University of Panama  students closed  the Transistmica highway in Panama City on Monday morning January 7 to protest cuts   to the school’s budget  which  will endanger  the start of the new Faculty of Medicine..

The students blocked the road with burning tires and garbage tanks at  10:45 am as traffic was building with the partial reopening of selected businesses and construction sites and the return of more MiBuses.

Hundreds of drivers heading towards the center of the capital had to detour and take alternate routes, causing unfamiliar traffic jams in some sectors..

The University had requested a budget of $385 million for 2021 but the Ministry of Economy slashed it by $91 million dashing the plans for the medical faculty.