steve2021
2/3/2017 19:30 EST
To be honest, I don't know why I'm posting this. Maybe I'm running behind on my fair share of abuse. I haven't been insulted or cussed at for a while, but I have a funny feeling that's about to change. That's what happens when you take on people who are emotionally or financially (or both) in a place like Belize.
I can't help but wonder if bobbyvee started out this way. But I digress,
This week's episode of The Expat Files podcast deals mostly with some recent developments in Belize. (In the interest of full disclosure, the listener named Steve mentioned in the podcast is indeed yours truly.)
The podcast is available here:
https://theexpatfiles.podbean.com/
The episode in question is dated February 3 2017. The part that deals with Belize begins at about the 7:25 mark.
To make a long story short, Belizean news reports (the newspaper Amadala and Channel 7 out of Belize City) indicate that the Belizean economy is doing laps around the bottom of the toilet bowl.
Meanwhile the Government of Belize (GOB) is involved in litigation arising from the purchase of BTL, the Belizean phone company. Basically, the GOB is just days away from defaulting on that debt and has lost a couple of rounds in the US courts that would have prevented their creditor (a Brit named Michael Ashcroft) from attaching Belizean assets in the US. If those assets are attached, the prospects for the Belizean economy are (to put it mildly) not looking good.
If you're interested, the GOB filed an appeal with the US Supreme Court and lost (the Supremes declined to hear the case and let stand previous court victories for Mr Ashcroft.
The GOB really doesn't have anywhere else to go. The Barrow administration swears it's not going to pay a dime, in which case it defaults on a major debt and will be lucky if it can finance a stick of gum for the foreseeable future. Worst case, I guess, is that the GOB defaults AND Ashcroft uses the US courts to attach Belizean assets held in US banks, In that scenario, the GOB is basically bankrupt. That's sure to do wonders for property values on the Cayes, isn't it?
Belizean mass media is pretty easy to find on the Internet, so there's no reason for you to take my word for any of this, Have a look here:
http://amandala.com.bz/news/ashcroft-belizes-jugular/
and here:
http://www.7newsbelize.com/printstory.php?func=print&nid=39153
and here
https://vimeo.com/201374275
Anyhow, if you're planning a move to Belize, you might want to think this over. At the very least, the near future might not be the best time to make that move. (If you ask me, the not-so-future doesn't look so hot, either, but your mileage may vary. SOMEBODY has to keep P.T Barnum looking like a genius, Better you than me.)
If you're feeling blind sided by this, you shouldn't. As I mentioned, Belizean media is pretty easy to find on the internet. Probably the least controversial suggestion I'm going to make for prospective Belizean expats is that you need to familiarize yourself with some, or all, of the following outlets:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvllzUvzVaXGBTiHNWHV9cg
http://www.7newsbelize.com/
http://edition.channel5belize.com/
http://amandala.com.bz/news/
There, I did it. Now I know how Donald Trump feels when he signs off of Twitter at the end of the day, :-)
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toddwinston
2/3/2017 22:01 EST
..everyone will have their opinions (or agendas). We love it in Belize and see things differently. Opportunity abounds in Belize for any one looking.
It is pretty easy to pick a third world country and tear it apart.
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steve2021
2/3/2017 22:43 EST
Todd,
Would you be so kind as to tell us exactly what the Belizean press have gotten wrong?
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toddwinston
2/3/2017 23:12 EST
You can pick any C.A country and paste negative news. Thats what you get with third world. I agree Belize has its problems; but that goes with the rest of C.A too.
It is easy find positive news on Belize too.
https://internationalliving.com/2017/01/the-top-4-countries-in-the-world-for-retiree-benefits-2/https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2017/01/15/forbes-selects-santa-familia-village-cayo-destinations-live/https://www.breakingbelizenews.com/2017/01/25/belize-national-geographic-list-beaches-world/
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belizelenny
2/4/2017 08:37 EST
Well Said! Not going nowhere! Love it here at Cerros Sands, quiet peacefull and on the sea! Heading of to play darts with like 20-30 others here who get together every Saturday.
