憤怒的小鳥 算看明白了

 “ 現在我們厄瓜多爾人意識到，我們其實並不需要這座大壩。”

 “ 現在我們厄瓜多爾人意識到，我們其實並不需要這座大壩。”

還有價錢：約190億美元中國貸款，這筆錢不光是用於這座名為“科卡科

多辛克雷水電站”的大壩，，還用於大橋、高速公路、灌溉、學校、衛生

診所及其他六座大壩的建設，政府為如何支付這些項目的費用傷透了腦筋。

不過，厄瓜多爾還有貸款要還。來自中國進出口銀行的17億美元貸款對

中國而言利潤豐厚：15年內7%的利息。僅利息一項，厄瓜多爾每年就欠

1.25 億美元。

“ 中國占了厄瓜多爾的便宜，”厄瓜多爾能源部長卡洛斯·佩雷斯

(Carlos Pérez)。“中國的策略很明顯。他們要控制他國經濟。”

如今，就在大壩投入使用僅僅兩年後，數千道裂縫正在瓦解壩體。水庫

被淤泥、沙子和樹木堵塞。而工程師唯一一次讓設施進入全面運行，就

出現了劇烈震動，導致國家電網短路。

根據政府的數據，由於鋼材質量不合格和中國水電的焊接不當，大壩的

機械設備目前已經出現了 7648 處裂縫。泥沙淤積也是一大問題，因為

它們會損壞重要設備。

REVENTADOR, Ecuador — The dam sits under the glare of an active volcano, with columns of ash spewing toward the sky.

厄瓜多爾雷文塔多火山——大壩坐落在一座活火山下，縷縷火山灰噴入天空。

Officials had warned against the dam for decades. Geologists said an earthquake could wipe it away.

數十年來，官員們一直對這座大壩發出警告。地質學家表示，一場地震就能將其抹去。

大壩附近的雷文塔多火山在噴發火山灰。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Now, only two years after opening, thousands of cracks are splintering the dam’s machinery. Its reservoir is clogged with silt, sand and trees. And the only time engineers tried to throttle up the facility completely, it shook violently and shorted out the national electricity grid.

如今，就在大壩投入使用僅僅兩年後，數千道裂縫正在瓦解壩體。水庫被淤泥、沙子和樹木堵塞。而工程師唯一一次讓設施進入全面運行，就出現了劇烈震動，導致國家電網短路。

This giant dam in the jungle, financed and built by China, was supposed to christen Ecuador’s vast ambitions, solve its energy needs and help lift the small South American country out of poverty.

這座巨型大壩坐落在叢林中，由中國出資並且承建，它原本應當實現厄瓜多爾的雄心，解決其能源需求，幫助這個南美小國脫貧。

Instead, it has become part of a national scandal engulfing the country in corruption, perilous amounts of debt — and a future tethered to China.

然而，如今它卻成了一個令國家陷入腐敗、危險的高額債務——以及受制於中國的未來——的全國醜聞的一部分。

Nearly every top Ecuadorean official involved in the dam’s construction is either imprisoned or sentenced on bribery charges. That includes a former vice president, a former electricity minister and even the former anti-corruption official monitoring the project, who was caught on tape talking about Chinese bribes.

幾乎每個涉及大壩建設的厄瓜多爾官員都遭監禁或因賄賂指控被判刑。這其中包括一名前副總統、一名前電力部部長，甚至還有一名監督該項目的反腐官員，對他的監聽發現，他在和人討論來自中國的賄賂。

Then there is the price tag: around $19 billion in Chinese loans, not only for this dam, known as Coca Codo Sinclair, but also for bridges, highways, irrigation, schools, health clinics and a half dozen other dams the government is scrambling to pay for.

還有價錢：約190億美元中國貸款，這筆錢不光是用於這座名為“科卡科多辛克雷水電站”的大壩，還用於大橋、高速公路、灌溉、學校、衛生診所及其他六座大壩的建設，政府為如何支付這些項目的費用傷透了腦筋。

It doesn’t matter whether Ecuador can afford them.

