ABSTRACT
The centuries of economic exploitation and stagnation produced widespread poverty and very limited opportunities. In the Belizean economy, production followed the dictates of trade, as the British markets, merchants, and investors determined what Belizeans would produce and how much they would get for it. Belize's economy, though open, has been effectively limited to two traditional trading partners, first Britain and increasingly, the United States. The persistent ties to these industrial countries and the paucity of wider trading arrangements have reinforced the vulnerability of the economy. Belize's modern telephone system was established in the 1970s, and in 1979 the Belize Telecommunications Authority began expanding the number of lines by installing nine new exchanges Belize joins members of the Non-Aligned movement in seeking major reforms in the international economic order. Belize was able to cope with the uncertainties and crises in sugar production and prices because nonsugar agriculture and manufacturing have performed satisfactorily since 1978.
