The Bi-Oceanic Corridor to revolutionize South America

[Music] south america is the land of open veins since colonization in the 16th century its minerals agricultural goods and labor force have enriched far away powerhouses first the spanish and the portuguese reaped its lands for gold sugar and cotton later under the united states hegemony its raw materials fueled north american industrialization infrastructure mega projects underlined washington's geopolitical power and of these the panama canal opened in 1914 reigns supreme by allowing trade to bypass the treacherous cape horn passage the canal cut shipping distance by up to 20 000 kilometers historically control over this choke point granted washington unmatched influence over sea power and trade in the western hemisphere but one nation's blessing is another's curse and the canal's predominance overshadowed later efforts at south american integration only recently have new infrastructure mega projects been constructed to develop the interior of these the bi-oceanic road corridor sits at the forefront running through brazil paraguay argentina and chile the route will cut nearly 8 000 kilometers and two weeks of travel time from pacific bound trade the goal is to improve access to lucrative consumer markets in east asia so what is the bi oceanic corridor and can it replace the panama canal [Music] today's video was sponsored by established titles a project that helps preserve the woodlands of scotland while supporting global afforestation established titles teams up with international charities like one tree planted and trees for the future and commits to planting a tree for every order the neat part is that established titles is based on a historic scottish custom where landowners are referred to as lords and ladies so by acquiring as little as one square feet of land you can call yourself a lord or lady that doesn't actually make you a member of any royal family nor does it grant you the right to rule but you do get a certificate with a unique plot number that shows you the exact whereabouts of your land here is where my plot is located and if you use my landing page you will effectively have your land next to mine within a few minutes of walking that's pretty cool not to mention it makes for a great last minute gift established titles is actually running a special sale right now plus if you use the code caspian 10 you get an additional 10 off go to establishtitles.comcaspian10 to get your gifts now and help support the channel [Music] south america is a fragmented geopolitical space its economies and trade relations developed to be outward facing and the reasons for this were both geographic and political geographically natural boundaries cleave the continent the andes mountain range runs along its spine for 9 000 kilometers at an average altitude of four kilometers the dense amazon rainforest dominates the continental center covering an area eight times the size of texas meanwhile in the north the colombian cortegillas separate the amazon basin from the caribbean coast politically colonial histories shaped national economies states were built around resource extraction sometimes of a single commodity raw materials were shipped to the industrial hubs of europe and north america and since south american states did not produce finished goods there was little incentive to develop regional trade links or build transcontinental transport networks plus most east-west trade followed through the panama canal rendering road and rail development on economical this arrangement benefited the united states above all during the cold war washington often deployed its economic leverage to disciplined governments perceived as hostile only after the soviet union's collapse did south america become peripheral to washington's strategic thinking and regional integration began in earnest the intellectual groundwork for a bi-oceanic corridor was laid by bolivia and by 2013 la paz secured chinese financing for a rail network connecting inner brazil with peru via the bolivian highlands yet the deal fell through due to friction with the rail companies set to build the project not to mention the political turmoil within bolivia la paz's inaction allowed paraguay to step into the void and propose an alternative route going through paraguay as such bolivia was sidestepped and in december 2015 the ascension declaration was signed by the governments of brazil paraguay argentina and chile the new route used road infrastructure to connect the amazon to chilean ports via paraguay the significance of the corridor was plain to see for the first time an infrastructure project promised to overcome south america's natural boundaries unifying it from coast to coast the road corridor begins at the atlantic port of santos which connects to campo grande via existing transit links from there a highway will connect to the bi-oceanic bridge crossing the river paraguay at the town of puerto murcia thereafter a dual carriageway runs through the paraguayan cheka forest past loma de plata the route then crosses into the argentine provinces of huhui and salta there the road splits crossing the andes into chile at the sokompo siko and hama mountain passes finally the corridor runs downhill terminating at the ports of antofagasta megillionis autocopia ike and arika the total length of the roadway will be nearly 2250 kilometers and it will be supplemented by parallel railways connecting to the ports on the rivers paraguay and parana [Music] currently the road corridor is nearly three-quarters complete only few segments remain unfinished including the bi-oceanic bridge and the connecting highway on the paraguayan side costing 103 million dollars and 445 million dollars respectively other components still under construction include the argentine border crossings with paraguay and chile either way upon completion the bay oceanic corridor will likely benefit all four countries for brazil the new road will facilitate maize and soybean exports to asian markets especially for the mato grosso province where more than two-thirds of exports are already bound for asia-pacific bypassing cape horn and the panama canal will allow the mato grosso do sul province to reap an additional 500 million dollars annually worth roughly 10 of its gdp meanwhile the project has brought much-needed road infrastructure to paraguay before 2018 an austria-sized portion of the country had no paved roads since then 3 000 kilometers of roads have been paved more than the rest of paraguay's history combined for argentina the corridor will develop its northern regions improved access to