A ampliação do Canal do Panamá: motivações comerciais e reformas institucionais

Abstract

Abstract: The Panama Canal is located in Central America in the Republic of Panama. Its strategic location allows connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through an isthmus of 83 km long and 26 meters high. Due to the extremely natural complexity, its construction has become a major engineering challenge, the first French attempt failed between 1881-1889 and was completed by the U.S. military in the period 1904-1914. Meanwhile, Panama became an independent country - with direct U.S. aid - and subsequently signed an international treaty with the United States for the construction, administration and sovereignty of the Canal Zone by the Americans. Given the expansion of international trade after World War II the traffic capacity of the Canal has become a limiting factor for the passage of larger vessels. Furthermore, the internal problems associated growing disinterest on the American Canal led to a renegotiation of the treaty with the USA. Thus, in 1977 both countries signed the Torrijos-Carter Treaty whose goal was a gradual transition from 20 years to the full Panamanian control and management over the sovereignty of the Canal. Within this period of transition (1979-1999), the U.S. overthrew dictator Noriega in 1989 under the fear of the weakening of the bilateral relations between the countries as well as ensuring free flow of trade at the Canal. Thus, the process of democratization started in the 1990s provided the input Foreign Direct Investment, privatization and modernization for the Panamanian Port Sector. With the end of the transition period and the Canal Zone in 1999, the newly created agency ACP acquired administrative autonomy and now manages the Canal as a public entity with a focus on providing quality services which consequently became in a financial surplus entity. Therefore, the Canal?s duplication project was approved in a national referendum in 2006 and the construction work began in 2008. With the duplication it is expected to strengthen the flow of trade between the Americas and Asia, mainly from USA, China, Japan, Korea and Chile. Similarly, there is an opening up prospects for advancement Brazilian trade due to transport infrastructure projects by the Brazilian federal government to strengthen the use of ports in the North and Northeast of Brazil.