Chanona appointed as senator; will Cabinet post follow?

There have been some minor rearrangements to the cabinet shuffle announced last week, all involving ministers of state.

In a government press release issued today, it was announced that Marcial Mes, who was appointed last week as Minister of State in the Ministry of Natural Resources, is now Minister of State in the Ministry of National Development with responsibility for Rural Development. That’s the portfolio which was originally assigned to Mario Castellanos, who now becomes Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Servulo Baeza, who was previously assigned to Foreign Trade, has now been named Minister of State in the Ministry of Natural Resources, the portfolio formerly assigned to Mes.

And while those changes are largely cosmetic, there may be more substantive cabinet alterations in the days and weeks to come. A second release from the Government Press Office has announced the appointment of former Belmopan mayor Anthony Chanona as a senator, replacing Patricia Lopez. The primary constitutional purpose of the Senate is as a talent pool from which to draw well qualified members of cabinet. It is widely believed that Chanona will soon be appointed to that body, perhaps as Minister of Local Government.