PROTESTERS blocked streets across Panama on Monday, demanding the government scrap a contract to continue copper mining in a biodiverse region.

Teaching and construction unions led calls against the contract, with environmentalists saying continued development threatens forested land and crucial groundwater just 75 miles west of the capital, in the state of Colon.

Across Panama City, peaceful protesters handed out fliers, but in some areas on the outskirts of the capital, police met protesters with tear gas.

In anticipation of the largest marches since a cost-of-living crisis last July, both the Department of Education and the University of Panama cancelled classes.

The government used social media to highlight the “enormous contribution” the mine — Panama’s largest private investment ever — makes to the country’s economy.

In March, politicians reached an agreement with Canadian mining company First Quantum, allowing its local subsidiary, Minera Panama, to continue operating a huge open-pit copper mine in central Panama for at least 20 more years.

The mine was temporarily closed last year when talks between the government and First Quantum broke down over payments the government wanted to receive.

Protests began after President Laurentino Cortizo signed off on that contract on Friday after it was approved by Congress.

Association of Teachers leader Fernando Abrego said: “The government decided this confrontation by quickly and expeditiously approving a contract they know is rejected by the people.”

He said concession was not an option, saying: “We will remain in the streets.”

National Union of Construction general secretary Saul Mendez said: “The people are in the streets in defence of sovereignty, in the face of a contract that cedes self-determination by devastating the environment to steal resources.”