INFLUENCIAS REGIONALES SOBRE BELICE/ REGIONAL INFLUENCES ON BELIZE

Chapter 13
Although Belize was a British colony until September 21, 1981, the United States of America had a strong influence on Belize. Its influence was actually greater than that of Britain or any other country in the region. In 1935, the British Governor of Belize, Sir Alan Burns, wrote: "The whole colony is, however, largely influenced by the comparative proximity of the U.S. and the people as a whole are more Americans than British in their outlook. This may be due to a limited extent to the cinema, but is more directly attributable to the influence of the trade and education." The U.S.'s interest and influence on Belize began well over a hundred years ago. In order to understand its growth, it is first necessary to study the expansion of U.S. influence throughout the region. USA Influence The United States of America won its independence in 1776 after a bloody war with Britain. Two generations later, it was well on its way to becoming the greatest power in the western hemisphere. On December 2, 1823, U.S. President James Monroe made a speech to Congress which introduced its new foreign policy, the "Monroe Doctrine". In short, he told the European powers to keep their "hands off the Americas". The U.S. considered the Caribbean and Central America its back yard and wanted to control the countries and instill U.S. values in them. As U.S. influence expanded throughout the Americas, their businesses began to invest heavily in these countries. In 1903 the U.S. supported an insurrection in Panama, which was then a part of Columbia. This resulted in the setting up of the independent state of Panama. A.treaty was immediately signed giving the U.S. the right to build a canal that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. The Treaty also allowed the U.S. to rent the land from Panama in perpetuity. From the early 1900s U.S. economic interests in the Americas increased significantly. U.S. investments rose from 17 per cent in 1914 to 40 per cent in 1929. These investments were protected by U.S. military strength. Between 1898 and 1920, U.S. marines landed in the countries of the region more than 20 times. Before the military withdrew, the U.S. often protected their interests by leaving behind local military dictators, such as the Somozas in Nicaragua, and Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. The U.S. respected British sovereignty over Belize, and this protected Belize from the kinds of military, economic, and political interventions that took place in other parts of Central America. But because the U.S. is so close to Belize, its influence was inevitable. In recent years, U.S involvement in the Americas, although highly economic, has been tempered toward more humanitarian concerns. In 1978, for example, President Jimmy Carter re-negotiated a new Panama Canal Treaty with the then President of Panama, General Omar Torrijos, which allowed Panama to regain full sovereignty over the canal zone. U.S. Role in the Guatemalan Claim When the U.S. and Britain signed the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty in 1850, they hoped to resolve some of their differences in Central America. Article 1 of the Treaty agreed that the two countries would not "fortify, or colonize, or assume, or exercise any dominion over Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America". It was not clear whether the term "Central America" included Belize. Based on the treaty, in 1853 a new U.S. government tried to persuade Britain to withdraw from Central America and Belize. The frustrated British Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, declared that "These Yankees are most astute bullies and are always trying to see how far they can go." In 1856 this dispute was finally resolved when Britain and the U.S. signed the Dallas-Clarendon Treaty. The "Mosquito Protectorate" and the Bay Islands, which were held by Britain, were to be part of Nicaragua and Honduras respectively. British Honduras was declared to be unaffected by the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty and Belize's southern border was recognized as the Sarstoon River. The hope was that the western limits with Guatemala would be fixed within two years. Three years later the Anglo-Guatemalan Treaty of 1859 was signed, and the dispute was temporarily settled. Trade Trade between Belize and the U.S. during the 1800s and 1900s was confined to the export of mahogany and chicle and the import of food and other supplies. But trade was not always legal, as Belize merchants became infamous for smuggling goods to the Confederates during the U.S. Civil War in the 1860's and for smuggling whisky to the U.S. during prohibition in the 1920's. by the 1930s the importance of U.S. trade rivaled that of the British. By 1949, over 70 per cent of Belize's imports came from the U.S. Their share of Belize's exports also increased significantly in later years - from 12.4 per cent in 1961 to 33.5 per cent in 1965, largely as a result of the sugar quota granted by the U.S. to Belize. In 1981, 60.8 per cent of our exports went to the U.S., and 35.4 per cent of our imports came from that country. In 1994, we sold 53.1 per cent of our products to the U.S. and bought 41.5 per cent of our total imports from them. Immigration and Emigration In the 1860's, British settlers in Belize encouraged immigration from the U.S. Hundreds of Confederates came to Belize after the Civil War in search of land to develop. Few of the Confederates, however, stayed - most returned to the U.S. or moved on to Latin America. A