The history of land compensation in Belize is spotty at best - with politically connected persons often seeming to get to the front of the line for 6 and 7 figure compensation returns on four and five figure purchase prices. And so it is for Lisa Chavarria - a resident of Orange Walk - whose husband Mark Chavarria is close to the Prime Minister's Orange Walk Central Committee.
In January 2008 - which was the last days of the Musa administration - Chavarria received a parcel of land in the Finca Solana area of Corozal for $1,300 dollars. And then later in 2008 - under the UDP - an adjacent parcel was acquired for the Finca Solana Mangrove Park. And then in 2011, also under the UDP, the then Commissioner of Lands concluded that they also needed Chavarria's parcel for the park. They decided to acquire it but negotiations started but were not concluded. And, it wasn't until the PUP returned to office - and were about to finish their first term early this year that a compensation figure was agreed upon. Chavarria's valuer put the value at 145 thousand dollars, and government's one put it at 100 thousand dollars and they agreed on 125 thousand dollars as compensation - which is about 100 times the original purchase price.
Today we asked the area rep about it - and she didn't know:
Reporter
"Are you aware of that."
Thea Garcia, Corozal Bay Area Rep
"No. You just, you just told me about that. But I know Mangrove Park."
Reporter
"What was said is that so it's going to be kept as a park. Not that it's been given to someone. It's that they had land in private and the government acquired that land. And he, or a a relative has been paid compensation for it. So it's not that anyone is ending up with this."
Thea Garcia, Corozal Bay Area Rep
"No, I, I had no idea. So I don't I can't comment to that because I, that is news to me."
The acquisition of parcel 1276 was completed in 2025 when the final compensation was paid.
