What Happened
Sleeping in parks, taking shelter in protected areas and building improvised roofs in public spaces has become increasingly common in Panama City. The growing visibility of people in street homelessness, including in areas such as Ancón, highlights a problem that has expanded without a sustained state response.
Ancón representative Yamireth Batista told the Municipal Council that the Metropolitano and Camino de Cruces national parks are gradually being inhabited by people living on the streets. She also pointed to makeshift shelters appearing on the grounds of Merca Panamá and on the slopes of Cerro Ancón.
Batista urged the Panama City mayor’s office to reactivate interinstitutional working groups that were previously created to address the issue. She said earlier efforts made progress but did not continue, leaving the problem without a lasting solution.
A Problem That Keeps Growing
Under Municipal Agreement 14 of January 16, 2014, people in street homelessness are defined as those who live or sleep regularly in public spaces or in places that are not homes. In Panama City, the issue has become more visible in parks, on sidewalks and near areas where people pass, work and visit every day.
Katherine Ojo Díaz, head of social work at the Ancón community board, said the interagency tables emerged after a tour of the corregimiento revealed a rise in people who had made the street their home. The goal was to coordinate with several institutions, including the Ministry of Social Development, to respond to what she described as a social-risk population lacking dedicated programs and institutions.
She also said repeated requests sent to the Presidency and the mayor’s office have not led to concrete answers.
Disputed Numbers, Same Urgency
The scale of street homelessness in the district of Panama has been estimated differently by various actors. In 2020, the municipality counted about 250 people in this situation. The 2020 national census recorded 400. Ariel López, director of the San Juan Pablo II center, said he believes the figure is now between 550 and 600 people in the district. By late 2025, the municipality estimated the total at around 900.
Those shifting figures reflect a population in constant motion, shaped by new cases of vulnerability and by people who manage to rebuild their lives and leave the street behind. Even so, the broader trend points to a problem that remains visible across the capital.
Legislative Efforts Stall
The issue has also reached the National Assembly. Two bills aimed at addressing street homelessness are now pending in the Assembly’s Committee on Labor, Health and Social Development: Bill 17, introduced by independent lawmaker Manuel Cheng Peñalba in July 2024, and Bill 363, backed by Movimiento Otro Camino lawmaker Ernesto Cedeño in July 2025.
Both proposals seek to create rehabilitation mechanisms for people with addictions and establish a government center to carry out these programs. They also focus on social reintegration and comprehensive care for vulnerable people. Despite those shared goals, one bill has been waiting nearly two years for first debate, while the other has yet to be considered.
Near the Legislative Palace, people living on the street are now part of the daily landscape for pedestrians, drivers, tourists and merchants, underscoring how deeply the problem has taken root in the capital.