Private Landowners Caught in Maya Land Dispute Down South

In southern Belize, the debate over Maya customary land rights is no longer just a policy issue, it’s playing out on the ground, village by village, with tensions still running high in the Toledo District. Private landowners say they’re caught in the middle, holding legal title to their property while facing growing pressure for communal land claims by neighboring Maya villages. The Toledo Private and Lease Landowners Limited warns that the clash of rights and expectations is fueling friction across communities. Now, as efforts continue to legislate Maya land rights, the Office of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs finds itself walking a delicate line. Today, Director Gustavo Requena explains how his office is working to ease tensions and keep dialogue alive.

 

Gustavo Requena, Director, Office of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs

“It really is about trying to strike that balance between the competing interest, because you have the private land owners who have their own land within the forty-one communities and then you have communities saying we want communal land. As a maya person it is easy to understand why the Maya people want communal land. It is a part of our heritage. That is how we work, our dependency on the land for our very existence, whether that be our food, our spiritual needs, all of these things that make us Maya people. At the same time, we can understand that we have over eight thousand private land owners within this district and the constitution protects their rights to private property. So it is about trying to create this balance and that is what the Office of Indigenous People’s Affairs does, try to be the neutral voice in all of these conversations and that is not easy.”

 

Government Vows Action Amid Maya Land Rights Dispute

 

As lawmakers drag their feet on long promised land rights legislation in the Toledo District, frustration is boiling over and the standoff shows no signs of easing. Private and lease landowners, Maya communities, and the Toledo Alcaldes Association all say they feel unheard, each pressing competing claims as tensions linger. The government insists it’s still committed to finishing the process, even after years of delays. Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs CEO Chester Williams admits the issue is likely headed back to court, but says the administration is determined to get the legislation across the finish line before its term ends.

 

Chester Williams, CEO, Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs.

“When it comes to the legislation, the draft legislation we currently have, there is going to be more litigation coming out of this. Certainly, we do have the private and lease land owners who believe their interest in not being looked after and the Mayas and the TAA who believe the same thing. Now there is a lot being said out there that the government is not doing the same thing. I want to make it emphatically clear that this government is committed to seeing this process through. The prime minister has given the instruction to the minister that this is done and our minister is committed to making sure it is done within this term of government. Now, I don’t want to bash nobody but I listened to Ms. Liselle Alamilla and we know her to be an actioned packed person, she is not laid back. When she wants to get something done, she gets it done. But we must recall she was the commissioner of indigenous people’s affairs for five years and she did not get it done. I don’t think it is because she did not want to, but rather because of the complexity of the issue. If it was easy, she would have gotten it done within the five-year time. We are doing a lot to make sure it gets done.  Mr. Requena is on the ground everyday meeting with people. The minister has not shied away from anybody. Everyone who comes to see him. He has also sat down with Liselle and she has provided some good information to us in terms of what she did while there and that provides some guidance. So we are grateful for her in that respect. But it is not something the government can just wake up and say we are going to do this. We have to ensure we look after the interest of every person who are going to be affected.”

 

For now, stakeholders remain divided, as the government pushes ahead with a process officials say is complex but unavoidable.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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