chilean ports will help move wheat and soybeans to asian markets but argentina's speciality is beef the demand for which has soared recently in china in this way the corridor presents buenos aires with a lucrative opportunity to capitalize on its economic strengths for chile the project grants geopolitical relevance by making it a fulcrum for south american trade chilean ports offer reduced shipping times and they also tend to be less congested than their brazilian counterparts faster turnover rates will equal an overall increase in cargo volumes over time [Music] moreover chile's trade partnerships including 26 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements grand near unfettered access to economies presenting two-thirds of the world's population and 85 percent of the global gdp yet there are drawbacks though the corridor will supposedly help integrate south america critics argue it simply makes the continent a better quarry and farm for chinese european and north american businesses and the lack of value-added industries will only reinforce the outward-facing tendencies that have dominated the region since 1492. moreover the main beneficiaries are the large agricultural and mining interests which already hold tremendous sway over south american governments for example chinese businesses have pledged more than four billion dollars towards building a mega hog farm in argentina's cheka region a move that has angered locals the chinese project includes three building complexes each containing five large pig farms this will increase the region's annual pork output from six hundred thousand to nine hundred thousand tons scientists however have raised concerns that the farms will generate diseases in fact one of the reasons beijing looks to outsource pork production is due to outbreaks at its own mega farms since 2018 china has put down more than one million pigs due to diseases and since climate change is pushing tropical illnesses into the lower latitudes argentina could itself play host to new epidemics another drawback has been the damage to the grand checas ecosystem a lowland region south of the amazon and north of argentina since 1985 more than 140 000 square kilometers have been deforested one-fifth of the checa every two minutes a football pitched size area is cleared but the deforestation pattern is particularly vicious unlike the fishbone deforestation practiced in the amazon which allows faster regeneration in the checa land clearing is carried out in large squares easily visible from nasa satellites deforestation has diminished one of the world's most valuable sinks for carbon emissions local indigenous people have been deprived of their livelihoods and the new road places rare species at risk leopards jaguars giant armadillos and main wolves often end up as roadkill and though the by oceanic corridor has wildlife crossings the ecological impact will only be amplified once the parallel railway is constructed ultimately though it is difficult to argue against a highway once it has already been built one can bargain with it plead with it even yell at it but it will remain unmoved new facts are established on the ground and the damage is already irreversible meanwhile geopolitically the project has caused friction with bolivia la paz has expressed annoyance at being sidelined from the project though it still plans to build its own railway corridor the paraguayan route's absorption of cargoes will place it in direct competition with its bolivian counterpart but the consequences are not only local the linchpin of the project paraguay is one of the few nations recognizing the taiwan authority as the sole legitimate government of china for this reason paraguayan exports to china are low by regional standards even so the economic benefits of engaging china are undeniable and it may only be a matter of time before ascension switches camps such developments may annoy washington but it is difficult to counter this form of geoeconomics china's growing influence in south america stems from its willingness to engage local politicians for instance hundreds of thousands of chinese solar panels now dot the salt flats of argentina meanwhile beneath the surface beijing has secured strategically vital minerals including zinc copper lithium crucial components in lithium-ion batteries beijing's partnership with buenos aires was cemented in february 2022 when the latter subscribed to the belt and road initiative in exchange for infrastructure investments worth 24 billion dollars nevertheless it would be wrong to ascribe the advance of chinese capital into south america as a result from the intelligent design of the belt and road initiative far more important has been the natural evolution of the global economy especially since china joined the world trade organization in 2001. washington by contrast has dropped the ball the trump presidency did much to alienate the region something the biden government has failed to address for instance many of the region's crucial u.s embassy and diplomatic posts remain vacant long term washington's continued negligence will undermine its influence in a region long considered its backyard should that happen the monroe doctrine will kneel over with a whimper not a bang all up the bai oceanic corridor will have far reaching consequences for south america it will not replace the panama canal but it will be a substantial footnote that will generate economic growth yet the project is not without its social ecological and geopolitical costs washington's aloofness has provided an opening for china and many now believe the monroe doctrine is a thing of the past but extrapolating the future from the present is a dubious business and should american influence decline further washington may be driven to coercive tactics it employed during the cold war regional actors should thus threat carefully after all it is only when one strays too far from the pole that one feels the tug of the leash i've been your host shirvan from caspian report special thanks to andrew merle for researching this topic and if you want to show some support leave a like comment and subscribe thank you for watching and sago [Music] you

Channel: CaspianReport

Views: 1,656,027

Keywords: Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Bi-Oceanic, Corridor, Panama Canal, South America, United States, China, Power, Influence, Monroe, Doctrine, History, Geography, Economics, Trade, Money, Investments, Highway, Railway, Bridge, Construction, Infrastructure, Ports

Id: FPSOZCNqHdk

Length: 16min 43sec (1003 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 10 2022