厄瓜多爾付不起這些錢，沒關係。

China gets paid either way.

無論如何，中國都能得到回報。

To settle the bill, China gets to keep 80 percent of Ecuador’s most valuable export — oil — because many of the contracts are repaid in petroleum, not dollars. In fact, China gets the oil at a discount, then sells it for an additional profit.

為了收回成本，中國得以獲得厄瓜多爾價值最高的出口商品——石油——的80%，因為許多合同都是以石油而非美元償付的。實際上，中國是以折扣價獲得這些石油，然後將其出售，獲得額外利潤。

Pumping enough oil to repay China has become such an imperative for Ecuador that it is drilling deeper in the Amazon, threatening more deforestation.

對厄瓜多爾來說，抽出足夠的石油來還錢給中國已變成了頭等大事，於是它正在亞馬孫進行更深層的鑽探，帶來更多濫砍濫伐的威脅。

But that is not enough. Hobbled by the debts, President Lenín Moreno has slashed social spending, gasoline subsidies, several government agencies and more than 1,000 public jobs. Most economists expect the country to slide into recession, stirring outrage.

但這還不夠。受到債務拖累，總統萊寧·莫雷諾(Lenín Moreno)削減了社會支出、汽油補貼、多家政府機構和超過1000個公共就業崗位。大多數經濟學家預計，該國將慢慢陷入衰退，引發眾怒。

“China took advantage of Ecuador,” said Ecuador’s energy minister, Carlos Pérez. “The strategy of China is clear. They take economic control of countries.”

“中國占了厄瓜多爾的便宜，”厄瓜多爾能源部長卡洛斯·佩雷斯(Carlos Pérez)。“中國的策略很明顯。他們要控制他國經濟。”

在叢林中央為科卡科多辛克雷項目修建的輸電線。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

在庫尤哈鎮，一家人在自家門廊前剝豆子。他們每月大約要付60美元電費。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The story of how the dam got built brings together two natural allies, both eager to change the course of the hemisphere and displace the United States as the unrivaled power in the region.

這座大壩如何被建造起來的故事，將兩個天然的盟友拉到了一起，兩方都急切希望改變南半球的走向，替代美國在該地區作為無可匹敵大國的地位。

China made its plans clear a decade ago, when it swept into Latin America during the global financial crisis, tossing governments an economic lifeline and promising to “treat each other as equals,” a clear swipe at American dominance.

 中國的計劃十年前就很明確了，當時它在全球金融危機期間橫掃拉丁美洲，給各國政府扔來一條經濟救生索，並且承諾“平等相待”，這明顯是在影射美國的主導地位。

It worked. China, now South America’s top trading partner, has seeded the region with infrastructure and a staggering trail of loans. It has reaped political benefits, too, getting Latin American nations to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

這個計劃奏效了。如今中國是南美最大貿易夥伴，在這個地區播下基礎建設及數額驚人貸款的種子。這也重塑了政治利益，讓拉丁美洲國家與台灣切斷外交關係。

Still, as the giant dam in Ecuador shows, the two sides were hardly equal partners.

但就像是厄瓜多爾的巨型大壩所體現的那樣，這兩方遠算不上是平等的夥伴。

Both nations were willing to overlook deep design flaws, questionable economics and independent warnings that the technical studies for the dam were decades out of date.

這兩個國家都願意忽視設計缺陷、存在問題的經濟及來自第三方的警告。警告稱這座大壩的技術研究已過時幾十年。

But using an approach it has applied to billions of dollars in loans across the developing world, China never faced much of a financial risk.

但通過沿用中國在發展中國家用過的數以十億計美元的貸款方式，中國從未面臨過多大的金融風險。

The gamble was all Ecuador’s, and now the country is looking for new loans to plug its many gaps, including more money from China.

風險都在厄瓜多爾那裡，而如今，這個國家正在尋找新的貸款來填補資金缺口，包括更多來自中國的錢。

Just this month, Mr. Moreno flew to China to renegotiate some of his country’s debt — and borrow another $900 million.

