Class processes and agrarian change in southern Belize, 1981–2020

Abstract

Environmental and agrarian changes are proceeding rapidly in southern Belize. Despite common recognition of these changes, little research has attempted to examine the class processes involved in social and environmental change. We trace how capitalism has transformed household reproduction over the past four decades, focusing on two key pathways by which these changes unfold: the commercialization of land use and the education of the labour force. Emerging class processes in the Maya communities undermine subsistence agriculture, generate inequality between households and genders, and magnify conflicts over land. These effects complicate struggles for communal land rights and class solidarity.