“Neoliberalism is generally associated with policies like cutting trade tariffs and barriers. Its influence has liberalized the international movement of capital, and limited the power of trade unions. It’s broken up state-owned enterprises, sold off public assets and generally opened up our lives to dominance by market thinking.”

From the conversation.com by Kean Birch,
Associate Professor, York University, Canada

Mon. Aug. 23, 2021
Nine months after bracing for the challenges of a “bruk” government when they took office last November 11, 2020, the new PUP government seemed on the brink of turning the economy around when, just under two weeks ago, a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic appeared and put a damper on everything, including the hoped-for reopening of schools for the new calendar year, which was postponed. Nevertheless, Prime Minister John Briceño is striding forward even in the face of strong public criticisms of certain recent actions and decisions: GoB departments switching from BTL to SMART; the firing of recently appointed and highly qualified Central Bank Governor, Manual Vasquez; and the insensitive treatment of the stevedores’ plight – indicating that the “new-government honeymoon” may be over.

Undaunted, last week Government announced its plans to host a “Belize: Open For Business” summit to give a major boost to foreign investment. But there remains skepticism in some quarters, in light of the three above-mentioned troubling government actions, which have caused some folks to wonder if the summit will spell more power and exploitation by foreign investors, to the detriment of working class Belizeans.

In a sprawling headline last weekend in its political organ, The Belize Times, the Briceño-led PUP government announced, “Belize: Open For Business,” and went on to describe the “Launch of First National Investment Summit,” explaining in the first sentence that the summit is “a part of the Prime Minister’s commitment to prioritize the country’s economic recovery by attracting investments for the economic development of Belize.” The thrust of the initiative, scheduled to take place on November 3 and 4 virtually at the Grand Caribe Hotel in San Pedro Town, is to “improve the ease doing business in Belize,” and “promoting Belize as an investment destination, with a plethora of opportunities.”

Coming on the heels of the recent “Third Meeting of the Administrative Commission under the Belize-Guatemala Partial Scope Agreement,” which was held at the Leigh Richardson Building in Belmopan on August 12 and 13 between Ministry of Trade representatives from Belize and Guatemala, the “Open For Business” announcement seems to signal a bright and exciting future with prosperity for all Belizeans. It sounds optimistic and positive, and things are moving fast. Despite the looming issue at the ICJ, page 2 of the Belize Times, reporting on the August 12-13 meeting, states that, “Both countries are committed to working towards mutual economic growth and development through strengthening of their relationship,” and have “agreed to convene meetings of all trade facilitation committees established under the agreement within 30 days to commence work on the outstanding issues.” Our Government at work! But will all Belizeans “win”?

These are certainly some exciting days ahead for members of the business community, but how can ordinary Belizeans determine or ensure that they will be getting their fair share of the benefits to be derived from these grand investments and trade agreements being negotiated without their involvement? Not much has been discussed with the local populace except what they can glean from the newspaper reports of the meetings between the delegations. And the businessmen/investors who will convene in San Pedro in November will be about seeking new areas of profit from their current or new business investments in Belize. They will be lobbying for “fiscal incentives” and tax breaks, wherever they can get them, so as to maximize their profit margins.

It’s always about profits for business, and that is fine; but what about the small man, the laborers, workers and consumers of Belize? Are their interests being adequately represented in these discussions, or do their concerns and viewpoints matter?

The big Santander project in Cayo was practically a secret to ordinary Belizeans, until the deal was signed and settled and construction of their factory almost complete. Did the Belizean populace have a part in the discussion about the massive loss of precious, fertile forest cover, which affects our wildlife and impacts our water flow pattern and usage in a major way, for the sake of making more sugar plantations? And how many decent paying jobs were available to Belizeans? What concessions and tax incentives did Santander get?

When the over thirty-million dollar Civic Center construction project was approved on south-side Belize City, were representatives of the area consulted to determine how many jobs would be available for the underemployed citizens in the area? The beautiful “white elephant” now sits there, eating up our tax dollars for maintenance, and “all a wi” have to pay for it.

In determining what direction our country is going, there are matters that should be discussed, and on which the grassroots people should be consulted before government makes those big, final decisions. Representative democracy presupposes that our elected leaders will consult with citizens at various levels, and the bigger and more long-lasting the impact of their decision, the more urgent and vital their need to consult.

All the sounds coming out of the present government seem to indicate that their philosophy is all about big business and “foreign direct investment” to “grow the economy.” But they need to keep “the small people” in mind.

As the Belize Times editorial page states, “We stand on the brink of a technological revolution;” “automation brings savings of up to ninety per cent..;”…and some occupations may even “become obsolete.” Yeah, but savings for whom; and whose responsibility is it to “retrain our labor force…for an ever-changing playing field”?

Perhaps the problem is bigger than the PUP, a political party, or their predecessors, the UDP. Perhaps the problem “is in our stars” — the Constitution handed to us at Independence by our colonial masters in 1981.

On page 11 of that same issue of The Belize Times, former PUP minister Assad Shoman observed that, “…we took Independence but did not proceed to decolonization. Forty years later, we are paying the price for that failure – the levels of poverty and inequality continue to grow.” In his view, “The Constitution is the fountain-head of all the mechanisms and systems by which we are governed..,” and “to follow through on the emancipation promise of independence, …we should begin… the creation of a People’s Constitution for the independent Belize,” because, he declared, “People should have the right to decide whether they want an economic system that places profits before people, or one that respects the rights of workers, small farmers and landless people, one that enables or one that forbids the exploitation of man by man.”

In a Channel 5 interview in May of this year, P.M. Briceño announced that his government was “at the point of setting up the constitutional reform committee which will be broad based… to see how better we can improve and strengthen… the Constitution to protect the interest of the Belizean people…”

The constitutional reform committee may not be set up yet, but the “Belize: Open For Business” summit is apparently on full-steam ahead, and feedback from that should indicate which road P.M. Briceño’s government has chosen to travel in the next four years of their term, whether they will hearken back to their “social justice” roots of “people first”, or they will follow the so-called neoliberal path of “profits before people.”