China’s failed canal venture in Nicaragua: A symbol of oppressive regime and disregard for indigenous rights

China does not hesitate to flout local and international laws to trade and invest in other countries. Alone, China has caused as much damage to the entire African continent’s environment as the English, French, and other colonial powers combined.

Not only in Africa, but China has also violated laws in many small and large countries in places like Southwest Asia, Southern Europe, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Latin America in the name of trade and investment.

In Africa, China has ruthlessly exploited minerals in various places, devastated forested areas for timber in others, and severely damaged the marine environment to obtain sea cucumbers.

Similarly, in the Central American country of Nicaragua, China want to damage the environment there in the name of building a canal. This canal project would not only harm the environment but also displace the local people living there.

1. In fact, China is looking for a route to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.

The Panama Canal is indirectly under the control of the United States, so China is looking for a route that would be entirely under its control. China wants to establish its dominance in the field of maritime trade, for which it is employing all kinds of tactics to first defeat America.

At present, America has 80% control over maritime goods transportation, which provides a large income to America. China wants to divert this income in its favour and that’s why it is making all these efforts. However, China’s plan to dig a canal in Nicaragua did not work out and after being stagnant there for the past ten years, Nicaragua has issued its decree against China.

1. Almost ten years have passed since the inception of a contentious scheme to construct a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, Nicaragua has now revoked the permission given to a Chinese entrepreneur to finalize this project. Critics had voiced concerns that this project could pose a threat to the environment and lead to the displacement of rural communities.

Although a ceremonial “ground-breaking” took place in 2014, the canal, which was supposed to connect Nicaragua’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, saw no progress. There was a time when work began on the access roads near the canal, but the excavation of the waterway itself never commenced.

1. In Nicaragua, a multitude of farmers took to the streets to voice their opposition against the confiscation of lands, a move intended to pave the way for the government-endorsed project. In a turn of events in 2019, a Nicaraguan judge handed down prison sentences of 216 years, 210 years, and 159 years to three farmers leaders who were active participants in the protests. They were charged with instigating a “failed coup” against the government.

However, Nicaraguan law stipulates a maximum limit of 30 years for actual prison time served. The proposed canal, a $50 billion venture spanning 278 km across this Central American nation, was initially dismissed as a farce, only to later take on a grave seriousness. The canal, along with its potential environmental impact, emerged as a symbol of the eccentric and arbitrary nature of President Daniel Ortega’s progressively oppressive regime.

1. The government under Ortega’s leadership asserted that the canal project would be a significant job creator, potentially providing employment to tens of thousands, and would serve as a catalyst for economic growth. However, critics countered these claims, pointing out the severe environmental hazards the project could unleash, the displacement it would cause to thousands of rural families, and its financial impracticality.

The resentment stirred by this plan played a crucial role in escalating public discontent towards the Ortega administration, culminating in widespread protests in 2018, that were met with forceful suppression by the authorities.

1. The proposed canal was set to cut through Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, leading to the forced relocation of an estimated 120,000 individuals. This included members of the Rama and Creole communities who reside in safeguarded Indigenous territories along the Caribbean coast.

The project was poised to be one of the most colossal civil engineering and construction endeavours globally, overshadowing the Panama Canal in its magnitude. It would have traverse the nation’s most crucial freshwater reserve and wreak havoc on protected natural habitats, threatening the existence of 22 endangered species.

1. The Chinese entrepreneur Wang Jing, owner of the Hong Kong-based firm HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company, was awarded a 50-year concession for the canal. Critics have argued that the laws facilitating the project were rushed through without proper consultation, environmental assessments, or political discussion. Prior to securing the concession, Wang had amassed wealth in the telecommunications sector, despite having no background in civil engineering. However, the stock market crash in China in 2015 significantly depleted his fortune, with reports suggesting he lost as much as 85% of his wealth.

2. Assigning the task of canal project to a company that had no prior experience in civil engineering also fuelled public outrage against this canal project. The people of Nicaragua did not want any such project in their country that would pose a threat to the environment and wildlife conservation, displace a large number of local indigenous tribes, and be so expensive that it would make no sense to implement the project, especially when the current distance from Nicaragua to the Panama Canal is only 857 kilometres. In addition, China’s poor international image and the corruption prevalent in all its projects worldwide also forced Nicaragua to the point where it ousted China from the canal project.