Race Relations In Panama City: Casco Antiguo

This picture was taken on the outskirts of Panama City en route to Casco Antiguo. The type of houses depicted in the picture has a lot to do with the word outskirt; it exemplifies the two dynamics that exist within Panama. In the picture, you can see small shack like houses clustered together, a housing plan that usually denotes homes of lower income residents, and in the background, there are the notorious skyscrapers of the affluent Panama City. This conflicting setup is the truth for all of Panama. All of the people who occupy the upper class and are well off dominate the center of Panama, whereas all those who occupy the lower class are marginalized to the outskirts and borders of Panama.
The marginalization of the lower class results in them having fewer opportunities for work, healthcare, and various other necessities located within the center of Panama City. This segregation of people in Panama based on class is recognized as the only division that occurs amongst people, but underlying the differences in class is a problem all too familiar to the United States—race relations. While discussing Panama before our actual departure, issues of racial tensions were only discussed regarding historical matters such as the division of people into “gold towns” and “silver towns” based on their skin color and place of origin, during the construction of the Panama Canal.
This discussion of race relations was the same in Panama until we arrived in Casco Antiguo and an anthropology professor, Ariel, informed us of this class dynamic and talked about a large number of people in this area being of darker skin tones as if it was a