the approval of the initiative. “If that means, two months from now, building a firm agreement with the Executive that guarantees the sanction of this law, we will do it,” he stated.mo.
