For several years it has been common practice for Central American tourist buses to traverse the roads between Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, with buses making stops in Belize, picking up tourists and taking them to other stops on their route.
However, on Wednesday, the Department of Transport implemented a sudden blockade, barring the buses from crossing both northern and western borders to pick up tourists here in Belize.
Chief Transport Officer, Candelaria Saldivar, told Amandala today that Linea Dorado (which operates in Guatemala and Mexico), San Juan Express (a Guatemalan line) and ADO bus services (originating out of Mexico) had been picking up passengers in Belize at San Ignacio, Belize City (at the Belize Water Taxi Terminal), Orange Walk and Corozal, when only operators with permits issued by the department can legally do so.
The blockade was implemented by the Department of Transport (DOT) on Wednesday, reportedly after a meeting with bus and tour operators, sparking fury from the Guatemalan side, as the Guatemalans had taken the position that Belizean vehicles would, likewise, not be allowed to cross the border. By evening, the DOT had reversed the position, after protests from the foreign bus operators that they were given no notice before the blockade was put into effect.
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) issued a notice Wednesday describing the situation as an “agitation at the Western Border.”
Anticipating turmoil over the decision, the BTB had advised “…all hotels, tour operators and tour guides to cancel all unnecessary border crossing for the rest of this week.”
The Government of Belize responded by granting an extension until next week. According to Saldivar, the bus lines were issued a “letter of permission,” indicating that they would only be allowed access until Monday, April 30, 6:00 p.m., unless an agreement is worked out, Saldivar says, between officials in Belize and their counterparts in Mexico and Guatemala that is fair to Belize.
The issue that the DOT is taking with the buses is that they have been picking up passengers in Belize even though they don’t have valid road service permits, and they have been doing so for several years, claiming that they don’t need a permit to come because of a Mundo Maya agreement, which Saldivar says the Belize Government does not have a copy of.
However, there are concerns that even if there were such an agreement, it is not reciprocal, because Belize does not get the same privileges in Guatemala and Mexico as buses from those countries have in Belize.
Saldivar says that one example is the fact that Belizean tour guides are not allowed to do tours in Guatemala. If a Belize bus operator is doing a Tikal tour, the operator has to use a Guatemalan tour guide, but when the Guatemalan buses come to Belize, they do not engage Belize tour guides, but bring European tour guides to do the job.
Also, Belizean bus operators don’t go further than Chetumal in Mexico, Saldivar pointed out.
The Chief Transport Officer reported that she was in Benque as early as 7:00 this morning, and this evening when we spoke with her for a second time, she had completed her visit to the Corozal border, and had learned that no buses had even tried to cross into Belize from Mexico today.
Belizeans are insisting on equal treatment. Government officials met with taxi drivers and bus operators on Tuesday, and they demanded the change, Saldivar told us.
She said that she received a report this morning that Belizean vehicles were not being allowed to cross over into Guatemala at the Western Border.
The Immigration Officer in charge at the Benque border told us they were not aware that Belize bus operators were experiencing problems crossing the border into Guatemala as had been indicated in media reports.
The Immigration Officer said that they were informed this morning of the extension granted to the foreign tourist buses by the DOT, and things were back to business as usual today, as the routine three buses had crossed the border from Guatemala – Linea Dorado and San Juan Express. (According to Saldivar, a total of 7 to 8 buses come across the border with tourists daily.)
We understand that over the course of the next three days, BTB will dispatch PR officers to the field to greet incoming tourists traveling on the tourist buses from neighboring countries to allay whatever concerns they may have about coming to Belize.
We are told that one backlash of the recent move has been that business people on the Guatemalan side have been discouraging tourists from coming to Belize.
Our reports indicate that the negotiations to address the cross border transport issues are expected to engage as many as four Ministries: Transport, Tourism, Foreign Affairs and National Security, and should also, at a higher level engage, the Organization of American States (OAS).
Saldivar says that if an agreement is not reached by 6:00 Monday evening, the blockade would be put into effect Tuesday. Transport Officers will be checking at the Western and Northern border points to ensure that the rules are enforced, and foreign tourist buses stopped from traversing Belize and picking up tourists here, she explained.
What if the Guatemalans violate the rules? They could be charged or their buses confiscated if the violations continue, Saldivar responded.
How will the impasse be broken? “We have to negotiate,” Saldivar insisted.