Indigenous people of Costa Rica are watchingbulldozers move into their land, knowing that theirhomes, their culture and their way of life are soon tobe washed away.

A hydroelectric project — somassive that it is being compared to the Three Gorges dam inChina — is already in the works. And despite international and domestic lawsforbidding the relocation of people from their landwithout their informed consent, the people of thisregion have not been consulted about the project ortheir relocation. Some have not even received anyofficial government information telling them they willhave to move.

Patricia Rebolledo is the executive director of theCanadian non-profit organization, Horizons ofFriendship. She said the government of Costa Rica has notasked for the people’s consent and has not clearly informed thepeople of the area of its intentions.

During a seven-day research tour of Costa Rica, shehad the opportunity of attending community meetings wherethe residents expressed their frustrations. The peoplehave asked the government to consult with them buthave received no response, said Rebollado.

“They have not been consulted. They know they have toleave. They say they have seen bulldozers. They areangry and afraid,” she said.

The project was the main topic of conversation in thefour communities Rebollado visited.

Horizons of Friendship is an organization that promotes fair internationaldevelopment policies in Central America. They recentlyheard from Miguel Pickard, from the Centre for Economic andPolitical Research for Community Action in Mexico (CIEPAC). Pickard, theco-founder of the organization, toured Ontario andQuebec to educate Canadians about how this type ofactivity is about to become more common in CentralAmerica.

He said the Plan Puebla Panama, announced by MexicanPresident Vicente Fox in 2000, has not yet receivedthe attention it deserves from the internationaldevelopment community. It is a plan that involves theconstruction of highways, dams, airports, seaports andcommunication networks to make the area moreattractive to multi-national corporations. Working in conjunction with the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the plan would turn southern Mexico and all of Central America into a colossal free trade zone, competing in the world wide race to drain wages, and to lower standards for working conditions, environmental protection and human rights.

The plan includes the construction of five dams in thesouthern area of Mexico. If this plan goesthrough,100,000 people will be displaced in southernMexico.

In Costa Rica, the project they are worried about iscalled the Boruca Dam project. Rebollado visited theRey Curré Reserve, one of three indigenous territoriesthat will be directly affected by the dam. Whencompleted, this dam will flood 25,000 hectares of landand displace10,000 people. This land is full ofarcheological sites and is part of the Costa Ricanrainforest. The Boruca Dam will be built across theRio Grande de Terraba in South Central Costa Rica.This will affect the Rey Curré, Terraba and Borucaindigenous communities. Rebollado said the dam isexpected to be in operation by 2004.

Pickard said the issues are the same in both ReyCurré and Chiapas in the south of Mexico. He said in both cases they stemfrom the Plan Puebla Panama’s goal of makingconditions more favourable to multi-nationalcorporations regardless of the social or environmentalcosts.

Rebollado said the Rey Curré people realize thattheir struggle is only a small part of aninternational plan. However, they have not given up.Meetings have been held to inform the people of theregion of the government’s plan and of their rights.

“They know now that it is a regional project. Theyare protesting against the government but they will lose,” shesaid.

She contrasted the internationally-fundedmega-project with the plight of the people who will bedisplaced. The area is poorly developed and hasreceived funds from the Canadian Embassy’s Fund forLocal Initiatives. Many of the residents do not speakSpanish and some of the money is being used to informthem of the up-coming project. She said the land meanseverything to the people of the Rey Curré territory.

They have been living on the land for approximately500 years. Not only is it the site of ancient burialgrounds, but the land itself is a part of theirculture.

“Mother Earth means a lot to them. The new land willnot mean anything to them,” she said. The beauty of the area amazed Rebollado, who livedin Costa Rica for 15 years.

“I don’t oppose modernization but we are destroying whatbelongs to future generations,” she said. Rebollado said this plan is a change of policy forCosta Rica, a country that has been credited for itsprogressive environmental policy. National parks andwildlife refuges protect 16 per cent of Costa Rica andthe country maintains about 90 per cent of itsoriginal forest.

“We were trying to protect the environment and now weare trying to destroy the environment,” she said.She said the government of Costa Rica, is betrayingits own principles for profit. In the past,social policy was a priority. Today, the government isdoing more and more to join the corporateglobalization movement. Rebollado said the dam is beingbuilt to provide electricity to the Mexican andAmerican markets.

“It is strictly profit,” she said.

Pickard said it is natural for governments to abandonenvironmental and labour regulations under the PlanPuebla Panama.

“The goal is to make it as enticing and rewarding todo business as possible,” he said.

On the other hand the money earned by this projectwill not trickle down to the population. Rebolladodisputed the Costa Rican government’s claim that theproject will create jobs. The jobs created by ahydroelectric project require technical skills thatthe residents do not have and, in any case, they aregoing to be displaced from the region.

Pickard agreed the profit would not reach thepopulation. He said the private companies are notinvesting in the new highways and dams that are beingbuilt all over Central America. Governments andtaxpayers must fund these projects. The residents willnot even be allowed to enjoy the energy beinggenerated. As soon as energy is privatized, rates goup, Pickard said.

“Who is this energy being generated for? The U.S. isthe largest consumer of energy. They’re going to getit from the Plan Puebla Panama,” he said.