2005 Belize unrest
However, after years of popular frustration at alleged financial mismanagement and corruption by the People's United Party (PUP), the new budget sparked condemnation from local interest groups[2] and protests at the National Assembly building on January 14, with demonstrations continued throughout the following week.
After the conclusion of the Friday protest, the Belize National Teachers' Union, led by President Anthony Fuentes, began a prolonged strike action that left the majority of schools closed going into February.
[6] But by Friday January 28, talks had broken down again as the Public Service Union of government workers left their jobs[7] and forced a new round of negotiations that dragged on in the early days of February even as teachers began to return to school.
Taking advantage of numerous faults in communication between the union representatives, Government negotiators Carla Barnett and Assad Shoman came up with an agreement on February 11.
[8] The NTUCB received a review of the budget, salary increases for its members, various reform measures tied to national development corporations and a promise of cooperation.
Almost an aberration in the midst of the storm and fury was the takeover of Belize Telecommunications Limited by the Government following investor Jeffrey Prosser's failure to pay for his batch of shares bought the previous year.
BTL was locked in an investor war between Michael Ashcroft of England and Jeffrey Prosser, majority holder at the time, of the United States.
Ashcroft's reps claimed Prosser was not fulfilling his duties to the board of BTL and challenged his authority in a court order after he was found unable to pay for his stake in the company, which was taken over by GOB.
In Miami, Florida, judge Ursula Ungaro Benages restored Prosser to his position on the board with six directors to Ashcroft's two, throwing out the deal Government had made to offer shares to Belizeans.
Going into the long Easter weekend, the big story was government's deal with Michael Ashcroft's Ecom Ltd. to buy the shares not paid for by Prosser; upon appeal to the Miami Court Benages reversed her decision and agreed with the GOB position-or so it was thought.
On March 31, Benages found GOB in contempt; the ruling was challenged days later by Belize Supreme Court Justice Abdulai Conteh, but Prosser appealed.
On April 19, the Opposition United Democratic Party unveiled a plan of "civil disobedience" to force early elections, and the country's tertiary level students came out in support of the unions and BTL workers.
Union leaders and Opposition politicians joined them thereafter and police and crowd engaged in a standoff with occasional outbursts and usual elements of protesting until nightfall, when a few city residents came out and began burning tires on the bridge.
Meanwhile, accused looters were being brought to court and UB student body president Moses Sulph charged for leading the previous day's strike.
One last tense moment came in Belmopan near the end of April when Opposition rep Patrick Faber was roughed up while attending a meeting of the Prime Minister and UB students there.
The season 1 episode of the Canadian TV series Survivorman named "Lost At Sea" featured the host Les Stroud attempt to survive one week in a life raft adrift off of the Belize coast.
