The Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal in the Central American Regional Development Context: Considerations for the Debate

In the regional context of Central America, the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal presupposes a great economic, technological and geopolitical challenge. However, beyond the economic expansion that the project, the merchant traffic, the new docks and surroundings imply, the Nicaraguan ruling class has not tackled the restructuring of the economic policy that will allow better use of the hypothetical GDP increase, especially for the affected communities and the most vulnerable groups of the country. To demonstrate the need for such changes, the article analyses the Nicaraguan Grand Canal Project in the context of the tumultuous political history of Central America and the current geopolitical unrest linked to global merchant traffic, identifying the main regional weaknesses of the Nicaraguan proposal, as well as the fundamental tasks that the country should address to transform the Canal into a regional development focus.