Thousands protest in Nicaragua’s capital against $50 billion canal project

People took to the streets on Nicaragua to protest the Canal project. (Twitter/@ReporteNi)

By Gabrielle Meyer

December 11th, 2014 (VOXXI) Thousands of people marched through Managua on Wednesday to protest Nicaragua’s planned $50 billion inter-oceanic canal.

In June 2013, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega signed a deal with a Hong Kong-based company to build a canal stretching from the Caribbean to the Pacific. At 173 miles long, Nicaragua’s canal will rival that of Panama, whose canal stretches just 48 miles.

While the Nicaraguan government claims that the canal will benefit the country’s floundering economy, many Nicaraguans are not convinced of the project’s benefits.

Over the past several months, protests have accelerated throughout Nicaragua, with much of the country’s population concerned over the loss of homes and land.

As the protestors marched toward the United Nations offices in Managua on Wednesday, the marchers shot rockets into the air and chanted anti-government slogans.

The president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, Vilma Nunez, roused the crowd with stirring words.

“Your land belongs to you,” Nunez declared.

This sentiment resonated with many of the protestors, who believe that they may be displaced from their villages due to the building of the canal, and without receiving proper compensation at that.

Telemaco Talavera, the Canal Commission spokesman, told the Associated Press, “We have no reason to keep people from marching. We know there are people who do not agree. They are people who believe they will be hurt, when in reality they will benefit from the canal because it is a work of progress for everyone.”

Many Nicaraguan citizens feel uneasy about the canal due to the lack of communication between Managua and its citizens about the real cost of the canal. This distrust has spurred anti-government protests throughout the country.

Officials claim that the canal will generate at least 50,000 jobs in construction alone, a promising number for the second poorest country in Latin America.

Environmental dangers are also a main concern for protestors. While officials have claimed that the construction of the canal will have minimal impact on the environment, their studies have yet to be made public.

Originally published by VOXXI as “Nicaraguan-Chinese canal spurs protests”
http://voxxi.com/2014/12/nicaraguan-chinese-canal-spurs-protests/
and is republished here with permission.

Visit our Nicaragua News section for more reports about the canal and other news from Nicaragua.