Our World

Panama Canal

I recently was reading an article that I found particularly interesting, and of great importance. This article was focused on the Panama Canal and the expansion efforts for the canal. I thought that this article would be a perfect article to discuss, for we are currently discussing Central America and the Caribbean which Panama is closely located near.

The Panama Canal has not always been prosperous and a source of income. It was started in 1880 but then was abandoned because the creator went bankrupt. So then the United States saw the opportunity and decided to continue the construction of the canal, and the canal was finished in 1914. The cost was $375 million and 25,000 lives, but there were benefits as well. It saved ships a lot of time and it carried 4 % of the world's trade goods. Even though the canal was located in Panama the United States still kept control of the canal for many years until it was finally signed over to the people of Panama. The people of Panama have since benefited from the canal and all of the elements that it encompasses.

The ballots are in, Panama has voted to expand the canal. They have voted for a $5.25 billion dollar expansion, that would increase the area that the canal is currently covering. When the voting was tallied the vote to expand the canal had over 2/3 support from all of the voter. The poor Panamanian are not the only supporters of this increase. The weathier citizens think that it could really benefit all of the people, not only a certain group. When it came time to vote all the citizens came to show their support for the enlargement of the canal, rich next to poor, old next to young. The reason this issue has gained so much momentum and support is because many of the citizens of Panama think that this canal will help raise the country out of the state of poverty that it is currently in.

We have discussed the alarmingly high poverty rates in Central America throughout our unit on this region, and Panama is no exception. As many of you know Central America is a very small portion of the world, however as small as it is it has a very high debt. Panama is a very poor country, and the canal is it's main source of income for many of the 3 million people who call Panama home. If the canal would be enlarged it would provide many jobs for unemployed citizens, and would lower the extreme poverty levels. Construction would create 7,000 jobs and up to 40,000 indirect jobs for the people of Panama. It also would increase the trade in the canal, and help boost the local and national economy.

posted by Anonymous @ 10/22/2006 02:26:00 PM