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History and Government
History: The region was at the heart of the Mayan empire (circa AD 300 to AD 800) which subsequently migrated to Yucatán. The country’s modern history really begins when Belize, formerly British Honduras, was occupied by the British in 1638-40, with settlements spreading as woodcutting became profitable. By the end of the 18th century, Africans were brought in as slaves to cut the mahogany. Despite attacks from the Spanish, the settlers remained, although it was not until 1862 that the territory was recognised as a British colony.
The country achieved internal self government in 1964. Elections in 1965 brought the leader of the People’s United Party (PUP), George Price, to power. A bicameral legislature was then introduced. The PUP won every election held subsequently until 1984, when the United Democratic Party (UDP) took power for the first time. The new Government remained committed to the mainstays of Belizean policy: growth through foreign investment, membership of CARICOM (the Caribbean Common Market) and a settlement of the long-running dispute with neighbouring Guatemala. Price was returned to office in September 1989.
Tensions have long existed between Belize and Guatemala because, even though the boundary between them was determined in 1859, Guatemala continued to claim sovereignty of Belize. Throughout the 1970s, British troops were sent over in response to Guatemalan hostility. As a result of negotiations, Britain agreed to grant Belize independence in 1981. However, the new Guatemalan President, Jorge Serrano, who took office in January 1991, declared his government’s urgent desire to reach a settlement. An agreement was duly reached in September 1991 (including the establishment of diplomatic relations) under which Guatemala recognised Belizean sovereignty (although it maintains its territorial claim) in exchange for access to Belizean ports. In May 1993, the British garrison withdrew. Shortly afterwards, Premier George Price called a snap election. Despite expectations, his PUP was narrowly defeated by Manuel Esquival, the new leader of the UDP.
The Guatemala problem emerged once again in 1994 when a formal sovereignty claim was lodged at the United Nations. The Government responded by opening talks with Britain on future military assistance. Since then Belize and Guatemala have held a series of inconclusive bilateral negotiations under the auspices of the UN: as recently as 2000, the Guatemalans formally lodged a claim to half of Belizean territory. In the same forum, the Belizean government has come under pressure from the USA for its alleged laxity in the ‘war on drugs’ – Washington believes that Belize has become a major transit point for shipments into the USA and for the laundering of drug profits through the country’s banking system. Belize’s present ambassador at the UN is a controversial figure; Michael Ashcroft, a wealthy British entrepreneur (and treasurer of the British Conservative party), was the driving force behind Belize’s newly developed ‘offshore’ finance industry. He also controls a significant portion of the financial sector as well as key parts of Belize’s economic infrastructure. Ashcroft has developed a very close relationship with the new PUP government led by Said Musa, which took office after a landslide victory in the August 1998 election. In the last two years, the main preoccupation for the Government has been repairing the immense damage caused by Hurricanes Iris and Keith.
Government: Belize is formally a constitutional monarchy in which the British Monarch is Head of State, represented in Belize by a Governor General. The bicameral National Assembly is the legislature, and consists of a nine-member Senate (appointed by the Governor-General for a five-year term) and a 29-member House of Representatives (directly elected for a maximum five-year term). Executive power is in the hands of the Governor General, advised by the cabinet.
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