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Boweigo
2/4/2017 10:50 EST
.Steve, you appear to enjoy putting down Belize and laughing at the people who have made it their home. This is all under the guise of protecting potential residents from moving there. You also see the country as a failed state and don't expect the situation to get better in the future. What kind response do you want from people who live in the country? Yes there are problems but they will try and work thru them, you on the other hand don't live there so you can take a cavalier approach and be the voice of gloom and doom. You need to chill out.
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dqtester
2/4/2017 10:55 EST
@toddwinston Agree 150% with your last post.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I'll leave it at that!
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steve2021
2/4/2017 22:38 EST
Thanks for the responses.
That's kind of what I figured. Folks with an investment in Belize, be it a financial one or an emotional one, are pretty much living proof that P.T. Barnum was an optimist. It's hard for me to tell who really has a blind love for the place and who's just shilling for some investment project, My guess is that we've heard much more from the latter group than the former.
The fact that every one of the responses I've gotten was 100 percent content free probably says more than I every could. If you're contemplating a move to Belize, you really need to follow up on the links to Belizean media that I provided, (You probably can expand on those without too much effort, I didn't even break a sweat putting that list together.)
Best of luck to those folks who have gone all in on Belize. As the holder of a Ph.D. in international economics, I think you're going to need it. Even if International Living, Leif and Kathy, plus a bunch of anonymous voices on Expantexchange don't agree with me. :-)
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toddwinston
2/5/2017 03:00 EST
Hi Steve,
Obviously there will be emotionally invested people in a country as beautiful as Belize.
It's wrong to assume that people responding to your comments have gone "all in" (alluding they are responding for financial reasons/gain only).
What you are doing is fear mongering. Belize is a young country showing amazing potential. Just look at Ambergris and the development.
Myself, I would prefer if Belize stayed the way it is. Unfortunately this will not happen. It is a paradise that everyone will want a piece of.
And for the record, my opinion is not based on economic gain.
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mgammo
2/5/2017 11:02 EST
I am curious about something.. Are you currently in Belize now ? Have you ever stepped foot in Belize? Sometimes a PHD isn't worth the paper it is printed on. I know, I grew up in a family of higher academia.. Sometimes it just equates to going to school longer and writing a few Masters thesis papers strung together. Sometimes what they have taught us up in higher academia just propels us further into our false reality...That PHD is not what you need to successfully survive and thrive in a place like Belize,,Perhaps you should consider not venturing down if you have not already...
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OutaHereIn2017
2/8/2017 21:47 EST
It can't be good to have an more than $100 million get sucked out of the government's accounts. Steps are being taken to protect assets that reside in U.S. jurisdiction, though I have no idea what steps those might be, or how effective they are. Reciting those facts isn't an insult to Belize, or to people who live there.
I haven't heard anyone who knows macroeconomics say what will happen then. The government is having trouble making its next bond payment, but that was true before the judgement. There may be a devaluation of the Belize dollar, but that was also true before the judgement. I haven't heard anything yet that would stop me from coming, or make me rush for the exits if I were already there.
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toddwinston
2/8/2017 22:27 EST
…well one thing for sure is that Belize is not alone in debt. It seems everywhere you look in the world governments have lost touch. Even wealthier countries like,greece,spain,portugal,Ireland and the list goes on…are constantly on the verge of financial disaster (or in the case of Greece and arguably the others already there).
Seems like a financial experiment to see how much debt the world can get in.
Most of us reading are probably from the US and Canada. Our national debts scare me.
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OutaHereIn2017
2/9/2017 23:47 EST
Debt is not a problem on its own. Many countries have fairly high debt and manage to sustain themselves just fine, for example, the UK has sustained debt of 100% of GDP for generations at a time, and they seem not to be a smoking wasteland. https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/the-awesome-gratuitousness-of-the-greek-crisis/ Greece in particular is not a simple story of overspending.
Belize can't make its next payment to bondholders, THAT's obviously a big problem. But not necessarily one that can't be survived.
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mcagun
2/10/2017 09:22 EST
I have been coming/going to Belize for about 12 year, I own property.
Even if Belize.gov does go belly up, how is this going to effect me, OK prices may drop a little on property but then its always been a buyers market
I will still want come to Belize, I will still want the sand, sea, flora & fauna, the friendly people.
It wont effect me and it certainly wont effect my Belize buddies who don't have much anyway.
Stop sweating the big stuff that's out of your control, relax and live your life people, enjoy beautiful Belize
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