These are delicate days for the ruling United Democratic Party, because they have essentially, this week, failed their first critical test. It is important to note that the things we say in this editorial do not constitute a declaration of war against the new government. If, however, the idiots whom the UDP sometimes have speaking and writing for them, wish to interpret our thoughts in a hostile way, so be it. Who bex, bex.
The role of the Deputy Prime Minister (previously Deputy Premier) has always been an important one in Belize, because the Deputy Prime Minister usually provides ethnic balance, not to mention hard corps muscle. Belize has two major ethnic streams, so when the Prime Minister is considered Latin, then the Deputy is usually Black. For Mr. Price, Albert Cattouse and C.L.B. Rogers were dark. For Mr. Esquivel, who was Latin, Curl Thompson and Dean Barrow were dark. The paradigm did not apply classically during the Musa regime (1998-2008) or the 1989-1993 Price administration. But there are exceptions to rules. The rule does apply to Mr. Barrow and Mr. Vega.
UDP Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega was supposed to be Dean Barrow’s Mestizo counterpoint. At least, he was supposed to be able to control his own turf. Early Monday afternoon in Orange Walk Town, Gapi Vega failed his first big test, and the ball returned to Prime Minister Barrow’s side of the court.
We are not absolving Mr. Barrow from blame. Once he announced on national radio, around 2:00 on Monday afternoon, that the cane farmers had until 4:00 p.m. to move their truck blockades of the Northern Highway, all experienced observers knew that real trouble, then, became inevitable. This trouble was bad news for the ruling party, but it was also bad news for us, as the nation of Belize. (On Partridge Street, we don’t tell people what they want to hear. We tell them what they need to know. Straight up.)
When the cane farmers made their strong move with the truck blockades early Monday morning, they were raising the stakes very high. The Prime Minister should either have himself moved immediately and set up a Cabinet war room, ideally in Orange Walk Town but acceptably in Belize City, or he should have informed Deputy Vega that his ad hoc authority on the Orange Walk blockade was absolute, and all the resources of the Government of Belize were at his, Vega’s, disposal. (A burning question in all this sequence of Tower Hill events was this: where was the Minister of National Security?)
Remember now, this newspaper is not trying to grandstand. It is always easy to be smart after the fact. Hindsight, they say, is 20/20 vision. This truck blockade of the Northern Highway was a really big time crisis. None of us can truly say we would have done a better job. We’re just looking at things.
In Orange Walk, the UDP had been experiencing division and dispute between Gapi Vega and Marcel Cardona, two O.W. District Cabinet members. Vega is more the urban, business type, whereas Marcel is considered perhaps the more rural, roots type. From our standpoint, and in retrospect, Cardona would have been more relevant than Vega. The cane farmers, in a scenario where it was all machismo, disrespected Vega and tried to overturn his vehicle. Gapi should not have walked into that situation with his eyes wide open.
In February of 1970, just to give you an example of a rough Deputy Premier, the PUP, which had won 17 of 18 seats in general elections two months before, decided to wipe out the upstart UBAD movement. They struck with the sedition arrests of two ranking UBAD leaders. The sedition arrests began a war between the PUP and UBAD which was not decided, arguably, until September of 1972. But Premier George Price didn’t have to dirty his hands with the UBAD problem. Deputy Premier, C.L.B. Rogers, who was also Minister of Home Affairs, led the PUP campaign against UBAD.
On Monday in Orange Walk, neither the UDP Deputy or their National Security Minister was in effective evidence. Barrow stumbled, but the primary weakness may have been in those around him. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Our sources say that Mr. Barrow’s advisors in Monday’s crisis were former Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel and the aforementioned Gapi Vega. We would ask the question: where were Aragon and Campos? Lot and Reuben belonged in any UDP council of war with respect to the Tower Hill crisis.
In closing, we have to reiterate. We only write editorials, and we’re not telling anyone how to do their job. We’re conversing with our readers. Our responsibility is to propose ideas to our readership for their deliberation and analysis. If the ruling party takes offence, they should be advised that honeymoons only last for a while. Get real.
Power to the people.