group of Methodists from Mississippi did settle in the Toledo District in 1867 and established 12 sugar estates, but most were gone by 1910. Emigration of Belizeans to the United States of America has been more consistent. During the Second World War, over 2,000 men migrated to the Panama Canal Zone to work for U.S. employers. In 1941 and the following years, thousands of workers went to work on farms in the southern United States. Since then, a steady flow of Belizeans have emigrated to the U.S. in search of work. About 60 per cent enter or stay in the country illegally. This emigration has had a number of important influences in Belize. Economically, the money the emigrants send home is an important source of income for their families. They have also brought U.S. culture to Belize. In recent years, some emigrants have returned to settle in Belize and are contributing to the development of the nation. Others who have been deported because of illegal activities in the United States have brought back some of the violence of U.S. society, and its negative consequences. Investment, Speculation and Influence Important United States investment in Belize dates back to at least 1911, when the United Fruit Company purchased the Middlesex Estate in Stann Creek Valley. They began large- scale operations on 12,500 acres of land. Although the estate was later abandoned due to plant disease, other U.S. companies have continued to invest in Belize over the years. After the Second World War, many foreigners speculated in land in Belize. Hundreds of thousands of acres were bought by U.S. nationals. In 1980 even the B.E.C. was bought out by a company from the U.S. By independence, about 80 per cent of all privately owned land, or about 40 per cent of all land in Belize, was owned by U.S. citizens. Government lands, most of which are leased to Belizeans, made up the rest. Other aspects of U.S. influence include education and culture. Over the years, missionaries from the U.S. have established schools in partnership with the Government. In the 1930's they were said to be responsible for the education of more than half the total population. A major contribution to this influence was the presence of Roman Catholic Jesuits priests from the United States who ran primary schools throughout the country. The Jesuits established a secondary school, Saint John's College in 1887. This school played a prominent role in the rise of an educated class which later led the challenge to the colonial system.The cultural influence of the U.S. is also felt through the media: television, newspapers, magazines, and radio. Mexico, Central America and the CaribbeanAll these influences - economic, social, cultural, and educational - have resulted in a strongly-felt U.S. presence in every aspect of the country's life. But as far back as 1950, George Price wrote that Belize's "economy and way of life are interdependent with the U.S.A. and with Central America". Before colonialism, the people who lived in what is now Belize were linked socially and commercially with Mexico, Guatemala, northern Honduras and El Salvador. These connections grew weaker because of British and North American interests and disputes with Guatemala. Now that Belize is independent and its disputes are for the most part resolved, these links are again growing stronger. The Caste War of Yucatan in 1847 brought many Mexican refugees into Belize. The war also brought to the forefront the need to define Belize's northern boundary with Mexico. The boundary was finally agreed upon in 1893, but the treaty between Britain and Mexico was not finalized until 1897. At one time, Mexico expressed interest in claiming a portion of northern Belize if Guatemala gained Belizean territory. Yet Mexico has strongly supported Belize's independence since 1977, when it voted in favour of a pro-Belize resolution at the United Nations. Since independence, the two countries have formed a strong bond of friendship through social, commercial and educational agreements that have helped our country greatly. Our relations with Central American countries were slow to form because of continued border disputes with the Government of Guatemala. During the 1970s, civil wars in Central America forced many people to leave their countries in search of a safer environment. Many came to Belize and settled mostly in the rural areas. The new immigrants have gradually integrated into Belizean society and have contributed to the development of the country. With more immigration from the area and less tension with Guatemala, a closer relationship has developed. Belize's relations with the English-speaking Caribbean date back to the British conquest of Jamaica in 1655. The British conducted the defense and administration of the settlement of Belize from their base in Jamaica. Slaves and colonial administrators were imported from Jamaica and other British colonies in the Caribbean, and the laws of Jamaica were enforced in the settlement. Belize's experience with colonialism was similar to the Caribbean's. Because of this we share many social, cultural, economic and political similarities. The newly independent Caribbean countries were the leaders in supporting Belizean independence and our diplomatic resistance to the Guatemalan claim to our territory. Our membership in the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) and later the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was the first time we participated in international organizations. Since independence, Belize has worked closely with Caribbean countries in regional integration efforts