Feb 20, 2020

Still No Leader-elect for the U.D.P.

The National Trade Union Congress of Belize held a successful demonstration in Belize City today, but fifty miles away in Belmopan, the United Democratic Party held a conclave. The meeting between Prime Minister Dean Barrow and standard bearers took place in the backdrop of their current leadership crisis.  Deep and bitter divisions continue to plague the U.D.P. as a struggle is being waged between the Saldivar and Faber camps, following the convention of February ninth.  As you know, the U.D.P.’s succession plan went through the window when the Saldivar scandal unraveled in a Utah Court and led to his downfall seventy-two hours after he became leader-elect.  This is the second time, in recent days, that the standard bearers have been called to Belmopan and tonight, the U.D.P. still remains without a successor to Dean Barrow.  The next step is for a meeting of the National Party Council, set for February twenty-ninth. Hipolito Novelo reports.

 

Hipolito Novelo, Reporting

The meeting started at ten o’clock and arriving two minutes before the hour was Gaspar Vega who has re-entered the political arena as the U.D.P.’s standard bearer for Orange Walk North. He hasn’t showed up for several House Meetings but, like the previous one, he wasn’t going to miss today’s special meeting of U.D.P. standard bearers and Cabinet members.

 

Hipolito Novelo

“Mr. Vega, so you have officially returned to Orange Walk north? “

 

Gasper Vega, U.D.P. Standard Bearer, O.W. North

*No answer*

 

And arriving casually late was Edmond Castro, the U.D.P. standard bearer for Belize Rural North. He was the last to arrive with a prediction.

 

Edmond Castro, U.D.P. Standard Bearer, Belize Rural North

“Remember I told you. A new pope today.”

 

And by twelve-twenty-three in the afternoon, they trickled out. Some exited from the front entrance while others escaped through the rear of the building. Rene Montero stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the cameras outside. But yet, there was no white smoke billowing from the Sir Edney Cane Building in Belmopan. There is no pope. There is no new leader-elect.

 

Hipolito Novelo

“Who is the new leader of the U.D.P.?”

 

Lee Mark Chang, U.D.P. Standard Beater, Caribbean Shores

“We have not decided that yet.”

 

Michael Finnegan, Area Representative, Mesopotamia

“We had a very productive meeting. There can only good things coming from there today.”

 

Reporter

“But the U.D.P. has a leadership crisis. It just had a big convention. It has no leader.”

 

Michael Finnegan

“We don’t.”

 

Reporter

“So who will lead? You will lead?”

 

Michael Finnegan

“There are always solutions to things and we are close to that.”

 

Hipolito Novelo

“And that solution is in which person?”

 

Michael Finnegan

“If I don’t tell you how does he think I will tell him.”

 

Hipolito Novelo

“Mister Boots what can you tell us about the meeting?”

 

Anthony Martinez, Area Representative, Port Loyola

“I need to make you know that this is a cigarette because you are a real funny man.”

 

Hipolito Novelo

“So who is the new leader of the U.D.P.?”

 

Anthony Martinez

“I am, Anthony Boots Martinez. Me, Sir.  No smoke. No white smoke. There is no pope. But the decision was not for smoke to come out. The decision was to set timeframe for the new leadership convention.”

 

The U.D.P.’s National Party Council will meet on Saturday February, twenty-ninth where a timeline leading to another leadership convention will be defined.

 

Anthony Martinez

“NPC next week Saturday will be very interesting. But even at the NPC that does not take away that a man says that he doesn’t think he will go. They will decide opening of the applications and the closing date and a convention. Hopefully a convention should be held where hopefully we can get out ducks together. In real truth I think the party is wishing for an endorsement convention but that does not take the rights for other candidates to put n their name. In my view it would be in the best interest of the party to have an endorsement convention.”

 

Michael Peyrefitte, Chairman, United Democratic Party

“We may have several persons applying for it. We just have to wait and see.”

 

Reporter

“Who will those persons be? Might it include John Saldivar and or Patrick Faber?”

 

Michael Peyrefitte

“I don’t know. The NPC will set a date for people submit their names and we will see want names come.”

 

Reporter

“But if John Saldivar’s name is in there, will the U.D.P. allow that?”

 

Michael Peyrefitte

“We go through a process whenever anybody submits their name for any position in the party. He will go through the usual process and from there we make a decision. We have an ethic committee that goes over every application for anyone who wants to aspire to take any position in the party. There are not specific rules per say. There are just general guidelines, good moral, character. You have to be a person who is electable. You have to be a person who has the trust of the people and the party.”

 

But for meantime, the U.D.P. Leadership remains in limbo. Patrick Faber is not among the favourites in the party and John Saldivar is persona non grata to the public. So who will emerge as leader?

 

Michael Peyrefitte

“We are not leaderless. The leader of the United Democratic Party is the Right Honorable Dean Barrow. We have a leader and I am sure that as challenging a position that we are right now, the P.U.P. will do anything to be in our position right now. The P.U.P. will do anything to be in our position right now. I don’t think we are in a bad position. We are in a transitional period and when you go from one position to the next there will be challenges and that is all that it is for us right now.”

 

Anthony Martinez

“There was call for us as a party to look on the best candidate to put the best foot forward on behalf of the party and the hope that we would come out from that room with beautiful white smoke that a pope has been emerged as the leader of the United Democratic Party.”

 

And we’ll wait and see if that will be the case on February twenty-ninth. Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.