就在本月，莫雷諾飛到北京，為該國一部分債務進行重新談判——並且要另外再借款9億美元。

“The Chinese put the hook in,” said Steve Hanke, a Johns Hopkins economist. “At the end of the day, what do these countries have? A pig in a poke.”

“中國人放出了餌，”約翰·霍普金斯大學(Johns Hopkins)經濟學家史蒂夫·漢克(Steve Hanke)表示。“最終，這些國家有什麼呢？竹籃打水一場空。”

‘We knew this relationship wouldn’t be an easy one’

 “我們知道這種關係不會很容易”

When Fernando Santos, an energy minister in the 1980s, found out that the Coca Codo Sinclair dam was actually being built, he could hardly believe it.

當1980年代的能源部長費爾南多·桑托斯(Fernando Santos)發現，科卡科多辛克雷水電站已經開始建設時，他幾乎不敢相信。

During his time in government, officials had rejected a much smaller version of the project. The whole idea was doomed, he said, because of the volcano nearby. A major earthquake had decimated oil infrastructure in the area in 1987.

在他供職政府期間，官員否決了一個規模小的多的方案。他說這個想法註定要失敗，因為附近有一座火山。1987年，一場大地震摧毀了該地區的石油基礎設施。

“The volcano has been erupting since the time the Spanish came to Ecuador in the 16th century,” Mr. Santos said, adding that investing so much money “in such a risky location was nonsense.”

“自從16世紀西班牙人來到厄瓜多爾以來，這座火山一直在噴發，”桑多斯還說“在這麼一個充滿風險的地方”投入如此多資金“很荒謬”。

There were other alarm bells.

還有其他警報。

An independent review of the project in 2010, prepared by a Mexican government agency and obtained by The New York Times, warned that the amount of water in the region to power the dam had not been studied for nearly 30 years.

2010年一項對該項目的獨立評估警告，該地區為大壩提供電力的水量已有近30年沒有研究過了。《紐約時報》取得了這項由一個墨西哥政府機構進行的評估報告。

Since that time, Ecuador had suffered punishing droughts, and there were concerns that its glaciers were melting because of climate change.

自那之後，厄瓜多爾一直遭受着嚴重乾旱，人們還擔心由於氣候變化，該國冰川也在融化。

Despite the advice, Luciano Cepeda, the dam’s former general manager, said top Ecuadorean officials pressed ahead anyway because “a new study would have taken several years” and they didn’t want to slow down.

儘管有這些建議，大壩前總經理盧西亞諾·塞佩達(Luciano Cepeda)表示，由於“一項新研究將花費數年”，厄瓜多爾最高官員還是繼續推進了該項目，因為他們不想放慢進度。

Even a Chinese diplomat in Ecuador, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said he had his doubts about the project.

甚至一名駐厄瓜多爾中國外交官都表示，他對這個項目有疑問。該外交官未獲公開發言的授權。

“We didn’t give sufficient attention to the environmental reporting,” the diplomat said.

“我們沒有對環境報告予以足夠的關注，”該外交官表示。

火警電話上的標記，清楚地表明是誰修建了這座大壩。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

厄瓜多爾官員曾經否決一個比該大壩規模小得多的方案。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

China’s record offered both encouragement and cause for concern. Its massive Three Gorges Dam, which cuts the Yangtze River and rises 600 feet high, was the largest hydroelectric project in the world, designed to produce 20 times the power of the Hoover Dam.

中國的過往行為既提供了鼓勵，也引來擔憂。該國龐大的三峽大壩將長江一分為二，讓其水位升高了600英尺，三峽還是世界上最大的水電項目，設計目的是產出20倍於胡佛大壩的電力。

But inadequate safety measures led to the deaths of 100 workers, the dam displaced more than one million people, and the environmental damage was considerable, including the destruction of forests.

