BELIZE CITY, Mon. Aug. 14, 2023

Newly endorsed UDP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives, Hon. Moses Shyne Barrow may have stirred a wrong nest with his vitriolic reaction to House Speaker Valerie Woods’ denial of his motion for a Vote of No Confidence in the House against Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño. Two strong press releases have come out today with a decidedly gender flavor in support of Speaker Woods and against the harsh and disrespectful way she was addressed by Shyne in a message which she shared with the media. Apparently, Shyne was of the view that outside the walls of the House, he was free to vent his frustration with the decision made by Woods as Speaker, and in emphatic language letting her know that he thought she was “completely biased” in favor of the PUP government and was “a complete waste of time as Speaker.”

There have been times past when the behavior of a Speaker, who is appointed to the post on the advice of the Prime Minister, has been suspected by the Opposition side to be showing a bit more patience with members of the party in government, but it is unprecedented for any member to address a Speaker, inside or outside the House, in the blatantly accusatory and disrespectful tone that Shyne employed towards the person invested with full authority to maintain the dignity and decorum of the House of Representatives.

Today, the Belize Network of NGOs (BNN) released a statement calling for “the Privileges Committee of the House of Representatives to review the Leader of the Opposition’s actions in response to the Speaker in the matter of his No-Confidence Motion,” and called out “disrespect or slander against ANY woman.”

For their part the “PUP Women Parliamentarians,” in a release signed by four women – Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Elvia Vega-Samos, Isabel Bennett Moody, and Erica Jang – declared that they “strongly condemn the conduct and behavior of the Leader of the Opposition … in responding to the denial by the Speaker … for a No Confidence Motion;” and called upon him “to forthwith issue an apology and to cease and desist from engaging in this unbecoming and disgraceful behavior, and to show respect for the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

At a time when the general citizenry are wary of the bickering and name calling in the House, and hoping for an elevation of standards and decorum among members, the UDP Leader may have stepped into uncharted waters here, and it is left to be seen if his narrative of reform will be borne out in the days ahead.