The End of an Era

By Bill Lindo

Belize City, Mar24th, 2020: Readers our world as we know it is rapidly coming to an end. The Covid 19 is now officially in Belize.  Belize was one of the last seven country to officially declare that citizens were infected with Covid 19.

An old saying is that if you build your house on sand, it will not be strong or last a long time.  For more than 40 + years I have complained that tourism as a foundation for our economy was wrong. Why? As Belizeans we were putting half our eggs in one of two baskets. From since 1985 we have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year for infrastructural support for tourism.  And the bad part is that the tourism sector is mostly owned by foreigners. All that Belize got was a few measly jobs at low pay.  Now it’s all gone.

In this article I will look at two things – the two horsemen of the Apocalypse are now in Belize. A coronavirus Covid 19 and a collapsing economy. Let’s deal with the economy first.

The economy is based on three pillars – agriculture, manufacturing and tourism. The agricultural sector grows food stuff for local consumption and for exports. The export section has for the last three years or more been suffering from decrease productivity and from low prices. The Mennonites who dominate the local agricultural domestic section in rice, corn, chicken, pork, beef, and beans have been having huge productivity problems for several years because of their method of farming which is basically mining the soil. Now the chickens are coming to roost. This same mining of the soils is causing a lack of proper nutrition and a lack of fresh water – a drought. The same is true in both the sugar cane and citrus sections for exports. Some workers in the sugar section are the only one who will lose their income in the agricultural section due to drought, not Covid 19.

In the manufacturing sector, the processing of cane, orange and grapefruit into sugar and citrus concentrate is not doing well because of lack of raw materials. The soft drinks and beer section was doing well until the total collapse of the tourism section.  The milling of wheat to flour is in good shape and now have to do some overtime as the panic buying of flour catches the manufacture off-guard. The small scale production of furniture, fresh juices, coconut oil and sandwich meats such as sausages are still limping along as they fight stiff foreign completion.  We now have a good excuse to protect these small manufacturers because they employ Belizeans.  Shut down the foreign imports. This the extent of our manufacturing industries. Maybe some 200 workers will lose jobs in this section of our economy due to the collapse of tourism.

Now the tourism section is in deep trouble. As I write since March 14^th, 2020 about 7,000 persons are without a job. In the next week that will increase to over 10,000 and by the end of May it will be over 25,000 persons without a job. No income. 14% of employed workers. Some $ 300 million dollars out of an economy of $ 4 billion by the end of May, 2020.

Everyone who had any interest in the financial system knew that the current global financial system was rotten and set to blow. A trigger was necessary. A pandemic became the trigger. But this pandemic is not as serious as the establishment news media is making out.

The big boys are creating panic in order to cover the bailout of their bankrupt financial system. The United States Senate cannot pass a bill to give every American $ 1,200.00 each because in the bill is a provision to bail out corporate America to the tune of close to $ 11 trillion dollars. Some Senators are refusing to bailout the large companies.

Let’s look at facts. Not propaganda. The scrip was in place for this pandemic from the year 2010 in a report by the Rockefeller Foundation.  Then last year, in New York City on October 18^th 2019, the Bill & Melinda Gates, and World Economic Forum (the 1% owners of the World) held a high level pandemic exercise called Event 201. Most everything said at the Event 201 and the Rockefeller Report are going on with Covid 19.  About a week ago the Chinese government accuse the American government of causing Covid 19 in Wuhan, China last December. Of course the United States deny the Chinese claim.

As at the writing of this article (March 24^th) some 415,000 persons are affected and about 18,500 persons have died worldwide.  According to Event 201, about 65 million should die from this coronavirus.

Based on data from China, and Italy; China had about 0.00005% of its population infected, and 4% of the infected died. While in Italy some 9.5% of its population got infected and 9% of those infected died.  Of the 9% who died most were over 65 years old with many health problems such as heart, diabetes, blood pressure, kidney and other underlying problems. Italy has several differences from China.

One, Chinese population is healthier, eating better nutrient-dense food. Chinese don’t eat raw vegetable because of serious contamination. Chinese eat lots of vegetable, all cooked. And most important, is the mind-set. Chinese doctors are trained that their duty is to save life. They will do anything and try any herb, traditional medicine, and any drug to save a human life, especially an old person. Italy like most of the Western world, usually put money and other consideration before human lives, and view old people as useless eaters.

