Oh my...to the OP...are you panamanian? Yo tambien...
If we go down to the "jobs for nationals only" then me, and all our colleages in the Middle East and all over the world should lose theirs too? And go back to Panama to get slave wages with the one and only "proper" airline, because, you know, it's OUR national airline and all that?
Come on.
Think of the other side of the coin: Some of us left Panama as well, and to some people, we are taking their jobs as well. But the main reason why we got the jobs in the first place is because at the moment of hiring, we were the most capable. Nationality had nothing to do there, and I find anybody who implies that aviation jobs are given only because of that, very insulting, for me and for them.
Now, I sense a lot of frustration as well because the "arrogance" of the expats. Newsflash: It's the same EVERYWHERE. You are going to find nasty people from all nationalities and amazing, nice people from all nationalites too. People who will blend with the nationals, and people who would rather stay as they are. So what? As long as they behave in a professional manner and do their jobs as they should, I can't care less about their "arrogance". I have my friends, I don't need their friendship too.
And, remember, at the end of the day, the one who decided to pick them up over nationals was COPA. They just went for the job and got it. Why getting angry and annoyed at them?