Politics and Sunburn: Snapshot
of the U.S. from Belize
By Harold Young, Ph.D.
The
sun blazed, cooled only by sporadic showers, during my recent visit to the
Central American and Caribbean nation of Belize where I
spent my formative years. The size of Massachusetts, Belize is racially and
ethnically diverse population of 332,000 that depends heavily
on U.S. for trade, investment, and tourism. A cross section of people receive
remittances, vacation in and access tertiary and medical institutions in the
U.S. My goal during this visit (in addition to enjoying family, friends,
the cuisine and seasonal fruits, indulging in the local beers and rums, and
avoiding a painful sunburn) was to capture a local snapshot of the Belizean
view of the U.S. and the current Trump administration.
After
a few days, you quickly glean that Belizeans are passionate about domestic
politics and versed in international politics. In a parliamentary democracy
patterned on the British system (Grant
1976),
domestic politics is close-up, dirty and discussed openly. Assad Shoman, a
local political observer, diplomat, writer and academic challenges Belize’s
classification as a liberal democracy (Diamond
2002).
The United Democratic Party and the opposing Peoples United Party have trade
terms governing through many election cycles of bitter partisan fights that
merely entrench the status quo (Shoman
1987).
Shoman’s (1987) characterization of the democratic system in Belize questions
whether elections in Belize make a difference to the lives of ordinary people.
His assertions that there is little to differentiate the two major parties and
public disillusionment with both arguably puts the country in the category of
an “electoral democracy” described by Diamond (2002) as based on degrees of
“freedom, fairness, inclusivity and meaningfulness of elections” (170). I suggest Shoman’s assertion hold true today.
With
an uncensored press and freedom of expression (Balboni,
Palacio and Awe 2007), there have emerged numerous newspapers and many
radio and TV stations with a plethora of channels carrying U.S. and international
programming that bombard Belizeans twenty-four hours a day. Particularly
popular are BBC International, MSNBC, CNN International, Al Jazeera, and the
major U.S. outlets: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Domestic and international events
are passionately discussed in homes, on beaches, in bars, on street corners, in
barbershops (my favorite barber is Cundy), and online. Despite love of county, there
is widespread disenchantment with local politics and politicians (Shoman
1995).
Belizean views of U.S. and the current administration, however, are more complicated.
As many have relatives in the U.S., emotional and economic ties are strong. The
U.S. is admired, loved, feared, disliked, envied, and made fun of in a deep
love-hate cauldron. Belizeans love American pop, hip-hop and R&B music,
Disney characters, hamburgers and fries, reality TV, the NBA, MLB, and the
general notion that America can be a land of opportunity. Any combination of
those elements fuels the exodus of Belizeans to the U.S. (Vernon
1990).
Conversely, Belizeans are suspicious of U.S. foreign interventions, dislike the
“ugly American” tourists and the rehashed refrain from then-candidate Ronald
Reagan during the 1980 presidential campaign to “Make America Great Again” (Margolin,
September 9, 2016). My conclusion is that the locals view Donald
Trump and his administration’s policies with a combination of bewilderment and
amusement. Both reactions stem from the conclusion that the most powerful
country on earth has elected a president who seems as visionless and as tainted
as many of the local politicians and administration. One friend referred to
Trump’s election as a “self-inflicted wound” which is a phrase often used in
the U.S. media for President Trump’s actions and proposed policies (See Borger,
January 29 2017; Lake,
May 11, 2017) and mused about the specter of China or
Russia filling the possible super
power vacuum (Graham-Harrison,
Luhn, Walker,Sdghi and Rice-Oxley, July 7, 2015) .
The
most widely read bi-weekly local newspaper is the Amandala. In
addition to standard editorial content, a health section, classifieds, and
advertisements, each edition contains a smorgasbord of local crime, sports,
local political intrigue, and international news. A snap shot view of this
newspaper from June 15 through July 20 provides an interesting picture. Based
on a cursory count of the ten issues over five weeks, there is an interesting
distribution of subjects (See Figure).
There are 64
international articles (15% of all articles in sample) averaging 6.4 per issue.
Of 64 articles,
10 articles (16%) discuss the U.S. and the
current administration; none of which discuss the administration in a favorable
light. An article reprinted in the Amandala entitled, Donald Trump at the
Abyss, Ford (July 12, 2017) concludes, “Nevertheless,
the real danger to the Republic are the intentional and malign acts of a
soulless presidency that will haunt this country for years after the man with
the Tiny hands is forgotten.” Belizeans still feel connected to the U.S. but
with an increasingly negative view of the U.S. (or disappointment) for electing
Donald Trump. Belize is not alone. A recent Pew Research poll
of thirty-seven nations reflects a significant drop in the favorability rating
of the U.S. under President Trump when compared to President Obama.
Considering
the media coverage (Ford
August 7, 2016) and my personal discussions (absent formal
opinion polling), it is not a stretch to conclude that most Belizeans do not
have a favorable view of Donald Trump and his administration. The artist and
educator Yasser Musa captures this in his poem Tea with Trump. Musa eviscerates Mr.
Trump’s character, hubris and
domestic and international policies. A collage of images and footage of the
artist Michael Gordon painting a portrait of Mr. Trump accompany the reading of
the poem.
As
descendants of pirate, colonial, slave and native cultures, Belizeans are a
hardy people with welcoming dispositions. For this small country, drastic
policy changes or instability in the U.S. is always deeply worrying. While I do
not expect the current administration to precipitate a total disillusionment
with the U.S., there is perceptible cynicism about U.S. commitment to the world
community. Nevertheless, there remains a belief in the underlying strength of
American institutions and an expectation that the U.S. will remain the stable
beacon to the North. Let us hope that we all survive this tumultuous period
without a painful sunburn!
About
the Author: Harold Young is an Assistant Professor at Austin Peay State
University in Clarksville, Tennessee. His research area is Public Law and
examines an American and comparative perspective on judicial institutional
changes and decision-making. Previously, he was a health communications
manager, a social worker and practiced law. Contact him at youngh@apsu.edu.
The Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) was
founded in 1939 and is dedicated to the advancement of scholarship in all areas
of political science. The purposes of the MPSA are to promote the professional
study and teaching of political science, to facilitate communications between
those engaged in such study, and to develop standards for and encourage research
in theoretical and practical political problems. As such, MPSA is a nonpartisan
association. It does not support political parties or candidates.
Harold Young is an assistant professor at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. His research area is Public Law and he examines an American and comparative perspective on judicial institutional changes and decision making. Earlier, he was a social worker, a health communications project manager, and an attorney-at-law. He can be reached via email at 