但不當的安全措施導致100名工人死亡，這座大壩導致100多萬人要背井離鄉，此外還有嚴重的環境破壞，包括森林被毀。

Warnings aside, there were bigger geopolitical forces at play. Ecuador’s president at the time, Rafael Correa, was a left-wing populist who had vowed to modernize his country and free it from the orbit of the United States.

除了警告，其中還有更大的地緣政治力量。厄瓜多爾時任總統拉斐爾·科雷亞(Rafael Correa)是一名左翼民粹分子，他誓言要讓自己的國家進入現代化，不再圍着美國轉。

Elected in 2006 under a surge that brought leftists to power across Latin America, Mr. Correa took aim at the United States with fiery, anti-imperialist speeches. In 2008, he refused to renew a lease that allowed American anti-narcotics surveillance flights to operate from an Ecuadorean air force base.

2006年，拉丁美洲掀起一股左翼當權的潮流，科雷亞也是在那一年當選總統。他用一場充滿火藥味的、反帝國主義的講話將美國列為目標。2008年，他拒絕給一項美國緝毒偵查飛行行動所需的厄瓜多爾空軍基地租約續期。

Soon, Western financial institutions fell in Mr. Correa’s cross hairs. He denounced the International Monetary Fund, saying it put restrictions on his spending. Then in 2008, he defaulted on $3.2 billion of his country’s foreign debt and invited China to fill in the breach.

很快，西方金融機構也被科雷亞針對。他譴責國際貨幣基金組織(International Monetary Fund)，稱其對自己的支出設限。後來在2008年，他拖欠了該國32億美元的外債，然後邀請中國來填補缺口。

“Correa wanted to get away from Western banks and institutions,” said Diego Borja, Mr. Correa’s former minister of economic coordination. “We knew this relationship wouldn’t be an easy one with China.”

“科雷亞想擺脫西方銀行及機構，”科雷亞前經濟協調部長迭戈·博爾哈(Diego Borja)表示。“我們知道這種關係不會很容易。”

Mr. Borja and other officials were staggered by the terms on Chinese loans. Most came from a large state-owned lender, the Chinese Export-Import Bank, which had high interest rates and required Ecuador to use Chinese companies in construction, effectively eliminating competition.

中國的貸款條件讓博爾哈及其他官員感到震驚。大部分貸款來自大型國有貸款機構中國進出口銀行，利率很高，且要求厄瓜多爾讓中國公司承建，有效地把競爭排除在外。

China seemed particularly interested in oil from Ecuador, one of OPEC’s smallest members. In one deal in 2009, China lent Ecuador $1 billion, to be repaid in oil shipments to the state oil company PetroChina.

中國似乎對厄瓜多爾的石油特別感興趣，該國是石油輸出國組織(OPEC)最小的成員國之一。在2009年的一項交易中，中國借給厄瓜多爾10億美元，償還方式是向中國國有石油公司中石油輸送石油。

“But we didn’t have other options,” Mr. Borja recalled. “The doors were closed to the West.”

“可是我們別無選擇，”博爾哈回憶道。“通往西方的大門是關着的。”

Mr. Correa suddenly had access to money, but a new crisis emerged: The country was running out of power. A drought was depleting the nation’s reservoirs, paralyzing its dams. Rather than look for another source, Mr. Correa doubled down on hydro power.

科雷亞突然間得到了資金，但一個新危機出現了：該國的電力即將枯竭。一場乾旱正在耗盡國家的水庫，導致大壩癱瘓。但科雷亞非但沒有尋找其它來源，反而加倍使用水力發電。

Officials say it was Mr. Correa’s electricity minister, Aleksey Mosquera, who first mentioned Coca Codo Sinclair: a megaproject that was supposed to provide a third of the country’s electricity and represent the single largest investment in Ecuador’s history.

官員們說，是科雷亞的電力部長阿列克謝·莫斯克拉(Aleksey Mosquera)頭一個提到了科卡科多辛克雷：一個本該供應國家三分之一電力的大型工程，也是厄瓜多爾史上最大的投資。

It ended up being built right under the Reventador volcano — and nearly twice the size of the proposed dam that had been rejected decades before.

