| In June 2013, the Nicaraguan state government signed Ley 840, which detailed the concessions to a Chinese corporation, Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development (HKND), to construct a 170 mile long megacanal. In addition to the canal, this law stipulates various subprojects that include an international airport, a free trade zone, holiday resorts, and a network of roads. Estimates of the population that will be displaced by the project may reach up to 100,000, none of whom were consulted prior to the passing of Ley 840. Those who face loss of access to their homes due to the canal construction have spent nearly the last three years with no understanding of where they may be relocated to, if or how they will be compensated for the impact of being removed from their homes, and without an understanding of how they will survive without access to resources on which their very lives depend. Further, fifty-two percent of the land included in the proposed route of the canal falls under Indigenous title, and violate international policy, the Nicaraguan constitution, and state laws that protect Rama and Kriol peoples and their territorial integrity. This study examines the Indigenous and Afro-descendant movement in resistance to the megacanal; specifically, I analyze discursive tools and tactics in light of the unique cultures, histories, and identities to recognize markers, discursive tools, contextually. Discourse analysis allows room for narrative of voices that may otherwise be left unheard or misunderstood, and enables the opportunity for the Rama and Kriol resistance movement to be viewed strategically as a movement, while simultaneously respecting their distinct communities on their terms. |
