The Littlest Capital

Belmopan, Belize - CartLegger - Sunday, March 2nd, 2008 : goo

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Belmopan, Belize occupies the proud superlative of being the world’s smallest capital.

Like Brasilia, Brazil, it was established as a proud symbol of progress.

But its mostly an outsized bustling village brimming with sleepy administrative functions.

Belmopan’s governmental center has the feel of a community college campus

Govt is very accessible here, but it makes up for that convenience by operating almost entirely on paper. Everything that normally takes a long time—takes longer.

The capital was moved to avoid destruction by hurricane. So that make the National Emergency Management Organization pretty important.

Aside from the US embassy, which I did not manage to locate, this is the newest building in Belmopan. It is the new administrative building.

Good parking is an obvious fringe benefit to being a member of the administration.

All of the country’s ethnic groups are represented in Belmopan, even the Amish farming community.

All the country’s fruits and veggies are on show as well.

But this place is not as sleepy as it seems. The old government---blamed for selling off the nation's resources--is out. A new broom is in town.

This is my message to the new government.

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