結果它被直接建在了雷文塔多火山(Reventador)下面——並且是幾十年前被拒的擬建大壩的近兩倍之大。

When it finally opened in late 2016, China’s president, Xi Jinping, flew to Ecuador to celebrate.

2016年底，當它終於要啟用時，中國主席習近平飛到厄瓜多爾參加慶祝活動。

Yet only two days before the visit, the dam was in chaos.

而就在訪問前兩天，大壩還在混亂之中。

Engineers had tried to generate the project’s full 1500 megawatts, but neither the facility nor Ecuador’s electrical grid could handle it. The equipment shuddered dangerously, and blackouts spread across the country, officials said.

工程師們一度嘗試將項目的1500兆瓦容量全部啟用，但無論是大壩設施還是厄瓜多爾的電網都無法負荷。官員們說，設備很危險地顫動，導致全國大面積停電。

Ecuadoreans were never told about the failure, and a full power test has not been attempted since.

厄瓜多爾人始終不知道有這個故障，並且自那以後再也沒有嘗試過滿負荷測試。

Today, the dam typically runs at half capacity. Experts say that given its design — and the cycle of wet and dry seasons in Ecuador — it would be able to generate the full amount of electricity for only a few hours a day, six months out of the year.

如今，大壩一般半負荷運行。專家說，由於它的設計——以及厄瓜多爾的乾濕季循環氣候——它將能夠在一年的6個月、每天的短短幾小時內進行滿負荷發電。

That is, if everything worked perfectly.

前提是一切都完美運轉。

Ecuador still has to pay back the debt, though. The $1.7 billion loan from China’s Export-Import Bank is lucrative for China: 7 percent interest over 15 years. In interest alone, Ecuador owes $125 million a year.

不過，厄瓜多爾還有貸款要還。來自中國進出口銀行的17億美元貸款對中國而言利潤豐厚：15年內7%的利息。僅利息一項，厄瓜多爾每年就欠1.25億美元。

Now, many Ecuadoreans say the burden falls on them.

現在，很多厄瓜多爾人說負擔落到了他們身上。

Under the constant hum of the dam’s transmission towers, residents in the town of Cuyuja worry that the towers will topple in the constant mudslides. Geologists say the tower foundations weren’t built into bedrock by the Chinese.

在大壩輸電塔持續發出的嗡嗡聲中，庫尤哈鎮居民擔心，這些塔會在經常發生的泥石流衝擊下倒塌。地理學家說，中國人沒有把塔的基座建在岩床中。

Another complaint is the bill. Maria Esther Tello paid $60 last month to keep the lights on in her home, a shock given the government’s promises electricity prices would go down.

另一個不滿是賬單。瑪利亞·埃斯特·特洛(Maria Esther Tello)上月為家中的照明支付了60美元，這讓她吃驚，因為政府保證過電價會下降的。

“Where have my old mother’s taxes gone?” asked her daughter, Isbela Nole, as she helped harvest and peel fava beans to pay the government.

“我老母親的稅去了哪裡？”她女兒伊莎貝拉·諾萊(Isbela Nole)一邊說着，一邊在幫忙採收和剝取蠶豆，以便繳錢給政府。

Evidence of possible bribery

 涉嫌受賄的證據

At an entrance to the dam is an inscription, in marble.

大壩入口處刻有如下大理石碑文。

“Jorge Glas Espinel, vice president of the republic,” it says. “For having forged and envisioned this monumental project.”

“共和國副總統豪爾赫·格拉斯·埃斯皮內爾(Jorge Glas Espinel)”，上面寫道。“他設想並實現了這一不朽的工程。”

Mr. Glas now sits in a cell in Ecuador, sentenced to six years in prison.

