Saldivar Remains Circumspect on Campaign Explanation
In John Saldivar’s attempt at explaining why he chose to lie about receiving the monies from Dermen, he stopped short of divulging the details of that Cabinet meeting on January fourteenth. When Saldivar was put through the wringer and asked what he meant by saying that his Cabinet colleagues would have been, “demoralized and exposed,” he was equally guarded in his response.
John Saldivar, Area Representative, Belmopan
“I will not discuss the happenings in Cabinet, except to say…”
Ernesto Vasquez, Co-host, Love FM’s The Morning Show
“You said here you did it because, “I would have been removed from Cabinet and I would have had to withdraw from the race. Patrick Faber would have been declared winner and that would have left all of my colleagues demoralized and exposed.” What did you mean by that?”
John Saldivar
John Saldivar
“Demoralized and exposed, that’s what I meant by it.”
Ernesto Vasquez
“That Faber was obviously the wrong person?”
John Saldivar
“I am not going to get into that discussion. I think, Ernesto, people understand what I have said. And I will not open any wounds with respect to myself and my colleague. I have made my statement; I believe that what would have happened had I stepped back would have been detrimental to my colleagues and to my party. I still hold that and that’s the end of that story.”
Ernesto Vasquez
“It’s not the end of the story because right now Belize is in limbo. Their leaders… and I have to come back to this and you mentioned that the public’s opinion, but the public is right now and all over [asking] what’s going to happen next? So what’s the situation, you will obviously still run for…”
John Saldivar
“I have told you and you will not get it out of me. I am waiting for my party to decide on the way forward.”
Ernesto Vasquez
“But this is for the future of our country.”
John Saldivar
“So I’m waiting for my party…”
Ernesto Vasquez
“You are an elected official who needs to disclose to the people what you think happened. You want to be the leader of Belize. You want to be the next prime minister.”
John Saldivar
“Ernesto, it hardly matters at this time what I want because it has to be what my party wants and so I am waiting and you will not get me to move from that position. I am waiting for my party to decide how they will move forward. I took a certain strategy to win the convention because I knew whilst I was doing the campaign that it wasn’t about the public. It was about five hundred and seventy delegates. I took my message to them.”
Ernesto Vasquez
“Was there any manipulation of that, like buying those votes?”
John Saldivar
“No, no, no. I took my message to them. They are the ones that heard my message.”
