We cannot recall any Prime Minister in Belize becoming as shaky this early in his term of office as Hon. Dean Barrow. Our sources say his problems are being caused by Belize’s British 1000 pound gorilla, Lord Michael Ashcroft. But the Prime Minister is very powerful under Belize’s constitution, and the Opposition PUP is not yet a threat. Remember, Mr. Barrow just won 25 out of 31 seats eight months ago. So, what’s the real problem?
Our feeling is that Mr. Barrow did not feed the Christians to the lions, so to speak. He has not satisfied the Belizean masses. Not only did he not feed the Christians to the lions, he did not behave as if he had placed serious priority on flogging those who had looted the people’s treasury.
In a sense, what we got, instead of public and televised hearings and trials, were six constitutional amendments, gobbledygook amendments which have confused the people of Belize for months. The situation is so bad that even the courts are confused at referenda being created to deny referendum, as it were. Yes, it is just as crazy as that – dead language mumbo jumbo.
The six amendments are basically unrelated to each other. One of them, cosmetic in the extreme, denies more than three terms to any Prime Minister, this at a time when most Belizeans appear convinced that Belize will never again tolerate any government for more than one term. Then, there was preventive detention. That one was driven into retraction in a jiffy. The petroleum and mineral rights amendment brought the largest Belizean-born business magnate out of his posh San Pedro Ambergris Caye retreat. Barry Bowen locked horns with the Barrow government. Then there were, to repeat, referenda to prevent referendum, or so it seemed. It was all so confusing, especially to the masses of the people, Belizean masses who wanted blood, not confusion. From whence did these amendments originate, and what was their intent?
Our Supreme Court reporters, Adele Ramos of Amandala and the freelance journalist, Janella Chanona, have done a whale of a job trying to explain to Belizeans what has been going on in the Supreme Court with respect to the constitutional amendments. Many of us have tried our best to understand what is the meaning of the amendments, because we really did not wish to seem stupid. We are, however, now tired of trying to understand the incomprehensible. And that is why Mr. Barrow is presently experiencing problems.
The rest of it – the unsuccessful petroleum windfall tax; the embarrassments of the Belize City Council; the at least temporary defection of the Barrow bosom buddy, Housing Minister/Michael Finnegan; the whispered disagreements with Attorney General/Foreign Minister Sedi Elrington, all these and more would have been politically immaterial had the Prime Minister done what he had, in effect, threatened to do during campaign – build a gallows at Swing Bridge for the looters.
Lord Ashcroft may merely have used his intimidating war chest to exploit opportunities which offered themselves. But one collateral result of the Prime Minister’s becoming a political paper tiger is the re-emergence of the so-called “old guard” within the Opposition PUP. While they are known as the “old guard” on Queen Street, we Southsiders know them as the brazen and unapologetic looters of the Social Security Board, the Development Finance Corporation, and whatever else wasn’t nailed down between 1998 and 2008. This is a benefit for the Lord which is additional to the satisfaction of embarrassing Mr. Barrow. Now Ashcroft’s PUP allies, disgraced on February 7, are growing in strength within the ranks of the Opposition. And remember, we said, one-term governments will become the order of the day once again in Belize.
All power to the people.