Expansion approval.

• Author: Castro, Nils
• Position: Panamanians 'Yes' vote for elaboration of their interoceanic canal

RESPONDING TO the government's call for a national referendum, on October 22, Panamanians approved a project for expanding their interoceanic canal. Nearly 80% voted in favor of the project, and the abstention rate was similar to other elections of its kind. Construction on the mega-project will begin in 2007 and will take between seven and eight years to complete, at an estimated cost of 5.25 billion dollars.

The public debate and information period lasted six months and caused tension in the national political system. Of the primary opposition parties, two supported the government proposal for the canal expansion to become a "state project," or project of the entire nation. Two other political parties asked people to vote against the project, and a radical populist group led by a labor group also mobilized for the "No" vote.

It was significant that parties opposed to the project experienced splits during the campaign. And radical populism, which had achieved certain notoriety with street actions on other issues, managed only a weak turnout at the polls. In fact, there were no surprises; polling companies were able to predict the results with a great deal of accuracy ahead of time.

Though the project has technical characteristics that many voters can only understand in general terms, two primary factors converged in favor of the "Yes" vote. On the one hand, public confidence in President Martin Torrijos is high; more than 70% of citizens grade his administration as "good" or "very good." On the other hand, the idea that someday it was going to be necessary to create a third lane or lock system parallel to the two existing ones so that larger boats could use the canal is not a new idea for Panamanians. Thus, the debate centered primarily on whether or not the terms of the proposed project were feasible and in the national interest.

In fact, between 1939 and 1942, when the United States controlled the canal, a third passage began to be excavated to allow larger armored boats to move between the two oceans. The project was interrupted when the U.S, entered World War II, and by the time the war ended, the Navy had fleets in both oceans.

Residents of Panama City and Colon on either end of the canal have become accustomed to seeing long lines of ships waiting their turn to go through the canal. It takes about eight hours to pass through it, but the wait can be several days long and cost millions of dollars in losses for the shipping companies...