The General Elections are down to the final two weeks and one group hoping to swing the vote in the “right” direction is the Belize Institute for Social, Economic, and Political Progress, B.I.S.E.P.P.
The Institute was formally constituted in late 2007, but its members have known each other for months before then.
This evening, Amandala spied four of the group’s members hard at work distributing flyers from a makeshift stand at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Mahogany Street.
A look at some of the flyers we were given presents BISEPP’s philosophy on “handouts” (it calls the current system of Government “economic dependence, not independence,” and highlighted were some of the many industries destroyed under the current administration, including the DFC and Williamson Industries, which closed recently.
We spoke to two of the group’s coordinators, Evan Vernon and Emerson Guild.
Vernon told us that the group is not supporting any candidate in particular, although the stand is located in a battleground division, Pickstock, and it is not affiliated with any of the major political parties, despite reports to the contrary.
Their message to Belizeans, he said, is to consider the facts and the issues before making their vote, and not to allow themselves to be influenced by monetary considerations.
For Vernon, the overriding theme of the general elections is “the people must win – this time!” For too long, he told us, the political parties have benefited from the people’s loyalty and support; it is now time for the people to receive the benefits.
One of Emerson Guild’s major concerns is Belize’s budding petroleum industry – more specifically, what the political parties intend to do with the money earned from it.
According to Guild’s calculations, the average Belizean could potentially earn, at today’s prices nearly $100 US/bbl., some BZ$2.3 million from current fields, and future finds of petroleum and related minerals.
The problem, according to Guild, is that we do not know – and no one will tell us – just how much “wealth untold” we are sitting on.
“The people are the power. The political parties derive their strength from the people, but the people have gotten nothing in return,” Guild proclaimed to us today.
B.I.S.E.P.P., who was present at KREM Radio’s oil forum in December, intends to change that, beginning with this effort, which, they say will last up to Election Day.