By Omar Silva - Editor/Publisher

National Perspective Belize – DIGITAL 2026

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City:  Friday 6th February 2026

Editorial

Empires do not last forever.

History has proven this with brutal consistency.

• The Roman Empire collapsed.
• The Ottoman Empire faded.
• The British Empire dissolved.

• Even the Soviet Union, once feared as immovable, vanished in a matter of years.

And now, slowly but unmistakably, the world is witnessing the gradual erosion of the unipolar order that dominated the decades following the Cold War.

But while empires rise and fall, one condition has remained remarkably persistent:

Dependency.

And that is the real danger facing small nations like Belize.

The Illusion of Freedom

Many nations achieved political independence in the twentieth century, Belize among them. Flags were raised. Anthems were sung. Constitutions were written.

But political independence does not automatically produce economic independence.

A country like Belize  that imports nearly everything it consumes, exports very little of finished goods, relies heavily on foreign capital, and depends on external markets for survival is not fully sovereign in any meaningful sense.

It is vulnerable.

• Not conquered—but constrained.

Dependency Wears Many Faces

Dependency is not always imposed by force.

• Sometimes it arrives disguised as assistance, loans, grants, investment packages, or development programs.
• Sometimes it arrives through trade structures designed decades ago that continue to shape economies today.
• Sometimes it arrives through domestic elites who find comfort in managing a dependent system rather than transforming it.
• And sometimes, dependency is sustained simply because it is easier than change.

The truth is uncomfortable:

Many countries remain trapped not only by external pressures, but by internal inertia.

The Dangerous Psychology of Smallness

One of the most destructive ideas ever planted in the minds of small nations is this:

That they are too small to shape their own destiny.

That they must always depend on larger powers.

That development must come from outside rather than being built from within.

This mindset is more damaging than any foreign policy, because it paralyzes ambition before action even begins. As is the case with Belize.

History shows that nations far smaller than Belize have transformed themselves through discipline, planning, and national purpose.

Size is not destiny.

Mindset is.

The New Global Reality

The world is changing.

Power is no longer concentrated in a single capital.

Economic influence is spreading across regions.

Trade routes are shifting.

New alliances are emerging.

But this new multipolar world does not automatically liberate small nations.

If anything, it creates a more competitive environment where nations must be smarter, more strategic, and more self-reliant than ever before.

Multipolarity is not charity.

It is competition.

The False Comfort of Choosing a Patron

Some argue that survival depends on aligning firmly with one major power or another.

But history suggests that placing all of one’s hopes in a single patron rarely produces lasting independence.

All great powers pursue interests.

None invest without expecting influence.

None offer assistance without calculating strategic return.

This is not cynicism.

It is realism.

• The question, therefore, is not which power is friendlier.
• The question is whether a nation is building the internal strength necessary to stand on its own feet.

The Real Battlefield Is Economic

In the modern world, sovereignty is not defended only by soldiers.

It is defended by:

• Factories that produce
• Farmers who feed the nation
• Engineers who build infrastructure
• Teachers who educate skilled workers
• Entrepreneurs who innovate
• Institutions that function without corruption

• A nation that cannot produce remains vulnerable, no matter how many treaties it signs or alliances it joins.
• Economic weakness invites external influence more effectively than any invasion.

The Responsibility of Leadership

Transformation requires leadership willing to confront uncomfortable truths.

It requires policies that prioritize long-term national development over short-term political gain.

It requires investment in industry, agriculture, education, and infrastructure—not merely announcements, conferences, and slogans.

Above all, it requires honesty with the public.

A people cannot solve problems that leaders refuse to acknowledge.

The Choice Before Belize

Belize stands at a crossroads—not between East and West, but between dependency and transformation.

One path continues the familiar cycle:

• Import more.
• Produce less.
• Borrow more.
• Hope for relief from outside.

The other path is harder:

• Build capacity.
• Invest in production.
• Diversify trade.
• Develop human capital.
• Think strategically beyond election cycles.

The first path is easier today.

The second path secures tomorrow.

The Truth We Must Face

• Empires may be weakening.
• Global power may be shifting.
• The international system may be evolving.

But none of these changes will matter to Belize unless Belize changes itself.

Because the greatest threat to sovereignty is not foreign influence alone.

It is the quiet acceptance of permanent dependency.

And that is a condition no empire imposed entirely from the outside—

but one that nations must ultimately decide to escape from within