In principle, AeroDíaz, I agree with airlines being able to choose the pilots who they want. In the part of the Middle East known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, almost all of the airlines have fueled their growth thanks to expatriate labor-- it simply would not have been possible if they had to depend only on local resources. I am a benefactor of this policy.
I do understand the political concerns surrounding this issue. About 1/3rd of the world's merchant ship fleet in crewed by Filipino seamen. Their popularity is due to a number of reasons including, unfortunately, low salary expectations. A large percentage of the rest of the crew come from other countries with "competitive" salaries.
Economically speaking, these type of salaries often reflect the supply vs. demand curve. In response, most countries worldwide have set up barriers in their immigration laws to restrict labor migration from countries where salary expectations are low. Ironically, some of the most restrictive laws are in the countries which have very little to offer-- and this more often than not hurts their chances for economic growth. One example of a country that does this and which you might have heard of, Aerodiaz, is Nicaragua.
Often the countries that do this envision private enterprise budgeting for the training of local personnel to suitably qualify them. For better or for worse, companies and their investors tend to be a thrifty lot and the competitive environment is a ruthless one-- where every dollar needs to be carefully spent. Additionally, the training of a "0" time cadet to being Captain qualified on a jet (not just in terms of minimum time for licenses and ratings, but also acceptable to insurance in terms of amount and quality of hours flown) takes at least 4-5 years-- proof that pilots are highly skilled labor. Changes in the airline industry tend to happen much faster than that and when no suitable employees are available, an airline cannot start-up or grow. Imagine the challenges a small-sized upstart carrier would face in a country like Nicaragua if it wanted to commence operations with a half-dozen Boeing 737NG's and were restricted to allowing foreign personnel only for a 6 month period?
The difference between what COPA has done and what Qatar Airways does is that COPA hired pilots with few qualifications-- the most impressive qualification was their willingness to shell out a large sum of money. For any business owner, the only thing better than finding free (or volunteer) labor is labor that will pay you. On the other hand, Qatar Airways has been successfully fishing qualified cockpit crew from other airlines-- and they still face a tough selection process in spite of thousands of hours in Airbuses or Boeings.
I have had my own "memorable" experiences with one of the Panamanian pilot unions. Unfortunately, there are people there who create their own problems. While I agree with the philosophy that we are trying to create careers, not jobs, many unions worldwide have shown themselves to be out of touch with airline economic realities.
Perhaps in time this will change. After all, haven't a number of Panamanian pilots gone to work the cockpits in India, the Middle East, and China?