25 de noviembre 2024
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The new route for the interoceanic canal project in Nicaragua, presented by Daniel Ortega on November 18, 2024, lacks the technical, environmental, and economic foundations that would make it viable, according to environmentalist Amaru Ruiz.
“(Ortega) does not explain, for example, where he will get the water for the 27 meters of depth he claims it will have. Lake Xolotlán has an average depth of 9.5 meters. Essentially, a countless amount of sediments would need to be excavated just to reach that depth in the lake, let alone in the entire area the canal will pass through," Ruiz stated.
The interoceanic canal project was unexpectedly presented by Ortega during the XVII China-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Summit, held in Managua. It consisted solely of a PowerPoint slide showing the new route, which is up to five times longer than the Panama Canal.
“To give us an idea of the scale of this pharaonic megaproject, which is only realizable in the dictator's (Ortega's) mind, 445 kilometers long is five times the length of the Panama Canal, which is 85 kilometers," said politician and former prisoner, Juan Sebastián Chamorro.
Environment and Indigenous Communities Again Affected
Chamorro also highlighted the environmental harm this project would cause, including its impact on Lake Managua, the displacement of thousands of families, the expropriation of thousands of hectares of land, and the effects on various towns along the route of this megaproject, which, as he put it, “only exists in the mind of Daniel Ortega.”
The NGO Fundación del Río (The River Foundation), led by Ruiz, issued a statement condemning that ‘this project not only continues to violate the fundamental rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities but also breaches the principles of environmental sustainability by prioritizing foreign economic interests over the well-being of the Nicaraguan people and their natural heritage.’
More than 50% of the new route passes again through the indigenous territories of Rama and Creole, noted María Luisa Acosta, coordinator of the Center for Legal Assistance to Indigenous Peoples (CALPI). All these communities should be consulted to ensure their territorial, cultural, and environmental rights are considered.
“The state has the right (to carry out these projects), but it also has the obligation to consult, inform, and take into account human rights, which in this case are cultural, environmental, and property rights. So, the problem is not that the project is being done; the problem is that it is being done wrong, as it happened the first time,” Acosta lamented in an interview with CONFIDENCIAL and the Esta Noche program.
Ortega presented the new route for this project on the same day the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) condemned the Nicaraguan state for violating various rights of indigenous peoples in the context of the interoceanic canal project, which was to be developed by a Chinese company, without prior consultation with the communities or environmental studies.
New Route Is a Response to IACHR Ruling
Ruiz believes that the announcement of a new route for this project “is nothing more than an illusion to try to boost the morale of his supporters in the face of the international defeat at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”
“The regime has no words to respond to the IACHR ruling, and evidently, this represents a political failure because the ruling clearly states that the Ortega-Murillo regime did not respect the right of indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to free, prior, informed consultation,” he added.
The IACHR Court found the Nicaraguan state “internationally responsible” for violating the rights of the indigenous community. As a result, the state will need to compensate up to 1.5 million dollars for material and immaterial damages, in addition to other reparations.
“The ruling also orders the reversal of the process of creating and issuing the land title for the Black, Creole, and Indigenous community of Bluefields, which was severely harmed when they were only given 7% of the area approved by the Demarcation and Titling Commission, and irregularly ended up receiving just that 7%,” added Acosta.
The CALPI representative stated that the indigenous communities are 'impacted' by the ruling and hope the state will comply with its national and international obligation to adhere to it.
Megaproject Again Offered to China
The project to build an interoceanic canal was offered by Ortega to China, but this time with a new route that would start at a port to be built in Bluefields, pass through central Nicaragua, through Lake Xolotlán, and exit at the Corinto port on the Pacific.
According to Ortega, the new project would have a longer route than the one previously proposed, spanning 445 kilometers, with a width between 290 and 540 meters and a depth of 27 meters.
Regarding the length, Nicaragua's proposal is 290 to 540 meters wide, “when Panama's canal is barely 300 meters;” and in terms of depth, it proposes 27 meters, more than half the depth of the Panamanian canal.
Its operation would require the construction of two locks, one in the Caribbean and another in the Pacific, as well as the creation of an artificial lake called El Escondido.
With information from EFE
This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
