As of today, I've only visited the island once,last November, but have been a "lurker" on this board for some time. From the postings that I have read there seems to be two distinct attitudes toward "life in paradise". One brings to light the absolute beauty of this part of the world, while the other part points out some of the inequities perceived as being perpetrated upon the general public. As both a foreigner and non resident I would not presume to express an opinion on the merrits of the government or the laws of the land. However, there are things within the population that seem apparant to most observers. Some of these outstanding issues,IMHO,are a disparaging difference in the distribution of wealth,and the maintenance and development of public infrastructure and public services. Long term environmental and tourism development planning seems to have gone by. Are there groups working on these things, as priorities? Are the activities of these groups just not transparent to the visiting tourist?

Yo Don, i'm not sure the sentiments expressed on this board are representative. I've lived here my whole life, except for my terciery education in the states.most of us love the island, and work behind the sceens to keep the island/country headed in the right direction. The MAIN problem is appathetic politicians.

AC and Belize in general have a lot going for them. I would say the main problem is structural corruption. I'm not sure how it's developed in the 25 years since colonial rule ended, since I doubt it was much of an issue before then, but it really is a serious problem.

Just a quick overview of the country's finances (what comes in vs. what goes out) shows there must be something very wrong somewhere, and when you look at the tremendous wealth of certain people who can only have acquired it dishonestly and remember that the base population of the country is only 1/4 million, it's not difficult to see why it has had such a dramatic effect.

Belize needs to manufacture much more of what it consumes and long-term there's no reason why this shouldn't happen, but when and how will it start?

Post deleted by Jesse

If the voting population has the "right" to petition the government, their petition might demand a constitutional convention where upon, the taxation laws and certain legislative 'prerogatives' might be eliminated. I said "right" because certain US southern states do not permit its citizens to write legal provisions which would be brought to the public for vote, and bypassing the legislatures grubby hands.

I agree with you that a manufacturing base would definately improve the lot for the local economy, but it seems unlikely that one will be developed under existing law. But then "only in America, can a foreigner (ie, non citizen) open a business and run it without having a citizen as an equal partner. I think that even "co-owned" businesses are not permitted in Belize, and with the one sided distribution of wealth in Belize, it seems unlikely that venture capitol will be readily avilable to the locals. On the surface it seems like the difficulties can only be resolved through "political education" at the ballot box.

Really Sorry San Pedro Daily for intruding on your space. I regret having brought the subject up, and withdraw all comments.

Post deleted by Jesse

Please,,,,,,,,, The subject of this post is "A PERCEPTION of things in Belize",,,,,,, And it asked two questions.

Please explain.

That's really pretty funny, given the writer.