#9: I happen to be fortunate enough to live in Belize during an election year, and it is quite exciting. They don't handle elections exactly like the states, but they do go for a bold approach. In the past couple of weeks I have seen the streets receive a massive makeover in the colors of both political parties, watched tractors level out dirt roads that previously resembled snow moguls, and watched trucks dump giant mounds of dirt and gravel around town as "gifts" to the neighborhoods. Just this week I've witnessed giant buses and trucks drive through the streets blaring music and political promises at a volume that must seriously damage the eardrums of the drivers. And as I write this at 9:15pm on a Thursday evening, I am listening to some political candidate give his "pick me" speech. He's probably a couple of miles away, but the speakers are so loud that I can still hear him clear as day, and I'll have you know that he is getting very worked up about something that must be important.
So how does the political system work in Belize? Good question, and I'm about to give a terribly unsatisfactory answer, but here is the gist of it. Belize is run by Parliament with an elected president, who they elect every 4 years. There are two political parties, the UDP and the PUP, but both are corrupt and unreliable. My theory for electing one of them into power is to switch the party every election, which prevents either one from gaining too much power. The government is one of the largest (and possibly the worst) problems for the country, and a major reason that Belize hasn't been able to develop. But to their credit, they really know how to put on a show for election day.
