Nicaraguan Views of a Canal

Kenneth Coleman has an AmericasBarometer article on Nicaraguan support for a canal. The results are largely positive--people believe it will create jobs and help the economy. The negative side is what you might expect, as there is concern about the environment and opposition to the state expropriating property to build it.

One thing I found interesting is that in the U.S. the main issue raised in the media is about the Chinese role, but that does not matter to Nicaraguans. They don't share our paranoia. There was not a specific question about it, but there was the option of choosing sovereignty or "other" with regard to perceived problems.

Another interesting point is that a quarter of Nicaraguan had never heard of the project at all. Yet as he points out, that is much higher than the 30% who had heard of the constitutional reforms Daniel Ortega was pushing!