Minister Dolores Balderamos Garcia Meet with Mayas of Southern Belize

Dolores Balderamos Garcia, the Minister of Indigenous Peoples Affairs, recently met with villagers in the Toledo District. Senior Correspondent Maul Mahung tells us more. 

Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development, Families and Indigenous People’s Affairs: “I think it was important in meeting all of various groups in Toledo. It was important for government and our ministry in particular to get out the message about the delimitation of village boundaries. Now whether a village is Maya or non Maya if a particular village is setting village boundaries it is important to consult with the neighboring village because if you do it all by yourself you may be stepping on somebody’s toes. So in particular we had received some representations and concerns from the villages of Barranco in relation to the boundary with Midway and then of course in Yermeri Grove in terms of the boundaries with both San Marcos and Laguna so I think it was important for us to get the message out that in terms of the auto delimitation principles and methodology there must be respectful consultation with other villagers before proposing boundaries. Now the boundaries if you propose a particular boundary that doesn’t mean that that will be the definitive boundary because government must have its input and it is important for us to balance what we call competing interests. But we felt that it was important to get that message out because we don’t want problems and simmering discontent in Toledo and government does have that responsibility so that is why we made the communication.”