Canadian Mining in Panama

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The CBS video about Canadian mining in Panama is indeed evidence that multinational corporations are responsible for poverty in Third World nations. The Canadian mining companies are taking the natural resources away from the country of which they belong to, and that doesn't seem fair because they are making a profit off of something that isn't theirs.

So, the Canadian companies offered Panamanians a new school, a new daycare, and a new medical center. Although the Panamanians think these establishments are important, they don't see the real benefit, and I agree with them. Yes, these things are crucial, but for the irreparable damage they cause, it doesn't seem worth it. These benefits are only short term, while the effects of environmental destruction are surely longer. After all, it takes more than a few years to grow one single tree while it may only take one year to build a daycare. In other words, it takes a lot longer to build a forest than it is to build a school.

Mining companies argue that the Panamanians are poor, and so they should take these establishments as a peace offering, but many of them don't have a problem with the way they live now. They like being surrounded by the jungle and history of the country, and so they don't want the mining companies to ruin it. Especially in a village where most people grew up as farmers and who live off the land, it is extremely dear to them.

I don't think the Canadian mining companies have the Panamanian's best interest in mind because they think they know what's best for them even though they know very little about them other than their income. They automatically think building a school or a day care will make them forget about the environmental damage since they see them as poor, yet these villagers enjoy the way they live (as previously stated).

I don't think I would trade long-term environmental destruction for short/medium-term benefits. I don't think I would because you have to consider not only your lifetime, but also the lifetime of the generation that follows you. If the mining companies continued to deplete Panama of its natural resources, they would ruin the dynamics of the country's economy and leave a destroyed forest in its wake.

For these reasons, this documentary is evidence that multinational corporations are keeping people in poverty.

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