On October 22, 2006, Panamanians marked ballots with a simple question: Should the Panama Canal be expanded? The result was not close. Seventy-eight percent voted yes. Turnout was low, just over forty percent, but the mandate was clear. The government of President Martín Torrijos had staked its reputation on a $5.25 billion plan to build a third set of locks, allowing the passage of ships far larger than the canal's then-maximum Panamax size.
The project was a calculated risk on the future of maritime trade. The existing canal, opened in 1914, was nearing capacity and could not accommodate the new generation of massive container ships and liquefied natural gas carriers. These vessels, dubbed New Panamax or Post-Panamax, were forced to take longer, costlier routes. The expansion aimed to recapture that traffic. It was not merely construction; it was a geopolitical and economic repositioning of Panama itself.
Opposition existed but was drowned out by a state-backed campaign promising jobs and sustained revenue. Critics warned of environmental damage, cost overruns, and questioned whether the benefits would reach the poor. The government framed the vote as a patriotic duty, a final step in mastering the canal after the United States handed over control in 1999.
The expansion took nearly a decade, plagued by disputes and delays, and opened in June 2016. It succeeded in its primary goal. The canal's annual cargo tonnage increased significantly, and it now regularly transits ships carrying over 14,000 containers. The vote transformed global shipping lanes, altering port infrastructure investments from the Gulf of Mexico to the eastern seaboard of the United States. Panama bet on the continued growth of globalization, and for now, the locks remain full.