格拉斯如今在厄瓜多爾監獄中，被判六年監禁。

He was convicted of taking bribes from China’s main competitor for infrastructure projects in much of Latin America: Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction giant. American prosecutors say Odebrecht paid $33.5 million in bribes in Ecuador as part of a worldwide scheme to win business.

他被判收受賄款——來自中國在拉美大部地區基建項目的主要競爭對手：巴西建設巨頭奧德布雷赫特集團(Odebrecht)。美國檢察官稱，作為其贏取業務的全球計劃的一部分，奧德布雷赫特在厄瓜多爾支付了3350萬美元賄款。

Now Ecuadorean officials are investigating whether the Chinese also made payments to Mr. Glas and others around him.

眼下，厄瓜多爾官員正在調查中國人是否也給格拉斯和他身邊的人付過錢。

蔗農卡洛斯·烏薩馬和家人在手工榨甘蔗。去年附近一座大壩泄洪，導致他們家失去了一名親人。FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

當地皮艇手雅伊爾·羅布雷斯在大壩附近的吉柯斯河上。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all the same people managed all these projects,” said Mr. Pérez, the energy minister.

“我不認為所有這些項目都由同樣的人員管理是個巧合，”能源部長佩雷斯說。

The officials include Mr. Mosquera, the former electricity minister, who is serving a five-year sentence for taking $1 million from Odebrecht; and Carlos Pólit, the former anti-corruption official, who was charged with receiving millions in bribes from the company. Ricardo Rivera, another close associate of Mr. Glas, was also convicted of receiving payments from the Brazilians.

涉案官員包括前電力部長莫斯克拉，目前正因收受奧德布雷赫特100萬美元在服五年徒刑；前反貪官員卡洛斯·波利特(Carlos Pólit)，被控收受該公司數百萬美元賄款；以及格拉斯的另一位親密夥伴里卡多·里維埃拉(Ricardo Rivera)，他也被控收取巴西人的賄賂。

But evidence has emerged suggesting that officials took bribes from China as well.

但表明官員們收受中國人賄款的證據也已浮現。

Ecuadorean law enforcement officials say they have confirmed a secret tape recorded by an Odebrecht executive, given to Brazilian prosecutors and leaked to the Brazilian news media. In the recording, made at the house of Mr. Pólit, the anti-corruption official, the two men discuss a bribe.

厄瓜多爾的執法官員稱，他們確認了由奧德布雷赫特高管錄製並交給巴西檢察官，繼而泄露給巴西新聞媒體的一段秘密錄音。在這段錄自反腐官員波利特家裡的錄音中，兩人在商討賄賂一事。

The executive can be heard saying that Mr. Glas, Ecuador’s vice president, was “asking for a lot of money.”

可以聽到這名高管說厄瓜多爾副總統格拉斯在“要很大一筆錢。”

The executive then explained that he was told “it was an obligation because the Chinese had already paid.”

高管隨後解釋，他當時被告知“這是一項義務，因為中國人已經付了錢。”

The recording has set off an investigation, particularly around Mr. Rivera, who presented himself as the vice president’s representative during multiple visits to China, according to Ecuadorean law enforcement officials.

據厄瓜多爾執法官員表示，錄音引發了一項調查，特別是圍繞里維埃拉，他在多次赴中國的訪問中以副總統的代表自居。

They say they are examining 13 bank transfers worth $17.4 million authorized by Mr. Rivera to an HSBC account in Hong Kong. Law enforcement officials say they consider the bank transfers authentic — and want to know how Mr. Rivera deposited so much money in China.

他們說，他們在調查里維埃拉授權匯至香港一個滙豐銀行賬戶的13筆價值為1740萬美元的銀行轉賬。執法官員稱，他們認為銀行轉賬是真實的，並想知道里維埃拉何以在中國存了這麼多錢。

Until recently, Attorney General Paúl Pérez was leading an investigation into corruption by the Chinese, and traveled to China in November to ask for help.

此前總檢察長保羅·佩雷斯(Paúl Pérez)一直在領導一項涉及中國人的貪污調查，並於11月到訪中國尋求幫助。

But Mr. Pérez abruptly resigned on Nov. 13, shortly after returning. He did not respond to interview requests.

