Resource February 12, 2018

Meet the Journalist: Guido Bilbao

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English

Heavy machinery is cutting a new road to untouched Caribbean beaches. Extractive industries are...

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It all started with the name, “The Atlantic Conquest.” Who could think of naming a project to build a road through indigenous territory that way in the 21st century? Image by Raphael Salazar. Panama, 2017.
It all started with the name, “The Atlantic Conquest.” Who could think of naming a project to build a road through indigenous territory that way in the 21st century? Image by Raphael Salazar. Panama, 2017.

Five hundred and fifteen years after the arrival of Columbus, a silent, yet expanding operation now threatens the existence of dozens of communities in the primary rainforest of Panama—the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. A massive infrastructure project includes miles of new roads, hydroelectric, mega-mining, a network of electric power transmission lines, and associated groundwork in protected forests. These projects are anchored by 19 miles of asphalt that will connect the Panamerican Highway with the Caribbean sea. It is a project that the Panama government has baptized "The Conquest of the Atlantic."

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