Friday marks the 15th anniversary of St. Maarten and Curaçao attaining autonomous country in the Dutch Kingdom status, observed locally on the second Monday of October. The former Netherlands Antilles was dissolved, with Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba becoming special municipalities of the Netherlands, while Aruba continued its separate status achieved in 1986.
Many question whether things have improved since those constitutional reforms, as the islands still face formidable challenges. With the former Central Government concentrated in Willemstad, Curaçao, taking over federal tasks proved quite a task certainly for St. Maarten in terms of both human and material resources.
That is true up until today, in part due the devastating hurricanes of September 2017 and the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the island’s tourism economy. In fact, Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) only recently announced surpassing pre-Irma arrival numbers eight years later.
There has also been considerable political instability with an average of elections every two instead of the intended four years. However, the rule of law has generally prevailed, which in many other places is not always a given.
A decade-and-a-half is also not a very long time compared to centuries of colonial rule, which formally ended on December 15, 1954, when the Charter of the Dutch Kingdom was signed. While adapted per 10-10-10, it still governs the relationship with a dominant position for the European Netherlands through the Kingdom Council of Ministers in The Hague.
Political scientist Julio Romney has often said that St. Maarten is not a country, but rather a constituent state similar to – for example – Puerto Rico. Be that as it may, a greater degree of autonomy was gained 15 years ago and with it came not only more freedom but – especially – added responsibility.
The way the latter is handled will primarily be how history judges whether what changed back then was for the better. That’s the ultimate yardstick.
