Zenaida is U.D.P. candidate for mayor
The result may not have come as much of a surprise, but Zenaida Moya’s resounding victory in Sunday’s U.D.P. Belize City mayoral convention, coupled with the massive turnout left no doubt that the Opposition will pose a serious threat to P.U.P. rule in the old capital. Karla Heusner reports from the grounds of the Anglican Cathedral College.
Karla Heusner, Reporting
Over three thousand people turned out for the U.D.P. Belize City Council Convention to select a candidate for mayor and ten candidates for the City Council.
Former trade union activist Zenaida Moya won a landslide victory over three other mayoral aspirants, garnering two thousand, three hundred and ninety-two votes, while Bernard Watler, Rudolph ?Sir Andie? Anderson, and Ernesto Torres only got one thousand two hundred and ninety-one combined. As expected, Moya had a strong showing from her former union colleagues, but she also seems to have found support among ordinary Belize City residents, who believe she has what it takes.
Zenaida Moya, U.D.P. Candidate for Mayor
?Belize City is going downward in terms of real development of the people. We may look at it and say, ?Okay we?ve had some economic growth in particular areas, but if you look, and you may even get into the per capita?and I won?t get into all the technical aspects of it?but even if you look at that, you would say, okay things noh all that bad. But who is the majority of that money skewing towards? There are only a few wealthy families in this whole country of Belize. The majority of us, we are not rich. The majority of us, we?re struggling. The masses barely know where their next meal is going to be, they don?t even know if their children are going to go to school. At the end of the day, we see what is happening… someone like me, who have grown up most of her life in the Southside.?
Zenaida Moya was not the only woman on the ticket. Vying for councillor spots among a field of twenty-two were Laura Esquivel, Hyacinth Latchman, and Leila Peyrefitte. All three women won. They are joined by Michael Anthony, Phillip Willoughby, Dean Samuels, Mark King, Calvert Quilter, Gilroy Middleton, and Wayne Usher.
It was a sweet victory for Usher, a retired civil servant who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003. He says he simply cannot stay away from politics, and that if ever there was a time to step forward it?s now.
Wayne Usher, U.D.P. Councillor Candidate
?I think the issues today are so burning and so serious that people are taking the politics more serious and I think that?s why we have such a wonderful turnout, people in mass numbers to express how they feel. I think there?s a diminished fear now of coming out and speaking out, I think people are more strengthened because of the democratic process being so vociferous over the past six months. People are coming out and saying how they feel, they are not afraid to get on the radio, in the newspapers, it is a manifestation if you will of people expressing themselves.?
Hyacinth Latchman practically grew up at City Hall with her father as a former mayor and her mother a City Council employee. She believes that even with a P.U.P. central government, a U.D.P. council could make a difference, if they are truly committed to change.
Hyacinth Latchman, U.D.P. Councillor Candidate
?I think we will have a plan and our plan will get us where we need to go. So I am not looking at a U.D.P. City Council, a P.U.P. government. I think we can do this on our own. If we have the strongest people, we can do this all on our own.?
Leader of the United Democratic Party, Dean Barrow, said the election not just about changing Belize City, but reviving support for the U.D.P. countrywide.
Dean Barrow, Party Leader, U.D.P.
?People are extremely discouraged at the way the city is currently being run. So I think it?s a combination of things. For us, we want to take over City Hall because we feel we can do a better job and we are certain there is a need for a better job to be done. But as well, there is no question but that the results of the City Council elections, of the municipal elections countrywide will be seen as a kind of barometer, as a gauge of the popularity of the U.D.P., of the respective strength of the two parties. So for us, the municipal elections?and Belize City being the sort of jewel in the crown?very, very important indeed.?
Karla Heusner
?A recent poll seemed to give some strength to the U.D.P., how do you react to that and are you looking forward to more polls??
Dean Barrow
?Well, react positively, of course. But there clearly is no room for any kind of complacency. The poll showed that a fair amount of people think that a third party is viable. That means the U.D.P. still has a lot of work to do, because clearly there is a significant portion of the population that is saying, ?A plague on both your houses.? And we in the U.D.P., need to say to those people that and persuade them and show them that we represent a serious alternative, that we can and will do things differently. I think it?s very, very important that we appeal to those people, who up to this point in time are still not yet convinced.?
Zenaida Moya
?All of us need to be able to go out there and do our part. What is happening out here, people are seeing what it is, people are seeing that at the end of the day there needs to be a change, there needs to be a change for the better and Zenaida Moya is the person that can bring about that change.?
Karla Heusner reporting for News Five.
It is understood that the incumbent People’s United Party will not hold an open convention for its mayoral and council candidates but will instead form a consensus on a slate that will be endorsed at a convention. City Councillor Marshal Nunez is widely expected to be the P.U.P. candidate for mayor.
