The Belizeans for Constitutional Rights group was officially launched this past Saturday with a motorcade from Indian Creek, Toledo, to Punta Gorda Town  

by Marco Lopez

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Sept. 4, 2023

Over the years, there have been several vocal objectors to Maya Land Rights in Toledo, but none ever made a meaningful challenge – until now. A group of Belizeans from the Toledo District are organizing to challenge Maya Land Rights and call the Government of Belize and the Maya Leaders Alliance to begin dialogue. Proponents of the Belizeans for Constitutional Rights (BCR) feel that their voices have been ignored by the government for far too long. They are now joining forces to finally voice their position on the land conundrum in the Toledo District.

On Saturday, the group held a motorcade and a rally at the Punta Gorda Central Park. In an interview today, Herald Usher, a founding member of the BCR, stated that the launch event was well-attended despite the group not having the finances to facilitate transportation and logistics.

“Everyone you saw out there, came out on their own,” Usher said. He shared that the decision to stand together comes after several attempts to liaise with the government. The primary concern of the group is the map drafted as a part of the process of delineating the boundaries of Maya villages, as was mandated to bring effect to the Caribbean Court of Justice decision which upholds Maya Land Rights.

Usher said that residents of various villages in the district that are not traditionally Maya have now encountered difficulties in trying to secure their land documents. At the rally on Saturday, he shared that residents of many villages in Toledo, including traditional Maya villages, aired their discontent with what they see as a one-sided dialogue taking place between the government and the organizations said to be representing the Maya communities.

The group now hopes to go to Belmopan and begin meaningful conversations with House representatives to avoid an escalation of tension over land in the southernmost district. Usher, who is also the chairman of Yemeri Grove Village in Toledo, may be remembered for his objection to what he perceived as an occupation of an area within his village boundaries by residents of Laguna. 

He removed the marker pegs set by residents of Laguna earlier this year and received some backlash from the government.

The group fears that the Maya Land Rights movement has gone over their heads, and their voice and rights to ownership of lands in the Toledo District are being disregarded by the government. Usher said that they would want to see a walking back from the idea of communal land rights in Toledo, and that focus be placed instead on strengthening the land distribution system of the central government.  

He hopes that when the organization approaches the government, they are not turned away.

“Our main focus is to approach the government. We will approach them; we’ll take the issues of land to them; and we expect them as a government to listen to us. Because the truth of the matter is that relevant authorities are the government; but so far, as far as we know, they are just looking pan one side,” Usher pointed out.

The Toledo District is inhabited by Mopan and Kekchi Maya, Creole/Kriol, Garinagu, East Indians, Mennonites, and Mestizo groups. The village is, like most of Belize, a melting pot. Usher shared that despite this, they have not been consulted on the ongoing advancements to finalize the Maya Land Rights process.

“Every time they meet, it is with the MLA; and so far, not even one politician, none, zero, actually sit down and meet with us and listen to the concerns,” Usher said. He noted that every week a particular minister is in Punta Gorda but does not meet with people outside the MLA’s umbrella.

“Fi we people over the country, they don’t know weh di happen. Everybody di sit by, and di watch this thing like da something very easy. If we nuh watch weh di happen, we’ll be displaced, we will be pushed out of this district,” Usher said.

His fears were echoed in the rally held on Saturday by the other members of various communities in the Toledo District.

The group is now in the process of being officially registered, and has meetings planned with the executive to chart a path forward. The BCR believes that the Constitution, as the supreme law of the land, ensures that all citizens of Belize are equal.