Patrick Faber’s Gives His Two Cents on U.D.P. Leadership

Patrick Faber

Collet Area Rep Patrick Faber has not been bashful about his intent to become U.D.P. party leader. He believes that acquiring deputy party leadership is a stepping stone to his ambition to replace Dean Barrow as party leader and prime minister. But for Faber to get the post, he’ll have to defeat John Saldivar and Erwin Contreras in the 2020 convention.

Patrick Faber, U.D.P. Minister

“Where Mister Vega puts it down there are others who want to pick it up and you know that it has been no secret on my part that in fact I want to serve in the leadership of this party, it is my life’s ambition to put myself out there and offer my serve to the people of our party first and later on to the larger nation. So I have made that no secret, you know we tell the children of our schools and as Minster of Education, I certainly encourage them every day to put their dreams out there and to tell it to the universe and to of course go after it. And so I have long said that, that is something that I have aspired to do. And I try to do my best, I still continue to that to the things that are assigned to me now. You know that many have said that the work that I have done here in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has been very successful and so it is on that premise; of course I also have a record in terms of serving the party as party chairman and I did a lot of organizational work so that there can be no question about my background, my suitability if you will for this position and I look forward to a great challenge with whoever decides to put their name in that hat when it is called.”

Reporter

“The dynamics have changed in terms of Erwin Contreras, he has expressed his interest in this position given that he is the second deputy, he had experience, seniority as well; does that present somewhat of a threat for you?”

Patrick Faber

“Well I wouldn’t say a threat but I would say that if Minister Contreras enters the race to old argument that of course has been pulled out before becomes a factor. Minister Saldivar and I are both of a Creole decent if you will and Minster Contreras is of a Hispanic and so as people know in Belize, we are still not quite at that stage where it doesn’t matter what your skin color is. So we have traditionally in the U.D.P. tried to balance the power both ethnically and geographically. And so yes his entrance would put that as a factor in the convention but you know this is a very special circumstance as well. We believe that this post now of deputy leadership can be a good stepping stone for the new leader of the party. To start the work and start the familiarization if you will; so to guarantee of course down the road when we have the convention for the other leadership position, including the party leader in 2020, there will be that kind of opportunity again but none can argue that this could be such a stepping stone and so we look at all of this, we assess everything and then we decide whether we are in, but I can tell you that I am in.”