但在11月13日回國後不久，佩雷斯突然辭職。他沒有回應採訪請求。

A lawyer for Mr. Glas denied that his client had been involved in corruption with Coca Coda Sinclair, calling Mr. Glas “an honorable, honest man” and describing the dam’s problems as “small imperfections.”

格拉斯的一名律師否認他的客戶參與了科卡科多辛克雷貪污案，稱格拉斯是一個“受人尊敬的、誠實的人”，並形容大壩的問題是“小瑕疵。”

Mr. Correa, the former president, is in exile in Belgium, wanted for organizing the kidnapping of a rival. Many of his lieutenants have been sentenced for corruption or are on the run as well.

前總統科雷亞如今流亡在比利時，因謀劃綁架對手被通緝。他的多名副手已因貪污被判刑或者也在逃亡。

Mr. Pólit and a lawyer for Mr. Rivera did not respond to requests for comment; nor did Sinohydro, the Chinese state-owned construction giant that built the dam.

波利特和里維埃拉的一名律師未回應置評請求；修建該大壩的中國國有建設巨頭中國水電亦未回應。

7,648 cracks in the dam’s machinery

 大壩機械出現7648道裂縫

When you approach Coca Codo Sinclair along the Quijos River, it’s hard to tell you’re nearing a dam at all.

沿着吉柯斯河走向科卡科多辛克雷水電站時，你根本無法看出來你是在靠近一座大壩。

Much of the reservoir containing the project’s water supply has filled up with small trees and bushes. Boats sometimes get grounded because the sediment is so thick.

儲存該項目供水的水庫大部分地方都塞滿了小樹和灌木。由於沉澱物太厚，船只有時會被擱淺。

Workers at the dam say the silting, a consequence of design flaws, is only the latest problem.

大壩的工作人員說，設計缺陷導致的淤塞只是諸多問題中最新的一個。

As early as 2014, technicians noticed cracks in the Chinese-made stainless steel equipment. That December, 13 workers were killed when a tunnel flooded and collapsed.

早在2014年，技術人員就注意到中國製造的不鏽鋼設備出現了裂隙。那年12月，一條隧道出現進水和坍塌，13名工人因此喪生。

A senior engineer sent records to Mr. Correa, the president, asking to brief him on the problems, according to documents viewed by The Times. The engineer was fired days later, according to former officials.

據《紐約時報》看到的文件顯示，一名高級工程師把有關記錄遞到了科雷亞總統那裡，要求向他做簡報介紹存在的問題。據前官員說，這名工程師幾天后遭解僱。

由於設計問題，水庫出現了泥沙和樹木的堵塞。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

為了支付修建大壩的費用，中國占據了厄瓜多爾最珍貴的出口資源——石油——出口量的80%，因為許多合同是以石油而非美元付款的。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Mr. Pólit, the anti-corruption official, performed audits. But they resulted in only mild criticism like work delays, with minor fines against the Chinese.

反腐官員波利特進行了審計。但他們只是對中國人不痛不癢地批評了幾句，比如工作延誤，並處以輕微罰款。

Ecuadorean law enforcement officials say they are investigating whether Mr. Pólit and other officials were paid by the Chinese to overlook the problems. It was part of Mr. Pérez’s inquiry before his resignation, they say.

厄瓜多爾執法官員表示，他們正在調查波利特及其他官員的玩忽職守是否因為收受了中國人的賄賂。他們說，這是佩雷斯辭職前所做調查的一部分。

Now, 7,648 cracks have developed in the dam’s machinery, according to the government, because of substandard steel and inadequate welding by Sinohydro. Sand and silt are also big concerns because they can damage vital equipment.

根據政府的數據，由於鋼材質量不合格和中國水電的焊接不當，大壩的機械設備目前已經出現了7648處裂縫。泥沙淤積也是一大問題，因為它們會損壞重要設備。

On a recent visit, an engineer looked on nervously as readouts showed sand flowing into the dam. But workers say they’re sometimes confused because of shoddy translations.

