The political ecology of peasant sugarcane farming in northern Belize Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Higgins, John Erwin, 1954- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 07/10/2021 00:01:29 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/288803 INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text direcdy from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter &ce, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. 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UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ® GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by John E. HlQf]ins entitled The Political Ecology of Peasant Sugar Cane Farming in Northern Belize and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy I { f f <77 R><?harcfRichai A. Thoripson Date ? 7 • . fcc- iL-i i- Thomas K. Park Date 1 2^ - 11- Date Jane H. Hill Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director Thonas E"I b!ierl dan Date 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University' Librarv- to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgement the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED 4 ACKNOUXEDGEMENTS This research was funded by grants from the Wenner Gren Foundation and the Comins Fund of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Arizona, for which I am eternally grateful. I would like to thank Dr. Angel Cal of the University College of Belize and Dr. Santos Mahung of the Ministry of Education for their endorsements which opened many doors that otherwise would have been closed to me. Many people assisted me with my research, however. I would particularly like to thank Mr. Eduardo Zetina of Belize Sugar Industries, Mr. Eisner Cruz of the Belize Sugar Board, Mr. Felipe Blanco of the Orange Walk Cane Farmers' Association, Mr. David Grajales of the Ministry of Lands and Survey in Orange Walk, Fr. Kurt Kassebeer, S.J of La Immaculada Parish, and the staffs of the Central Statistical Office and the Archives of Belize for their assistance. I owe a far greater debt of gratitude, however, to the villagers of San Pablo, and in particular Silvino Bacab and his family, for putting up with me for as long and as patiently as they did. 5 DEDICATION To my father who inspired my interest, to Bob Netting who nurtured that interest, to Tom Sheridan who saw this through until the end. and finally to Steffi whose incredible patience has not always been a virtue. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES 9 LIST OF TABLES 10 ABSTRACT 11 INTRODUCTION 13 An Anomalous Industry 13 The Economic Characteristics of Peasant Cane Farming 15 Control of the Means of Production in the Export Sugar Industry 29 Further Anomalies 33 The Ideological Orientation of Sugar Industry and Land Reforms 38 Prior Sociological Analyses of the Belizean Sugar Industry 40 Fieldwork Methodology 54 THE HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF THE BELIZEAN PEASANTRY 58 The Beginnings of the Caste Wars 58 Historical .Analysis in Existing Studies of the Belizean Sugar Industry 68 Conquest and Colonization 74 The Early British Presence in Belize 81 The Impact of Mexican Independence on the Maya 84 The Yucatecan Sugar Industry 90 Political Antecedents of the Caste War 94 The Rebels' Demands 98 Anglo-Maya Relations during the Early Years of the Caste War 102 7 COLONIAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE IMMIGRANT POPULATION 111 Settlement Patterns of the Mid-nineteenth Century 118 Plantation Society 1879-1890 130 The Course of the Caste War 137 Social and Economic consequences of the Sugar Industry 141 The Integration of the Refugee Maya into Colonial Society 143 Summary 145 THE CHANGING COLONL\L ECONOMY 149 The Development of Underdevelopment as a National Phenomena 153 The Control of land as a Prerequisite for the Control of Labor 159 The Plantation Concept in Analyses of Belizean Land and Labor Relations 161 The Anti-colonial Elite 171 Settlements of the Orange Walk District during the Early 20th Century 176 Physical Characteristics of the Study Area 185 The History of Study Area Villages ...188 Economic Activities of the Mayero Population during the Early 20th Century 196 The Northern Belizean Noveau Elite 197 Mayeros and Capitalists in the Chicle Economy 203 The Santa Cruz Maya Enter the Chicle Economy 216 The Decline of Timber Exports and the Resurrection of the Sugar hidustry 224 Milpa Agriculture and its Impact on the Plantations 232 THE RISE OF THE ANTI-COLONL\L TRADE UNION MOVEMENT 239 The Growth of the Labor Unions 243 8 The Emergence of Small Farmer Sugarcane Cultivation 246 The Cane Planter's Cooperative: 1952-1959 251 The Expansion of Plantation Production and Growing Rural Unrest 255 The Northern Cane Workers Union and the Caneros Movement 261 Sugar Industry Reform and the Sugar Ordinances of 1959 272 The Quota System in Belizean Sugarcane Farming 276 PEASANT ADAPTATION TO SUGARCANE FARMING 281 The Economics of Peasant Cane Fanning 281 The Recent History of the Expansion of Peasant Cane Farming in my Study Area 288 The Economic Rationale of Multiple Quotas 293 The Familial Basis of Small Farmer Sugarcane Cultivation 307 The Concept of the Household in San Pablo 311 Household Types as Stages in the Developmental Cycle of Domestic Groups 313 The Impact of the Domestic Group Developmental Cycle on Cane Farming 318 Summary 324 THE POLITICS OF THE PERSISTENCE OF PEASANT CANE FARMING 327 Somos Mas 327 Why the PUP Lost the 1993 Election 338 .APPENDIX D; ILLUSTRATIONS, TABLES, GRAPHS 349 REFERENCES CITED 354 9 LIST OF FIGURES Figure I: Map of the study area 181 Figure 2: Fanners' average cane price: 1951-1989 270 Figure 3: The number of sugarcane fanners in San Pablo Village 1971-1993 289 Figure 4; Frequency of quota transfers: 1970-1992 296 Figure 5; San Pablo, San Jose. Douglas, and San Luis land transfers 1958-1992 299 Figure 6; Commercial bank loans to cane farmers 302 Figure 7: San Pablo villagers' total quotas in thousands of tons 305 10 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Comparison of 1990 sugarcane prices in US dollar per ton paid to farmers 15 Table 2: San Pablo households' primary sources of income in 1993 44 Table 3: Distribution of size of private landholdings and number of owners for 1922. 1926. and 1934 146 Table 4 ; Population density and distribution in the Corozal and Orange Walk Districts in 1921 178 Table 5: Comparison of the seasonal labor requirements of milpa, plant cane, and ratoon cane 234 Table 6: Wages paid to agricultural labor 1932-1938 239 Table 7: Number of cane fanners according to farm size 1950-56 250 Table 8: Comparison of estate and independent farmers' cane production 1964-70 266 Table 9; Sugarcane production costs 285 Table 10: Ratoon cane production costs 287 Table 11; Frequency of quota ttansfer types 1971-1992 294 Table 12: Frequency of land transfer types: 1958-1992 297 11 ABSTRACT The Belizean export sugar industry is dominated by small family farmers who produce the nation's most important cash crop in terms of area under cultivation.