海角大神

On the windy shore of Lake Nicaragua, farmer Dayton Guzman surveys the vast expanse of water his family relies on for irrigation.

鈥淚f something affects the lake,鈥� he says, 鈥渋t affects us.鈥�

The lake鈥檚 future is in doubt since a massive Chinese-backed canal project was inaugurated late last year. The multibillion-dollar 鈥淕rand Canal鈥� is slated to stretch 170 miles from the Caribbean to the Pacific, and some 60 miles of it will cross through this lake.

The government argues the project will create tens of thousands of jobs and boost GDP by up to 12 percent 鈥� a critical point in a country where nearly three-quarters of the population lives on less than $4 a day.

But the canal has encountered both careful criticism and fierce opposition from Nicaraguans. And the lake has become a potent symbol of what鈥檚 at stake. The 3,000 square mile lake is Central America鈥檚 largest; home to endangered species and a water source for hundreds of thousands of people.

Scientists warn the dredging required for the canal would result in irrevocable damage. Concerns about land expropriation and pollution are spreading, with tens of thousands of demonstrators marching in more than 35 protests to date. The Nicaraguan Conference of Bishops has called on the government of President Daniel Ortega for open debate and increased transparency, saying it鈥檚 鈥渨orried鈥� about the project.

President Ortega has been the target of protests before, but this time may be different. In recent years, public criticism has followed party lines. But as pressure mounts on the government to respond to concerns about the environmental and economic risks of building the canal, today鈥檚 calls for debate present a new challenge to Ortega鈥檚 power.聽聽 聽

The protests now include 鈥渕any who are sympathetic to the government,鈥� says Manuel Ortega Hegg, a Nicaraguan sociologist. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 new is they involve a wider range of groups, like campesinos,鈥� traditionally a Sandinista party base, courted during elections with gifts of tin roofs and livestock. Dissent goes 鈥渂eyond political parties,鈥� he says.

Farm to five-star hotel?

As the afternoon sun turns amber on the island of Ometepe, a white egret stalks in the lake shallows and a woman washes clothes on a broad detergent-stained rock. A mother and her son fish from the shore, throwing in their lines again and again as the sun sets.聽聽聽

Home to two volcanoes in the middle of the lake,聽Ometepe is expected to be heavily impacted if the canal project moves forward. The canal would pass within three miles of its black sand beaches. The island is聽also the site of a planned resort, one of several 鈥渟ubprojects" of the canal, including two deepwater ports and a free-trade zone.

Some doubt the ambitious canal plan will go through. No significant construction has happened, though the government has started widening an access road on the Pacific coast.

But for Dayton and Luvys Guzman, the possibility can鈥檛 be ignored. The lakefront land where they farm tobacco and plantains has been in their family for generations. Mrs. Guzman says a few months ago Chinese and Nicaraguan engineers came to survey their property without asking permission. 鈥淭hey measured everything,鈥� she says, 鈥渋ncluding the laundry, houses, and sheds.鈥�

鈥淭hey said they wanted the farm for a five-star hotel,鈥� Mr. Guzman adds.

The Guzmans say they won鈥檛 sell. 鈥淲e have our life here, where would we go?鈥� he asks, adding that his 12 employees would also be without work if the land were expropriated.

In 2013, Nicaragua passed a law that granted the canal concession after just three hours of debate. The hundred-year concession to Hong Kong firm HKND allows the company to claim any property it needs, even outside the canal zone. The firm is headed by billionaire Wang Jing, a telecommunications magnate.

Some Ometepe residents complain the government hasn鈥檛 given them any information. 鈥淚f the canal is going to hurt us fishermen, we need to know how it will affect us,鈥� says Santos Lopes, who鈥檚 been fishing on the lake for 30 years. He says he would give up his nets to earn a wage working on the canal.聽 But he doesn鈥檛 know if that tradeoff is even possible.

'People have a right to speak'

Given the lack of debate on the part of the government, civil society groups have stepped in. In November Jorge Huete-P茅rez, a biologist and vice president of the Academy of Sciences of Nicaragua, hosted a conference about the canal, inviting dozens of international scientists. The government and HKND鈥檚 environmental consultants declined invitations, but the gathering offered an opportunity for scientists to voice their concerns.

鈥淲e know they鈥檙e going to damage the lake, because there鈥檚 no technology they can use that鈥檚 not going to be invasive and create damage,鈥� Mr. Huete-P茅rez says.

The scientists called for an independent environmental assessment. Again, the government hasn鈥檛 responded, Huete-P茅rez says. 鈥淎ll of these questions need to be discussed transparently. After all, Nicaragua is a democracy, where people have a right to speak.鈥�

But some say Nicaragua鈥檚 democracy is an illusion.

As president during the Sandinista revolution in the 1980s, Ortega supported leftist policies such as land reform and nationalizing industries. On his return to power in 2006, he promised to help the poor and ensure access to free education and health care. He was re-elected to a third term in 2011, after a widely criticized constitutional change that allowed him to stay in office.

Critics say Ortega has traded his political vision for the consolidation of power: In 2006, he formed a strategic alliance with the conservative Catholic Church.聽 Since then, his government has consolidated independent media into state-controlled channels, enforced party loyalty by state employees, and restricted access to information, all seen as signs of growing authoritarianism. Civil society groups say their voices are suppressed, and legal efforts to modify the canal law have been blocked.聽聽

Despite their erstwhile alliance, the Conference of Bishops condemned the government鈥檚 鈥減olitical practice鈥� in its latest missive, accusing it of 鈥渁bandonment of the common good鈥� and calling its treatment of the conversation around the canal a sign of 鈥渁mbition, authoritarianism 鈥� and corruption, a grave sin.鈥�

The Conference also warned that communities on the canal route are determined in their opposition, which could lead to 鈥渁rmed conflict鈥� if the government doesn鈥檛 address dissent in an open, democratic manner.

'Their only recourse'

Ometepe has been the site of several recent protests. In January, residents of one community met a government medical brigade with a bonfire and a banner reading, 鈥淭raitor Ortega, no more lies.鈥� Activists here and elsewhere on the canal route claim that the real mission of the brigade and other visits like it aren鈥檛 medical.

鈥淵ou give them your identification number, your name, and once you鈥檝e done that, you read a document that says you鈥檙e in favor of the canal,鈥� says activist Jairo Carrion.

Although these demonstrations ended peacefully, dozens of protesters were arrested and foreign journalists were harassed while reporting from the canal zone in December.

There鈥檚 more subtle suppression of speech, too. Maria, a secondary school teacher on Ometepe, says teachers were required to attend a canal presentation by a Sandinista representative. They were told to teach their students that the canal has 鈥渘o negative environmental impacts, and would create jobs,鈥� she says.

While many teachers are critical of the project, Maria fears losing her job if she speaks out. She asked that only her first name be used in this article. If you鈥檙e a state employee, she says, 鈥測ou have to be in agreement鈥� with the party.

The government is pushing forward with its plan, opening canal commission offices in communities slated for expropriation. Meanwhile protests continue, with a national march scheduled in the capital, Managua, next month.

Even though the protests have yet to lead to concrete changes, Mr. Hegg, the sociologist,聽says they鈥檙e important because they 鈥渂reak through the fear of the public to freely protest.鈥�

Since Nicaraguans were shut out of any dialogue, he says, 鈥渢heir only recourse is to take to the streets.鈥