Universidad De Quintana Roo
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Universidad de Quintana Roo DIVISIÓN DE CIENCIAS POLÍTICAS Y HUMANIDADES The Electoral Dimension as an Indicator of Democracy in Belize: Analysis of the General Elections (1984 - 2012) Tesis para optar por el grado de Maestría en Ciencias Sociales Aplicadas a los Estudios Regionales Presenta José de Jesús Alejandro Monjaraz Sandoval Director Dr. Carlos Barrachina Lisón Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México, 2012 I Universidad de Quintana Roo DIVISIÓN DE CIENCIAS POLÍTICAS Y HUMANIDADES Tesis elaborada bajo la supervisión del comité de asesoría y aprobada como requisito parcial, para obtener el grado de: Maestra en Ciencias Sociales Aplicadas a los Estudios Regionales Comité: Presidente:____________________________________ Dr. Enrique Baltar Rodríguez Secretario:____________________________________ Dr. Carlos Barrachina Lisón Vocal:___________________________________ Dr. Jorge Figueroa Magaña Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México, 2012 II The Electoral Dimension as an Indicator of Democracy in Belize: AnalyAnalysissis of the General Elections (1984 ––– 2012)2012)2012) INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1. CONTEXTUAL FRAMEWORK OF BELIZE .................................................................... 6 Early exploration and settlement of the Bay of Honduras ............................................................. 7 British Honduras .............................................................................................................................. 12 Electoral Processes pre-independence......................................................................................... 19 Independence and Political Transition .......................................................................................... 26 Chapter 2. A THEORETICAL APPROACH OF DEMOCRACY ...................................................... 35 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 35 Establishing the Democratization Foundations ............................................................................ 40 The Anatomy of an Electoral System ............................................................................................ 53 The Functional Distribution of Power in Parliament ..................................................................... 56 The Democratic Parliamentarianism ............................................................................................. 58 Westminster System ....................................................................................................................... 63 Presidential ...................................................................................................................................... 70 Principles of the Presidential system ............................................................................................. 76 Analyzing and Contrasting the Presidential and Parliamentarian Systems ............................... 77 III Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................. 80 Development of the Electoral Process in Belize (1984-2012) ..................................................... 80 Election Indicators of Democracy .................................................................................................. 82 Accountability of the Parliamentary Electoral Processes in Belize ............................................. 91 Party Participation and Citizenry .................................................................................................. 105 The other citizens and their participation .................................................................................... 109 Competency and Alternation within the Parties .......................................................................... 112 2012 Electoral Process ................................................................................................................. 113 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................ 120 Bibliography Consulted ..................................................................................................................... 128 Internet Sources ................................................................................................................................ 134 Interviews ........................................................................................................................................... 138 IV The main inspiration for this dissertation and everything in life is my family. They have always been there for me, in every sense of the word, through the good and bad and for that I dedicate this thesis to them; Doña Rosa, Don Chuy, George, Fany and Hector. I also thank my friend and mentor, Carlos Barrachina, who pushed and challenged me intellectually and brought out the toiler from within. There were several people in the beautiful and splendorous country of Belize who provided their support through interviews as well as critiques and points of view on this investigation, and shared valuable information as well, most of which is reflected within this work. I am above all grateful for the generosity of the people in Orange Walk, Belize City and especially the researchers and those who were very hospitable during my stay in Belmopan doing research work at UB. “Este trabajo fue financiado bajo la Convocatoria 2011 del Programa de Jóvenes Investigadores (PROJI) de la Universidad de Quintana Roo bajo la Convocatoria 2012 del Programa de Jóvenes Investigadores (PROJI) de la Universidad de Quintana Roo, con clave del proyecto PROJI-2012- 10.” 1 INTRODUCTION The body of this research will focus on analyzing the current political situation in the country of Belize, summarizing the events of greater significance to its formation as a democratic nation with a level of governance with sufficient capacity to ensure the implementation of elections every five years or so. Therefore, the composition of Belizean political studies is necessary in the sense that its history is dominated by two main factors: a struggle to establish a system of elections that is efficient and transparent in the organizational process and in the activity of the political parties, as well as any other force involved; and securing a process of governability in which the triumphant side results as the best option to lead the Belizean people during the following five year administration. These ingredients forged a complex country in the sense that there is no equivalence between the population and therefore the interests and political actions are vast and lack of order. Chapter one focuses on setting the historical context of the political life in Belize, from its origins as a timber settlement, going through the conflicts between the British and Spanish over the land, to the colonial era, where the settlers were pursuing a fair treatment, political and economic, from the Crown. The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries proved decisive considering the social turmoil caused by the worsening of the labor crisis as a consequence of the chaotic situation of the country, 2 the authorities had to negotiate certain concessions with the local bourgeoisie, of political character, looking to counteract on the reserved rights the governor had and that favored the metropolitan interests. The rest of the 20th century proved a difficult power struggle between the political parties and the metropolis who sought to keep British Honduras under its control. As of 1950, the British Honduras became Belize and thus began its independence trail until finally becoming an autonomously sovereign State in 1981. As of then, the political game was a two party struggle between the PUP under George Price and the UDP lead by Manuel Esquivel among others. These two parties have controlled the Belizean government ever since the first universal elections were held in 1954 and have maintained it so until the 2012 process. Chapter two focuses on illustrating the theoretical view of the investigation. It sets the conceptual bases to explain how democracy is to be grasped in the Belizean case, defining democracy according to the main political science experts. It also does a brief analysis on the political systems that are applicable in Latin American, presidentialism and parliamentarianism. The contrast between these two systems brings to a reflection that looks to explain why the Westminster model is the best option for Belizean politics. The third chapter looks to present and scrutinize the general electoral process and institutions in charge of managing the task every five years or so. It pays special 3 attention to the general elections of 2008 and 2012. The 2008 elections resulted a transition period between the PUP and the UDP in which for the first time since 1998, the United Democratic Party would take over the government after the PUP had struggled internally, in the Lower House and within the Cabinet. The People’s United Party was the first political institution that managed to secure consecutive terms prior to becoming an independent nation, act that the UDP and Prime Minister Dean Barrow repeated in 2012. That is, Barrow decided to dissolve Congress