After the Princess opened up the casino market, Archie?s, on Central American Boulevard in the heart of Southside poverty, also became a casino. The Archie?s proposition was never brought to the electorate. There was never any pretence that Archie?s would cater to foreign tourists.

We choose to bring this matter up now because in last weekend?s issue of THE BELIZE TIMES, we saw a picture of a happy Prime Minister Musa shaking hands with the president of the new Corozal (Santa Elena) casino, which the ruling party newspaper is touting as the largest casino in Central America, which is to say, the largest casino is now in the smallest Central American country. How quaint!

In the entire history of planet earth, no nation state has been successfully built on a foundation of gambling. It is a vice which excites and entertains most of us Belizeans, but what the casinos have done is globalize Belizean gambling. This means that our Belizean money leaves this country to make foreign investors grow richer. Gambling is a fool?s paradise ? no one can deny that.

36 years ago the issue of casinos was a large one which divided the PUP Cabinet at the time. The casino proposition was supported by Minister Louis Sylvestre (Belize Rural South) and Minister Fred Hunter (Belize Rural North). The fight against casinos was successfully led by Minister Madame Gwendolyn Lizarraga (Pickstock), who controlled the powerful Women?s Group of the PUP.

The interesting aspect of the casino fighting in 1969 was that the Roman Catholic Church in Belize, led by Bishop Robert Hodapp, opposed casinos. It was interesting because the Catholic Church had been the only church in Belize which indulged in gambling and did not condemn gambling out of hand.

Our understanding at the time, in 1969, was that the young socialist lawyers, Assad Shoman and Said Musa, opposed gambling casinos. Perhaps we understood wrongly. We would like for the Honourable Prime Minister to explain to us what were his views on casinos in 1969. Men are entitled to change their views, but when a man holds the most powerful political position in the nation, his views on vital issues must be scrutinized, from the beginning to the end.

We know, or we believe we know, that the views of the Roman Catholic Church in Belize on gambling casinos have not changed. Bishop Osmond P. Martin is on record as being in opposition to gambling casinos. Why is it that the Catholic Church in Belize has not campaigned against gambling casinos even as more of them are being introduced?

Belize is becoming a Mafia country right before our very eyes. Belize is becoming like Cuba was before the revolution in 1959. There are big buildings and fancy vehicles and ostentatious wealth, just as was the case in Cuba under Fulgencio Bautista. But the masses of our people are suffering. We are heavily taxed in this country, and an inside group of politically connected cronies laugh all the way to the bank.

The vast majority of us in this country are being taken for suckers and fools. And as soon as you say anything, those who are hoodwinking and embezzling us start telling us about George Price and the ?peaceful, constructive revolution.? We have lost faith in the PUP process. This is a con game.