Panama teachers end long strike that set off wider protests

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama’s teachers will return to the classroom Tuesday after a month-long strike supported by a number of other sectors that blocked commerce and snarled the capital with traffic over the high cost of living and government corruption. The teacher walkout started what became the largest social protest seen in Panama in years. Educators said they were fed up with the soaring prices for gasoline, food and medicine and wanted more spending on education. The teachers were eventually joined by construction workers and Indigenous groups as well as frustrated average Panamanians. They erected highway roadblocks that froze supply routes and caused some shortages.