在最近的一次巡查中，一名工程師緊張地看着顯示沙子流入大壩的讀數。但工人們表示，有時糟糕的翻譯讓他們很困惑。

One sign in Chinese reads correctly: “Direct-Current (DC) Pumping Group.”

有一塊牌子上的中文是正確的：“直流泵組壓力”。

The Spanish does not: “Pressure Group from Washington, D.C.”

西班牙語則變成了：“來自華盛頓特區的壓力組”。

一塊用中文、英文和西班牙文寫的設備標牌。中文是正確名稱：“直流泵組壓力”。西班文則變成了“來自華盛頓特區的壓力組”。 FEDERICO RIOS ESCOBAR FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

The communication problems extend downriver.

溝通問題還會影響到下游。

The heavy sedimentation means engineers sporadically release large amounts of water to clear out the system, causing flash floods where Carlos Usamá, a sugar cane farmer, lives. No one warns him, he says.

嚴重的泥沙淤積意味着工程師們偶爾會通過大量放水的方式來清理這個系統，導致蔗農卡洛斯·烏薩馬(Carlos Usama)住的地方洪水爆發。他表示，事先沒有接到警告。

In December, he said, his brother and a friend were fishing near another Chinese-built dam when a similar flood washed them away.

他說，去年12月，他的兄弟和一個朋友在另一座中國修建的大壩附近釣魚時，一場類似的洪水把他們沖走了。

The bodies were found two days later, he said.

他說，屍體兩天后才找到。

‘Addicted to loans’

 “貸款上癮”

The piles of debt have led the country’s new leaders to rail against China much as they did against the United States.

因為債務堆積如山，該國的新任領導人對中國的指責不亞於對美國的指責。

“We are not going to pay,” Mr. Pérez, the energy minister, said of the possible billion-dollar price tag to fix Coca Codo Sinclair.

“我們不會付錢的，”能源部長佩雷斯在談到修復科卡科多辛克雷水電站可能需要十幾億美元的資金時表示。

But escaping China’s orbit will be difficult, said Risa Grais-Targow, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a consulting company.

但諮詢公司歐亞集團(Eurasia Group)的分析師里莎·格賴斯-塔戈(Risa Grais-Targow)說，擺脫中國的影響會很困難。

“They know they don’t have too many financing sources, so they are going back to knocking on China’s door,” she said.

她說：“他們知道自己沒有太多的融資來源，所以他們會回去敲中國的門。”

China has already made some concessions to Ecuador, like paying 92 cents more per barrel of oil. The share of Ecuador’s oil going to the Chinese has also dropped — to 80 percent, from 90 percent.

中國已經向厄瓜多爾做出了一些讓步，比如每桶油多支付92美分。厄瓜多爾輸往中國的石油份額也從90%下降到80%。

But the government still needs $11.7 billion to finance its debt, and it is billions short, analysts say.

但分析人士稱，政府仍然需要117億美元來為債務融資，而且仍有數十億美元的缺口。

Beyond China, the new government is going back to the institutions Mr. Correa demonized: the World Bank and the I.M.F. Some worry that Ecuador is simply seeking another set of financial masters.

除了中國以外，新政府還回到了被科雷亞妖魔化的機構：世界銀行和國際貨幣基金組織。有人擔心，厄瓜多爾只是在找另一群金主而已。

“We are addicted to loans,” said Mr. Santos, the former energy minister.

“我們對貸款上癮，”前能源部長桑托斯說。

Leopoldo Gómez, who works at a water treatment facility built under Mr. Correa, agrees.

在科雷亞時期修建的一個水處理設施工作的萊奧波爾多·戈麥斯(Leopoldo Gomez)也同意這種看法。

“Now we realize,” he said, “there’s things we didn’t need — like the dam.”

“現在我們意識到，”他說，“有些東西是我們不需要的——比如大壩。”