“Abuse of Authority” And “Corruption” At Border Crossings

In our interview with Amir Espadas, the President of the Chetumal Chamber of Commerce, he went on to explain how trade relations between Belize and Mexico have been mutually beneficial. Aside from the positive steps forward, Espadas noted that there are issues of corruption, abuse of authority and mistreatment at the border crossing that must be addressed. He says this needs to be done to increase the flow of tourists to and from Belize.

 

Amir Espadas, President, CANACO SERVYTUR

“The President of the Republic, Andres Manuel López Obrador, exempted many tariffs on products you export to Mexico, such as cattle, such as sugar and other products that we consume. And what we are seeing right now is that the Government of Belize is removing taxes for Mexicans who want to go to Belize. I think that besides that experience, for some time now our governments are doing what they can, businesses need to take advantage of it, but just as there are positive actions there are also practices done at the border and its far from helping, they harm, which is where we need to work. But, as a business sector alone, we won’t achieve it if we don’t involve the authorities who deal with these issues: corruption, abuse of authority, and mistreatment, because it needs to be said. So what we want is for that flow of tourists that has always existed to continue and to increase. And I stress this, not only for Chetumal, but for Belize. Previously, many Chetumalan families would eat at Corozal every Sunday. And that was stopped due to the restrictions that our governments sometimes impose. And they don’t realize that they are harming what we traditionally, or historically, already had. I believe that in this sense the business sector assume the responsibilities of these offices, because in the business sector, we like things to happen in a practical and fast way, and that’s what we’re going to be promoting, or we’re going to be encouraging, that the solutions are practical and immediate, because we can’t wait for the authority’s time, because we also know that bureaucracy, on many occasions, takes a long time to give results.”