Belize Boundary Blunders

As I read through Pope Atkins's description of the Belizen boundary disputes arising from the imminent independence of the small British dependency, I couldn't help but think that the countries involved were behaving very childishly. Guatemala would not relent its pursuit for Belizen territory that it claimed it had rightfully inherited from Spain. Of course, the British won the dispute in the international system by simply reminding the world that Britian is not Spain and, therefore, a former Spanish colony cannot inherit Spanish territory from a British colony that, by definition, was never Spanish.

Then there was Mexico, which claimed territory belonging to Belize was actually its own. But Mexico, strangely, was willing to give up its claims if the Belizens didn't particularly feel like giving Mexico free land.

I may be missing something, but if Atkins is correct, then it appears that certain Latin Americans are perfectly willing to create and foster disputes for fun. This can't be the case, can it? Surely, there's something Atkins missed. Or maybe something I'm missing. Or, maybe, the Guatemalan and Mexican administrations at the time were the ones that missed it.