On 31 October 2023, police officers fired tear gas to disperse protesters gathered near the El Carmen Church and the National Assembly, located on the Via España thoroughfare in the capital Panama City. The demonstrators, who had blocked off all lanes of Via España, responded by throwing stones at the officers and partially relocated to other areas of the city. Earlier in the day, protesters attempted to breach the barricades surrounding the building that houses the National Assembly. More than 815 people have been arrested for vandalism and damaging property since 24 October amid demonstrations to oppose the government’s renewal of a mining contract with Canadian-owned mining company First Quantum Minerals.