Belize (1983: Doomsday)



Belize is a member state of the East Caribbean Federation, located on the Caribbean coast of northern Central America. It shares a border with Guatemala to the south and Mexico to the north and west. Its closest neighbours in the ECF are the Cayman Islands, located over 500 kilometres to the east. The nation is 22,966 square kilometres in size, and hosts a population of over three hundred thousand citizens. Its capital is located at Belmopan.

Pre-Doomsday
Before Doomsday, Belize was a recently independent nation, having only gained independence two years prior, in late 1981. The governing PUP party was falling apart, steadily losing support from the public. Their disastrous policy of seeking independence as the only option for Belizean future, though a symbolic victory, led to a number of economic failures that drew fire from the public. Prime Minister Price and his party were hanging on by a single thread when the bombs fell.

Doomsday
Chaos set in during the immediate wake of September 21, 1983. The collapse of North American investors set off an economic panic in Belize as the chain of command in the majority of primary industries disappeared overnight. Without a world-wide market to tap into, the highly dependent Belizean energy market began to fall into a complete catastrophe, with prices rising so quickly you could watch them change from minute to minute.

Confidence in the government, already low, fell through the earth. Among the public, there were even some discontented rumblings that the Belizean government was responsible for Doomsday. The majority of citizens rejected this as a ridiculous claim, but it accurately captured the discontent present in the nation. There was great fear that nearby Guatemala, now unfettered by international sanctions and pressure, would annex Belize.

Dark Days
The next few years were a dark time in Belize. PM Price and Parliament instituted a state of emergency in Belize, declaring martial law. Elections were suspended in the interest of stability. In contrast with the positions of his party, there were large cutbacks in social programs from 1983 to 1985. The government, faced with what looked to be a total collapse of any sort of sustainable budget, attempted to preserve some semblance of the status quo by pushing forward severe cuts across the board. Agricultural food sources were granted highly favourable subsidies and conditions to produce domestic self-sufficiency in the nation.

The public, deprived of a number of vital services and prevented from exercising their democratic rights, grew gradually more and more discontented over the years. A riot broke out in Belize City in October 1984 over unpopular social policies. In the ensuing scuffle, one police officer and three young men were killed. The reaction from both sides was immediate and harsh. The government pushed a strong crackdown on dissent, with PM Price infamously calling for “Christian principles, christian strength and decorum...from the people of Belize.” At the same time, riots erupted all across the nation.

Meanwhile, stirrings in Guatemala occasionally spilled over the border, each time sparking fears of annexation anew. Under great stress and fearing for their own safety, PM Price and his government began to conflate reports of rioting with reports of Guatemalan aggression. Rather than easing back, the government pushed even harder, hoping to project strength in the face of foreign intimidation.

The Orange Revolution
On 12 July 1986, after two and a half years of increasing government oppression, the people of Belize began to revolt. Tomás Renault, a twenty-three year old citizen of Orange Walk Town, declared his civil disobedience to the government of Belize, drawing a rally of three hundred to the centre of the city. A staunch believer in democratic socialism, Renault called on the government to stop clinging to the status quo and start anew. He called the attacks on Belizean citizens “barbarism, gangster politics hiding behind the banner of national security.”

Renault led regular rallies after that point, drawing large crowds to the centre of Orange Walk Town. Though they remained mostly peaceful, Renault's rhetoric was aggressive, advocating that the government submit to the will of the people or be overthrown. He was famously quoted as saying, “Brothers, sisters, if you should find me gone one day, you will know that they [the government] have taken me, and that the time has come to rise up, before you are next.” Throughout late 1986 his supporters and government forces clashed several times in Orange Walk Town riots, culminating in the death of seven of Renault's supporters during a particularly violent rally on 24 December 1986.

On that same day, inflamed by the deaths, Renault's supporters stormed the offices of local government and took control of them. With almost a thousand supporters gathered to him, they declared the government of Belize illegitimate and took control of the city, expelling government officials. Riots erupted across the country, both in support of and against the revolutionaries, spreading the government to spread their military resources across the nation.

Civil War
The next year and a half consisted of brutal civil war in Belize. With control over the north of the nation, Renault and his revolutionaries began to carry out guerrilla attacks on government and military installations and convoys. Conflict raged across the jungles, and the Orange Revolutionaries, as they came to be known, wrested control of Corozal and the northern villages from the government over the course of six months.

From this position of held power, the revolutionaries began to send forces into the south of the country, focused on taking control of the Northern Highway. By October 1987, their control extended as far south as the Los Lagos Community and Ladyville, heading for Belize City. Brutal fighting took to the streets of the nation's largest city. It took seven months, but in June 1988, the revolutionaries managed to take control of Belize City. Calls for negotiation went up, and officials from both sides met in Belmopan.

