The Controversy Surrounding Draft Maya Land Policy
Over the weekend in Toledo District, hundreds of residents from across all forty-one Maya communities disembarked from buses destined for Santa Elena Village. Meanwhile, in Punta Gorda Town, another round of consultation got underway at the office of Indigenous Peoples Affairs. Both events book-ended an ongoing issue pertaining to the draft Maya Customary Land Tenure Policy that was first introduce in December of last year. As we’ve been reporting, the document has been met with objection from a number of villages whose residents have gone on record to criticize the government. On the other hand, strides are being made in government’s efforts to educate Belizeans in the south about the proposed land policy. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was in Santa Elena and Punta Gorda on Saturday and has our first story.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The coming together of residents from indigenous Maya communities across Toledo District on Saturday is a show of solidarity for the Toledo Alcaldes Association and the Maya Leaders Alliance. Men, women and children met in Santa Elena Village to share their collective views on this controversial piece of document. It’s a preliminary version of what will eventually become a standing course of action to be taken where Maya customary land policy is concerned.
Brihilio Garcia
Brihilio Garcia, 1st Alcalde, Santa Elena Village
“We see that draft as a threat to our land, [a] threat to our livelihood. That’s why we are gathering here together. Over two thousand people are waiting for the government to come and consult the people here with us, that’s why we are here. We are waiting for him, that’s why we are gathering here.”
But that individual who has been appointed by the Government of Belize would be a no-show. Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck was in Punta Gorda Town where he led a consultation on behalf of the Attorney General, regarding the implementation of the CCJ’s consent order.
Andrew Marshalleck
Andrew Marshalleck, SC, Attorney-at-law
“We’ve been holding consultations on the customary Maya land policy since November of last year. This is in fact the ninth time we are having it at this venue.”
It’s a lengthy process of meeting with legal experts and exchanging opinions on what will ultimately be a formal piece of writing that governs the acquisition and use of land in all forty-one indigenous Maya communities. As such, arriving at a mutually agreeable position between the Government of Belize and the wider Maya community of southern Belize has proven to be quite challenging.
Cristina Coc
Cristina Coc, Spokesperson, TAA/MLA
“Our farms are at risk, our lands are at risk and we see how this policy is attempting to completely destroy our livelihoods as indigenous people here in southern Belize”
Cristina Coc, like many of the alcaldes gathered in Santa Elena, has been at the forefront of the call for the Briceño administration to meet with the Maya people about the customary land policy.
Cristina Coc
“If you look at our people who have gathered here, this is a mass show of solidarity among our Maya people in southern Belize. We have forty-one villages that would be completely impacted by the decision of these policymakers and this is a clear showing of our people saying, “No, this will not work for us.” We reject it in its entirety and we’re demanding that the government completely does away with Number Five which is to limit our land to a one kilometer circular area. We are saying absolutely no to that.”
What Coc is referring to is paragraph five of the General Guiding Principles of the draft policy. It reads, in part, quote, in the case of villages with a membership of five hundred people or less, within one kilometer of the village center; in the case of villages with one thousand members or less, but more than five hundred members, within two kilometers of the village center; and in the case of Maya villages with more than one thousand members, within three kilometers of the village center, end quote. The extract, according to Marshalleck, has been grossly misunderstood and misrepresented in order to reflect what is being described as a one-kilometer rule.
Andrew Marshalleck
“If you read Five, that’s not what it says. In fact, it is being completely misrepresented because it’s not an upper limit on the lands that can be claimed. It’s, in fact, the lower limit, the least that can be had, not the most. So I’m not quite sure why it’s being obviously misrepresented in the way that it is, otherwise than to drum up support for a cause, for an agenda.”
But what is that motivation and why would it be used to deceive the masses of villagers?
Isani Cayetano
“Do you believe that perhaps this should have come to you guys first, before putting together a draft policy, in the spirit of consultation?
Brihilio Garcia
“Yes, that’s what the government should have done before. They should have come and consult each village and then write down if we accept. Ahuh, you have to talk to us first. You can’t just write something which we don’t know about.”
Part of learning about the policy and having a say about its creation is actively participating in the consultations. That’s what one concerned villager from San Pedro, Columbia has chosen to do. Along the way, he has formed his own opinion based on what he has been able to learn.
Jose Teul
Jose Teul, Resident, San Pedro, Columbia
“It all started like 2021, when the drafting of this Maya customary land tenure started and starting to do the outreach and the capacity building with different communities. To cut long story short, here we are and we see different Mayan communities being misled and the tearing [up] of the draft document, you know, which is… we’re just working through it and trying to get an understanding of these laws and things. It is very pathetic to see that some of our very own Maya people are shouting out things that even myself trying to read these documents since then and having a difficulty trying to understand it, you know.”
The First Alcalde of Santa Elena Village echoed the sentiment of all those in attendance during Saturday’s gathering. He dismisses paragraph five altogether.
Brihilio Garcia
“The policy they’re putting there, especially the paragraph five, is threatening our livelihood. It’s threatening our land, it’s threatening our rights. That’s why we don’t want that paragraph five. We totally reject it and not accept it. We disagree. All the Maya people, forty-one villages, are here. They reject that policy.”
The question is: do the masses of Mayan villagers fully understand the language, as well as the ramifications of what is contained within the draft document? Isani Cayetano for News Five.
