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Caribbean & Central America - May 2016 (ISSN 1741-4458)

BELIZE: Belize’s Barrow trying to control the hotheads

In our April issue we reported that the longstanding territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala had flared up again despite signs in recent years that the dispute may have been heading towards a resolution. In June 2008, the current Belizean prime minister, Dean Barrow, had declared that his highest political priority was to solve the dispute with Guatemala, and he proposed a referral of the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) following enabling referendums in both countries. The referendums have not so far been held and are unlikely to be held in the current political climate. The underlying reason for the recent escalation in tension may well be a hardening of Guatemala’s stance since the election in October 2015 of the conservative Jimmy Morales as president. But now Barrow is coming under increasing pressure at home for alleged softness towards Guatemala, or for “cowardice”, as the opposition has put it, and he has a political fight on his hands to maintain his moderate stance.

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