The negotiations were short. The revolutionaries were unwilling to concede much and the government had little strength left. When the remains of the British troops stationed in Belize defected to the revolutionary cause in 24 June 1988, the government agreed to dissolve and cede control of the remaining southern territory to the Orange Revolutionaries.

Reconstruction
The newly victorious revolutionaries set up a transitional council to handle the affairs of the nation, but set their ideals before practicality by calling an immediate election. This move, though risky, won them the support of the people by staying true to their word. In the ensuing election, the Orange National Party won nearly 80% of the votes. It is worth noting that they were the only party with candidates prepared for election in over half the electoral districts.

Holding 23 seats in Parliament, they formed a powerful majority government and began to push radical policies into effect. The state of emergency was removed from the country, and a number of primary industries, most notably a leading forestry company, were nationalized. Social programs were restored at the expense of the national debt, and agricultural subsidiaries were stripped in favour of directly nationalizing a number of farming and livestock raising businesses. The majority of trade was received through the Caribbean islands, due to the shaky situation with nearby Guatemala.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The reformed Belizean Defence Force was deployed in permanent rotation along the Guatemalan border, a measure that was widely popular with paranoid citizens. Prime Minister Borson set up a number of massive public works projects in an effort to stimulate the economy and improve the industrial infrastructure of the nation.

The East Caribbean Federation
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">In 1997, with a spiralling national debt threatening to plunge Belize into chaos, they entered into negotiations with their closest ally, the East Caribbean Federation, about joining the federation. Already hosting a large number of ECDF troops in their territory to defend against the Guatemalan threat, the people of Belize were largely dependent on the ECF to protect them from foreign threats and to provide them with a number of vital resources.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Participation in the East Caribbean Federation was considered highly favourable among the citizenry, who had long feared their neighbours and were struggling under economic difficulties. Exploratory surveying had discovered small quantities of oil throughout the region, and there were promising indications that there were oil deposits of commercial sizes, particularly in the region of Spanish Lookout, a German immigrant town. Belize, however, did not have the economic ability to invest in oil industry infrastructure.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">On 7 June 1997, Belize formally joined the East Caribbean Federation as a free state, giving up a portion of their sovereignty in exchange for the considerable economic and military strength of the Federation.

Politics
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Belize is a parliamentary republic and a member state of the East Caribbean Federation. It has thirty-four members of parliament, each representing approximately 10,000 citizens. The government is made up of a diverse group of political parties: the democratic-socialist nationalist Orange National Party, the right-of-centre Belize Conservative Party, the right-wing New Conservative Party, and the centrist Belize Workers' Party, and the environmental leftist Belize Preservation Party. The American Interest Party, who advocate for American citizens and refugees in the ECF, have a minor presence, though mostly no seats.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The government is currently formed by a coalition of two parties, led by the ONP, which holds twelve seats in Parliament. The other part of their coalition is made up of the BPP, which holds five seats in parliament. The BCP makes up the official opposition, holding ten seats in parliament. The BWP holds four seats, while the NCP is the smallest represented party, with only two seats. The Prime Minister is the legendary Tomás Renault, while the opposition is led by Roger Winderton.

Economy
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The economy of Belize is controlled by a number of industries. The oil industry, once nearly nonexistent, has boomed into a modestly large contributor to the Belizean economy with the exploitation of the Spanish Lookout field and smaller discoveries. Forestry makes up a large part of the economy, as does a limited amount of tourism and agriculture.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Belize is currently dedicated to expansion of their agricultural industry. Currently, only a fraction of the country's arable land is being exploited, and there are plans to plant a number of medically valuable crops to provide an economic base. Due to the environmentally diverse region, there are a number of scientific and ecological studies being conducted in Belize, and catering to these scientists provides a small amount of economic stimulation for the region.

Military
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Belize plays host to a large number of East Caribbean Defence Forces, but has no formal military of its own, like other ECF states. There are three military bases located throughout the country, all of them along the Guatemalan border. There is one located in the region of San Jose Succotz, another near Barranco, and a third near Otoxha. On average, roughly eight thousand ECDF troops are stationed in Belize at any one time.

Culture
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Belizean culture is largely a mishmash of the other cultures that make up its diverse population. German Mennonites, Kriol, and Mestizo are some of the major groups forming Belizean culture. Courtesy is one of the highest tenets of their culture, with even strangers greeting each other on the street. There is still some beliefs in shamanistic traditions, and traditional healing remedies are still well-respected in the nation. Belizeans also take great joy in celebration, and have been known to host colourful parties for weddings, birthdays, and any other occasion they can provide an excuse for.