Heads of Agreement Crisis

The Heads of Agreement was a 1981 document proposing a solution to the Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory. Created in February and signed on March 11 in London, England, the agreement sought to propose future bases for negotiations between the United Kingdom, Belize and Guatemala over the dispute. The document's rejection created a national security crisis in Belize in March and April 1981.

Guatemala, Belize's neighbour to the west and south, has held a claim to Belize's territory which it says stems from a broken treaty signed between Guatemala and Great Britain in 1859. This treaty was said to have promised Guatemala access to the Caribbean coastline by road in exchange for dropping the claim. Guatemala does already have Caribbean access, outside of the presently disputed region.

Much of the period between 1940 and 1981 saw Guatemala assert its claim over and over again, occasionally even threatening to invade, but backing down at the sight of UK military reinforcements. Several attempts to mediate the dispute went awry due to concerns on both sides of the border. Meanwhile, people of Guatemalan descent were settling in Belize, both legally and illegally.

Beginning in 1975, the dispute was publicized at the United Nations. The UN general assembly voted in successive years from 1975 to 1981 to affirm the sovereignty of Belize and called on the UK and Guatemala to reach a compromise and grant Belize independence before the end of the next GA session in 1981.

Public reaction in Belize was muted at first, but the Public Service Union promptly denounced the agreement as a giveaway and promised strike action. The Government's pleas that nothing had actually been agreed on fell on deaf ears. Another group responsible for the anti-Heads reaction was the Belize Action Movement, a youth movement featuring young people who saw the need to fight to ensure that Belize did not fall into the hands of Guatemala. The BAM and PSU coordinated a nationwide strike and protest on March 20.

Also central to the movement was the detention of students from the Belize Technical College, led by Socorro Bobadilla. Miss Bobadilla was a key figure in denouncing the plan, and she and six other students were expelled from Technical by its principal. For much of the remainder of March, there were school closings, daily protests and in one case, the death of an individual in Corozal. Another memorable occurrence was the burning down of several buildings in the downtown area of Belize City. During this melee, Policeman and musician Kent Matthews was accidentally shot by a colleague.

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