In December 31, 1999, the world's richest nation, the United States of America, will transfer ownership of the Panama Canal into the hands of a small, relatively poor country, Panama, after a presence of more than 90 years. The Carter-Torrijos treaties (1978), ratified in the U.S. senate by a single vote, will give Panama possession of all of its territory, including several billion dollars worth of land, buildings, and equipment that were once part of the canal zone.

Just how important is the canal? According to figures from Latin Trade magazine, around 13,000 ships pass through the canal each year, carrying an estimated four percent of the world's goods around the globe. More importantly, about seventy percent of all the trade through the canal is coming from or headed to the United States. This valuable artery of shipping is vital to the flow of goods to and from U.S. factories. And according to Latin Trade, a one billion dollar improvement program is well under way that includes a widening of the narrow Gaillard Cut, and is due for completion by 2002. Single file traffic will be converted to two-way traffic allowing even the largest ships to pass (delays have increased in numbers since an increase in traffic rose during the years 1995-1996). Says Alberto Aleman, the Panama Canal Commissions senior administrator, "Panama has much to offer," describing it as, "the only port in the world that has two oceans plus a canal that runs through it. You can look at it as one big port." Moreover, there exist many "dry canal system schemes" on the drawing board. A dry canal system would include new ports where containers are unloaded and rushed across land to ships waiting on the other side.

A Sea Gate Changes Hands

For over 90 years the United States has possessed this vital gate of world commerce. God told Abraham in the book of Genesis that He would make a great nation of some of his descendants, and that these peoples would possess "the gates of their enemies" (Genesis 22:16). This prophecy was repeated in Genesis 24:60: "And they blessed Rebekah and said to her: Our sister may you become the mother of thousands of ten thousands; and may your descendants possess the gates of those who hate them." Later in the book of Leviticus, God warned the Israelites (Leviticus 26:19), "I will break the pride of your power." According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, one of the definitions of "pride" is: "delight or elation arising from some act, possession, or relationship." Certainly then, losing possession of a vital gate of world trade qualifies as pride being broken.

U.S. Prepares to Withdraw

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal titled "Let Panama Try Life Without a U.S. Presence," the author points out that as the date of U.S. withdrawal approaches, both sides are having second thoughts. A turnaround in Panamanian opinion since the 1978 treaty is striking. Sixty-seven percent of the people approved of the Carter-Torrijos treaty in a referendum in 1978. In the last few years, however, some surveys indicate that as high as 70 percent want continued U.S. military presence in their country. Some Panamanians would even like to see the U.S. stay in charge of the canal, or at least have a hand in its operation. Perhaps factors influencing the change are that the U.S. military poured $300 million or more into the local economy each year, provided fresh drinking water, protected forest lands near the canal, and constructed many roads and schools that would not have existed without the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In the United States, there remains uncertainty about withdrawal from the canal zone as well. Over the past 20 years, many members of Congress, as the Wall Street Journal article points out, have called for revision of the treaty. Some ideas and packages have been proposed by members of Congress to keep a U.S. presence in the canal zone.

Despite opinions on both sides of the issue, the date of December 31, 1999, draws closer, a date when the country of Panama will take control of the canal. The United States will lose a valuable sea gate. WNP