Nicaragua remains the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere after Haiti. Natural disasters, a 43-year dictatorship, a revolution, and civil war stalled economic development over the past 50 years. Despite the good news its economy grew by more than 4 percent last year the average Nicaraguan earns less than $2,000 per year.
It’s the dream of Nicaragua people to eradicate poverty and build a bright future.
The Nicaraguan government, hopes the canal will make this dream come true. In return for a concession to the Chinese company HKND, it hopes for billions of dollars of investment, tens of thousands of jobs and, eventually, a stable source of national income.
“This is a project,” president Daniel Ortega promised, “that will bring well-being, prosperity, and happiness to the Nicaraguan people. It will create great opportunities for the economic development of Central American countries as well as the Caribbean region and become a new strategic engine for prospering and promoting world trade.”
Lake Cocimbolca also named lake Nicaragua, which will be split in two by the canal
Following local and international scientists, the canal would be an environmental catastrophe, threatening a host of ecosystems across the country.
Fearing they will be displaced, farmers protest in Nueva Guinea (14th november 2014) against the construction of the canal.
The construction would displace 30.000 of Nicaraguans, including indigenous people whose territories the canal would cross. Telemaco Talavera, rector of the National Agrarian University and spokesman for Nicaragua’s Canal Commission, said anyone who will be displaced will fairly be compensated for their property based on its value as of June 2013.
But the project, which critics claim marks a new era of colonialism in Nicaragua, has so far raised eyebrows as much for its secrecy as for its titanic ambitions.
Michèle Sennesael 