San Marcos Village Residents Want Their Piece of Land

Juan Caal

In the south, residents of San Marco Village are tonight upset and taking matters into their hands. Dozens of families have started to occupy lands along the Southern Highway, just outside of Punta Gorda.  The residents say that they are tired of politicians sending surveyors to their community to survey the land for distribution. They are frustrated that the lands are given to political cronies. Over the weekend, a group of villagers, led by Juan Caal, began clearing a portion of the land.

Juan Caal, Resident, San Marcus Village

“For so much years we have lived under a political regime where they favored their delegates, they favored their cronies. And what about the common young man, common young lady that want a piece of house lot. This is what we are tired of having to deal with the politics that always wins and overcome everything and the system that doesn’t give them an opportunity and a chance for them to own something. It has to stop. The young people are our future and if we can’t organize ourselves as young people and stand for what we truly believe is ours. Nobody else will. You will hear a lot of loud mouths speaking out there, speaking out loud but that is what they do.  There is not action. This is what you are seeing here. Action is going to take place. We are going to take charge of the situation. We believe that this is what we rightfully owned. Not only because, as young people as young Belizeans it is our constitutional right to enjoy and have land access.”