The Sandinista government that expropriated large tracts of land for its revolutionary phase in the eighties is making waves in this Central American country, as it is getting ready for another round of rural expropriations.
This time, however, the expropriations will be conducted because of a capitalist project, a 276 km canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The canal planned by Nicaragua between the two oceans could accommodate bigger ships than the expanded Panama Canal. According to Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development, or HKND Group, the Chinese company that has a 50-year concession to build and operate the canal, this would be the largest earth moving operation in the history of mankind.
The company says it needs a little more than 1,600 square kilometres to make room for the waterway, ports, roads and free trade zones. Nicaraguan officials justify future expropriations, which could affect some 27,000 people, with the argument that the canal will transform this impoverished Central American nation by creating 50,000 jobs and that it will double the country’s economy. Although the Government has not expropriated one square meter yet, HKND Group says it will pay market prices for the crop areas confiscated. However, the 2013 law authorizing the government to expropriate the necessary land for the construction of the canal says that payments will be based on the tax assessed value of each property, which is usually much lower.
Crowds of peasants who fear they will be displaced and cheated have organized about 50 protests in the past year, some of which have turned violent. "If we are expropriated, we will go to the streets," said Medardo Mairena, a producer of cassava who participated in a recent march in Ometepe, a volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua (also known as Cocibolca) that is located in the middle of the route proposed by the canal.
The company has spent millions of dollars on feasibility studies, property and environmental impact, as well as exploratory drilling. Bulldozers and graders are already paving the way for the heavy equipment needed to build the waterway near what would be the entrance channel in the Pacific. HKND Group also plans to build 27 resettlement villages for the people displaced by the project.
It remains unclear whether the channel will be built or not. Some experts in shipping trade say the canal is unnecessary now that the Panama Canal will add a third set of locks to accommodate larger ships (though not the largest in activity).
Environmentalists are sceptical and say the project could cause great ecological damage. It’s also not clear whether the company, headed by Chinese businessman Wang Jing, can get the funding, estimated at US $50 billion.
In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, HKND Group declined to specify when the main construction would start. Telemaco Talavera, a spokesman for the Canal Commission, said they would begin working on ports and locks before the end of the year, but some Nicaraguan officials are becoming impatient.
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