Chixoy Project History

The World Bank has had many controversial operations in their history. Their existence has been rife from inclusions into conspiracy theory, all the way to globalization activists of which the current president of the World Bank once was (World Bank President Jim Yong Kim: The Vice News Interview). While some of the allegations towards the group might be exaggerated, they are far from freedom of scrutiny. In particular is the exceptional case of the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala, of which it is difficult to imagine a worse outcome.

The main structures for the Chixoy project was a 108 meter hydroelectrical dam close to the junction of the Chixoy and Quixal rivers, 25.6 km power tunnel, and a power plant that generates a total of 300MW when fully operational. The project was expected to cost a total of 414.08 million US dollars with initial loans from the International Bank for reconstruction and Development (IBRD also known as the World Bank) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) being 72 and 105 million US dollars respectively (At the time of 1978).

Negotiations completed on the 19th of May in 1978, and construction was to commence in October later that year. The organization Instituto Nacional de Electrificación (INDE) was in charge of the project and received the loans with the guarantee of the Republic of Guatemala. It was hoped that the project would reduce the country’s oil-fired plants by 33% down to 30% and that it would be operational by June 1982 (The World Bank, 1978).

The Chixoy dam ended as an economic nightmare and ended up costing close to 1 billion USD , however corruption was by far the larger concern. The worse of which was in the form of massacres to the Maya Achi tribe who needed to be relocated from their homes in the soon to be flood plains. About 376 Guatemalan people mostly of the Maya Achi tribe that were opposed to the resettlement were slaughtered from 1980-1982. It is believed by the local villagers that the massacre took place so that the officials of INDE would be able to keep the money allocated for relocation of the flood way (Aguirre, 2004).

There is no doubt that the INDE had corruption present within it. However it remains to be known how much the World Bank knew about it. They knew that people needed to be relocated and is typical for large dams. In the Case of this project the World Bank knew that at least 1500 citizens would have to be relocated however this estimate ended up being very low as some 3400 citizens were affected by the dam (Aguirre , 2004). Worse still was in a report by the World Bank on resettlement problems and in it there were no mentioned of issues of relocation opposition let alone a massacres (1996). It is difficult to know if the Bank was aware of the massacres however even if they were not aware they still would have demonstrated grave negligence.

In current events the World Bank has acknowledged the massacres and after many years the Mayans have been given compensation.

Directly after the massacre/relocation of the Mayans, many of the promised compensations for their relocations were not met (The World Bank, 2000). The World Bank delegated the National Fund for Peace to administer the compensations and by 1998 had finished. However the quality of the compensation was poorly managed as the land in which the Mayans received in return ranged from no land [44 families], infertile land [46 families] and to fertile rainforest [62 families](The World Bank 2000). In addition there were no reparations for the murders up until 2015. On October 15 of 2015, the surviving members of the massacres and resettlement finally received payment totalling 154 million USD of which neither the World Bank nor the IDB needed to pay (Russel, April

2015).

Needless to say much of the negative aspects of the Chixoy project could have been dealt with more appropriately. Hydrostatic dams can be a great source of energy so long as the location is chosen wisely and all necessary mitigation is established. The Guatemalan government is corrupt and such nations should be treated in a high risk manner. There should have been a much greater oversight especially during large projects. In retrospect it is easy to find issues with a project but with greater awareness, the World Bank could have had the ability to take command of the project at an earlier stage and perhaps before the massacres took place. The World Bank is consistently working in areas of the world were corruption is higher and their policies should reflect this. As a result the World Bank’s obliviousness during the development and planning of the Chixoy dam led in part to the exploitation of the Meya Achi tribe.

References:

(1996). 376 killed. Did World Bank Know?[Abstract]. Earth Island Journal, 11(3). Retrieved from go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=PPES&sw=w&u=lirn17237&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA18827002&it=r&asid=40a36f3de3fa073d986f3075c429ada7

Aguirre, M. (2004). The Chixoy dam destroyed our lives. Human Rights Dialogue, Carnegie Council, Winter.

Ledec, G., & Quintero, J. D. (2003). Good Dams and Bad Dams. Environmental Criteria for Site Selection of Hydroelectric Projects. The World Bank. Latin America and Caribbean Region Sustainable Development Working Paper, 16, 21.

Pacenza, M. (1996). People damned : Chixoy Dam, Guatemalan massacre and the World Bank. Retrieved from http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/vm40xs485

Russel, G. (2015, October 20). 33 Three Years Later, A First Measure of Reparations Paid to Victims of the Chixoy Dam Massacres and Evictions. Retrieved from http://rightsaction.org/action-content/33-three-years-later-first-measure-reparations-paid-victims-chixoy-dam-massacres-and

Russell, G. (2015, April 17). Guatemala: The World Bank, a Hydroelectric Dam, and Massacres. Telesur. Retrieved from http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Guatemala-The-World-Bank-a-Hydroelectric-Dam-and-Massacres-20150416-0018.html

The World Bank (2000). Reparations and the Right to Remedy. Retrieved from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTINVRES/214578-1112885441548/20480101/ReparationsandtheRighttoRemedysoc221.pdf

The World Bank (1978). Reconstruction and Development to the Executive Directors on a Proposed Loan to Instituto Nacional de Electrificacion with the Guarantee of Republic of Guatemala for the Chixoy Project. Retrieved from http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/403441468256161652/pdf/multi-page.pdf

Whirled Bank Group (2003). Dams & the World Bank. Retrieved from http://www.whirledbank.org/environment/dams.html

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim: The Vice News Interview [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=619qFMXneeU