The Panama Canal Expansion Project: Transit Maritime Mega Project Development, Reactions, and Alternatives from Affected People
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THE PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION PROJECT: TRANSIT MARITIME MEGA PROJECT DEVELOPMENT, REACTIONS, AND ALTERNATIVES FROM AFFECTED PEOPLE By MARTIN RENZO ROSALES A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 1 © 2007 Martin Renzo Rosales 2 To my family, friends, and fellows of the Central American and Missouri Provinces, and of the Puerto Rican Region of the Society of Jesus who have supported me. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to express my gratitude to the chair and members of my supervisory committee for their valuable support and guidance. I also want to thank to the people of the communities of Limón de Chagres, Boca de Uracillo, and Santa María in the province of Colón, Panama. I am also indebted to the pastor, assistant priests, members of the Hispanic community, and staff of St. Augustine Parish in Gainesville, Florida, and to the Claretian missionaries serving the communities of the Costa Abajo in the Province of Colon, Panama. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................7 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 1 DEVELOPMENT, POLITICAL ECOLOGY, AND THE PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION PROJECT IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL CAPITALISM......................12 Introduction.............................................................................................................................12 Preliminary Elements of the Conflict: Global Commercial and Maritime Trends, National Development Needs and Management of Natural Resources..............................15 Methodological Aspects of the Research ...............................................................................18 Historical and Personal Relationship with the Object of Study ......................................19 Methodological Tools and Process..................................................................................21 Anthropology and Maritime Processes...................................................................................29 Anthropology of Development and Megaprojects Assessment..............................................31 Megaprojects: Definitions and Impacts...........................................................................35 Primary and secondary effects of megaprojects.......................................................37 Development, megaprojects and political ecology ..................................................39 Social Movements in the context of political ecology .............................................43 Rationality and ethics of development megaprojects......................................................47 Panama Canal Megaproject: Rationality and Texts ........................................................51 Panama Canal Megaproject: General Overview.....................................................................54 Expansion of the Panama Canal: Global and Local Agents and the Maritime Factor ...........55 2 TRANSIT IN PANAMANIAN LANDSCAPES IN GLOBAL AND LOCAL PERSPECTIVE ......................................................................................................................60 International Trade and Panamanian History .........................................................................63 Transit in Panama during Colonial Time................................................................................64 Modernity and Transport Megaprojects in Panama................................................................66 Panama railroad...............................................................................................................66 French canal.....................................................................................................................70 Panama canal...................................................................................................................72 Ecological, Socio-cultural and Economic Impacts of the Construction and Functioning of the Panama Canal.........................................................................73 Forced Relocations and Controversies with Local People.......................................80 The Panama Canal and the Panamanian Transit-Centric Economic Model...........................85 Background of the Panama Canal Expansion Megaproject ...................................................88 5 3 GLOBALIZATION, TRADE AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION.............................92 Maritime Transportation: General Characteristics .................................................................94 Containers and Containerization: Revolutionary Global Impacts..........................................96 Post Panamax Megaships, International Port Facilities, and the Panama Canal..................100 US East Coast Retailer Mega Centers and West Coast Ports Bottle Necks .........................102 Trends of Transit through the Panama Canal in Perspective................................................110 4 PANAMA CANAL: GLOBAL TRADE AND PANAMA’S NATIONAL DESTINY ......116 The Panama Canal Authority................................................................................................117 The Media and the Publicity of the ACP..............................................................................123 Influence of the ACP on other Panamanian Agencies..........................................................133 Water Resources and the Expanded Panama Canal Watershed ...........................................140 The Inter-Institutional Committee for the Watershed ..........................................................149 The Third Set of Locks.........................................................................................................153 5 LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS: GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS..........................................................................................................168 Limon de Chagres.................................................................................................................169 Coordinadora Campesina Contra Los Embalses (CCCE) ....................................................183 The CCCE and the Catholic Lay Leadership ................................................................188 Social Projection and Internal Dynamics of the CCCE.................................................193 La Gran Asamblea Contra La Inundación/Frente Campesino Contra los Embalses............203 Residents of the Old Watershed ...........................................................................................205 The Catholic Church.............................................................................................................207 The Illueca-Manfredo Group................................................................................................215 The Campaign in Favor of the Expansion of the Canal........................................................216 The Media and the Resistance Movement against the Expansion of the Canal ...................218 6 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................................................233 LIST OF REFERENCES.............................................................................................................241 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................258 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1-1 License plate: Panama, 1999..............................................................................................57 1-2 Identification Card: Panama 1999 .....................................................................................58 1-3 National Passport: Panama, 2005. .....................................................................................58 1-4 Cover of a 5th grade language textbook. Panama, 2007.....................................................58 1-5 Cover of a 10th grade textbook. Panama, 2007. .................................................................59 1-6 Geo-strategic inter-oceanic location of Panama and the Panama Canal............................59 2-1 Location of transit routes in Panama during colonial times. A) Map of Panama. B) Detail of transit. Sources: Instituto Geográfico Tommy Guardia and Historia de Panamá (Castillero Reyes 2003)........................................................................................90 2-1 Continued...........................................................................................................................91 3-1 Containership ...................................................................................................................112 3-2 Bulk Carrier.....................................................................................................................112 3-3 Tanker ..............................................................................................................................112 3-4 Ferry.................................................................................................................................113 3-5 Cruise ship.......................................................................................................................113