All Entities Are 16 Years Further Down the Road

All Entities Are 16 Years Further Down the Road

October 11, 2026

It is not only Curaçao that must take stock of 16 years under a new constitutional status. All the countries and entities must do so. And for none of them has it been a success so far. The common denominator is that the people have not become better off.

The islands are expensive. There is widespread poverty. Their populations are aging, while the younger generations are shrinking. Their identity is under pressure.

Initially, the BES islands seemed to be better off because of the presumed support and expertise from the Netherlands. This has led to improvements in healthcare and education, but these do not compensate for the stagnation in other areas.

All the islands struggle with political governance. Even Aruba, which for a long time was thought to stand head and shoulders above the rest, is struggling with similar problems.

An obvious factor is small scale and the further fragmentation of scale. And increasingly, there is the almost uncontrollable growth of a tourism-based monoculture economy.

For The Hague, things have only become more complicated, and it can hardly make a difference. The cultural differences have only grown wider.

It is all a challenge. It would help if there were greater social cohesion on the islands and if people worked together for the advancement of the population. But the Blue Wave effect has not yet reached that depth.

The constitutional reforms of 10-10-10 mainly changed the structures of governance, while the fundamental social and economic problems have largely remained. Sixteen years later, we must conclude that constitutional change does not necessarily translate into social progress.

For now, visions remain paper tigers.

Miguel Goede