By: Omar Silva I Editor/Publisher

National Perspective Belize I Digital 2025

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

 Belize City: 15th August 2025

Editorial

Belize returned from Campeche with a handshake and a photo-op. Guatemala returned with leverage. Mexico returned with leadership.

The Calakmul Declaration, signed on August 15, is historic in principle. It consolidates a trinational conservation zone that protects millions of hectares of rainforest and strengthens the global fight against deforestation and climate change. But in practice, it reveals a troubling pattern: Belize entering regional negotiations with symbolism rather than substance.

The truth is plain. Belize’s contribution of 0.6 million hectares pales beside Guatemala’s 2.1 million and Mexico’s 2.4 million. More importantly, our neighbors came to Campeche with concrete deliverables: trade corridors, rail integration, customs facilitation, and rural development programs. We came with a bridge proposal still blocked by environmental questions and a wish list for energy, agriculture, and investment.

Prime Minister John Briceño may describe this as the fulfilment of a two-decade-old dream, but the Belizean people deserve more than dreams. They deserve agreements that deliver jobs, energy security, agricultural markets, and infrastructure—not just environmental applause lines.

The irony is sharp: we signed a declaration to protect an ecosystem while still lacking a strategy to protect our economy.

Yes, the Great Mayan Forest is sacred, and yes, its protection is vital. But we cannot afford to let symbolism mask our lack of substance at the trilateral table. If Belize is to be taken seriously as a partner, it must come prepared not only with conservation commitments but with concrete plans to advance the lives of its people.

Anything less, and we will continue to return from summits with little more than glossy photographs and borrowed rhetoric.