Mónica López Baltodano, author of a book about the Nicaragua Canal (image credit: Jorge Mejia, Cortesia Popol Na).
In one sense, it does not matter if the environmentally catastrophic 173-mile, 50-billion dollars Nicaragua Grand Canal mega-project goes ahead or not. Its adverse impacts on Nicaraguans’ human rights are already being felt. That is the message Mónica López Baltodano, director of Nicaraguan NGO Fundación Popol Na.
“People say: ‘there’s not even a canal, so what are you fighting for?’” says López Baltodano. Her response is that the very existence of the Canal Law (known as Law 840) means that the government can legally stifle the right to challenge the project and expropriate land for it.