Recently I have been reading reports from the Chinese Medical Association (medjournals.cn) and one article called: Expert consensus on comprehensive treatment of coronavirus disease in Shanghai 2019 (http://rs.yiigle.com/m/yufabiao/1183266.htm) I write about this so our health personal can read and understand that the Chinese have a much better record of saving human beings from Covid 19 than the rest of the world because they have an open mind. They have use all the drugs suggested by the American CDC and tell you some are good and most are a waste of time. Their traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine have worked very well for them. And the cheap vitamin which most Western trained doctor hates, (vitamin C) have saved a lot of lives, especially the old people. I have read a transcript of an interview by a Doctor Enqian Mao, at Ruijin Hospital, Joatong University College of Medicine, in Shanghai, China. Dr Mao said he treated 50 patients with high dose vitamin C at 10 grams/day for moderate and 20 grams/day for severe cases 7 to 10 days in February 2020.   All patients receive IVC and there was no mortality. There were also no side effects with IV vitamin C. Most of those treated with drugs have been having 10% or more defective lung function. The cost of 10 days IV vitamin C treatment is some USD $ 240.00 for the IV solution, including buffers, etc. – not doctor or hospital costs. Heparin was used with the vitamin C for patients with coagulation issues.

Belizeans, we are poor and most can never afford drugs. The vitamin C is cheap. Think of it. One caveat, high dose vitamin C of over 6 grams can only be given by IV in a hospital.  For the last 70 years vitamin C have proven itself capable of destroying ever virus that has affected mankind. And, by- the-way, on January 10^th, 2020 sciencedirect.com publish an article in the journal Vaccine, Vol. 38, issue 2 called: Influenza vaccination and respiratory virus interference among Department of Defense personnel during the 2017 – 2018 influenza season. Read it on the internet. It is saying that those who took flu vaccine had increase risks of other respiratory problems with other virus, such as coronavirus. A process called virus interference.  And even the American CDC says that flu vaccines are only 40% effective. So, why push vaccines on an un-suspecting people? For money?

Knowing all the above why the panic? Why not tell the people of Belize the truth?  Belize have some 400,000 persons. If our precautions are lousy like Italy we will have some 38,000 persons infected and following Italy, about 3,400 will die, mostly those who are sick and older. But we may be lucky and if our health personal use the open-mind way of thinking like the Chinese we will have 1,500 or less die.  As humans made in the image of our Creator, we can use the best that have been used in China, South Korea, and Italy. We don’t have to make the same mistakes that others have made.  We can keep this to 600 or less Belizeans who die.

But even if we bury our head in the sand, and cause some 3,000 persons to die we don’t have to shut down the entire economy. The tourism section of our economy is finish. No tourists will return to this country for two or more years.  This will cause about 25,000 persons to need some income. (Last week I wrote that 19,000 workers would be affected. I was corrected that the amount is 25,000). As a country, those 25,000 workers need an income. They must eat.  It will take some 5 months to 2 years to employ all of them in other pursuits. Last week Singapore Prime Minister spoke to his nation and said that by April his government will start re-training workers for the new reality.

We have already bailout our bankers and other large companies in Belize. The neoliberals are doing a great job. Not a single money or food or other help for the 7,000 workers who have no income, but help for the big boys. Gov. Cuomo of New York State said today you cannot sacrifice human life to get the stock market going. There is no value on human life. Hear Mr Neoliberals.

There is only two choices for Belize. While we keep our social distance, drink some 4 gram of Vitamin C per day, and clean hands, we have to start working by April 14^th after Easter. And most of all, print or create through the Central Bank money for 15,000 workers at $ 200 per week for 8 weeks so they can buy food and get by until we get the economy going again.  That is $ 24 million dollars. And ask Taiwan for 1% interest loans to buy machinery from them so we can create lots of small businesses to employ those who use to work in tourism. Taiwan make some of the best machinery in the world.  But remember, capital controls must be strict. The merchants who end up with the $ 24 million dollars will try to exchange it for United States dollars and let it flee to their foreign accounts.  Jail them if they try. The “common good” comes before any individual rights. Human life has no price in money terms. And don’t stop the infrastructure constructions ongoing. Just try to use more local materials and other local inputs.

Belizeans, either we create a new Renaissance in Belize or a new Dark Age. Out with the failed neoliberal policies. Remember we are in the mess because of them.  Stop putting the rats to mind the cheese.