Yeah, I guess that it would be funny, I mean it still is funny, but the humor is tempered more than a little bit by what that whole sign incident meant in terms of the level of the political debate as we move closer to the 2008 general election. There is an issue about disrespect, but in my mind it has nothing to do with the PUP’s disrespect of the UDP. The issue is really about the lack of respect that both the PUP and the UDP are demonstrating towards the electorate, those Belizeans who will soon be asked to vote for a government that will control our destiny for five long years!
My son and I were talking about things a few days ago. He said, “Dad, look at how the US presidential campaign is being conducted. Sure, all politics is dirty and if you can get away with low blows, it’s done everywhere, but the candidates have public debates that are carried on national TV and the whole world can see those debates and see how the candidates respond to questions about the issues Americans are concerned about. For the first time it’s now possible for prospective voters to email in questions on line that will be asked of Democratic and/or Republican hopefuls. Then, look at the utter nonsense going on here!”
He’s one hundred percent right! There are some really important issues out here; issues that Belizeans want to question PUP and UDP candidates about. Then we can make our choices, factoring in the answers given, but what do we get? We get a street farce about who has a right or doesn’t have a right to put up a freakin’ campaign sign! Man, that’s such an important issue! Can you believe this crap? Talk about a display of disrespect for all of us!
Belize is dealing with an extremely critical situation. There is the problem of crime – “street crime” and “white collar crime,” the kind of “white collar crime” spelled c o r r u p t i o n! We are getting murdered on the streets of Belize City at an unprecedented rate and violent crime is spreading throughout the Districts. We are also getting murdered economically by a bunch of ruling politicians who brazenly steal as though it’s going out of style and who now appear to be willing to use violence, including murder, against journalists and others who won’t remain silent about the facts of the corruption or about the damage that the corruption is doing to the country!
A government that was elected because it promised: affordable housing for all, thousands of jobs, lower utility rates and lower taxes, has done the exact opposite for the two terms, ten long years. Large numbers of homes are in foreclosure as the vultures of this Government’s policies are coming home to roost and to feed. Utility rates have skyrocketed to socially disruptive levels as it appears that the ruling politicians are in the pockets of the privatized utility companies. Taxes have been increased past all reasonable limits to try to compensate for the money that has been stolen. People are hungry and desperate. Many families are a step away from being homeless. The only program enacted by this government that has been of any help to poor people is NHI, but the general misappropriation of funds and the resulting shortfalls have limited the potential scope of the program to the bare minimum.
The police are an issue all by their lonesome. Their politically appointed high command brazenly practices selective enforcement of our laws to such a degree that the ruling politicians, along with their friends and associates, are subject to absolutely no restraints at all. The Bou-Nahra case demonstrates how far the Police Department will go to protect “connected” people. There are no investigations of corruption and no investigations of violence committed against journalists or other critics of the government. Anyone who claims that the kidnapping of Derek Aikman, the attacks on KREM’s program director Mose Hyde and KremandalaShow panelist Rufus X, threats to other media personalities who criticize this government, threats to their families which include threats to injure or kill their small children, and the firings of government critics or family members of government critics who are employed by private companies, have no connection to the ruling politicians, is either an apologist or a moron! Police torture of arrested suspects and threats to murder citizens whom they label as “troublemakers” are increasing to the point where that sort of police behavior has become “business as usual.”
Guatemala is becoming more and more aggressive. Park rangers patrolling the Chiquibul forest on our side of the border are being harassed and threatened by the Guatemalan military. So are BDF patrols that are clearly operating in Belizean territory. An area of over 7,000 acres in that forest reserve, an area as large as Belize City, has been cut down and planted with crops by Guatemalans who have no legal right to even be in Belize. Our valuable stock of Xate plants has been illegally harvested by those same illegal aliens for years now, and it seems as though the government is powerless to stop the destruction and the de-facto occupation of one of our few remaining forest reserves.
The Santa Rosa saga continues. Government assures us that Santa Rosa will be gone by the end of December, but we haven’t gotten a straight answer about any of the negotiations that are periodically held with the Guatemalan government and no one is willing to lay any odds on whether those assurances are worth anything at all. The whole issue of the Guatemalan “claim” to at least half of Belize and all of our cayes is being handled in such a secretive manner that Belizeans can certainly be forgiven if a lot of us suspect that some dirty dealings are going on under the table.
These are problems that require serious solutions, and Belizeans want to hear those solutions from the people who are soliciting our votes, people who say that we should trust them with what amounts to absolute control of the conditions we have to live under for 5 long years. I can safely say that the majority of Belizeans I have talked to believe as I do – that the PUP and the UDP can take that sign and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine!
The PUP “brain trust” obviously intends to avoid any discussion of anything resembling a serious issue for the entire campaign, because they know that they can’t defend anything about their 10 years in office to any voter with a modicum of common sense. The only and I mean the only PUP standard bearers who have any credibility are Mark Espat in Albert and Cordel Hyde in Lake I! I’ve heard from a few people that Rodwell Ferguson in Stann Creek Rural has done some good things, but I really don’t have a handle on what’s been going on in that District. The rest of them aren’t worth a single vote!
The UDP isn’t exactly doing much better. The PUP strategy is to paint the UDP as a violent and incompetent bunch, specifically directing their campaign message to out-district voters who are often not aware of the Belize City scene, the same way that City voters are often not aware of the District scene. Many District residents also harbor resentment against Belize City for its historical monopolization of political power. The trouble is that the UDP seems to be playing straight into their hands.
I worked closely with Zenaida Moya during the 2005 strike. I like her as a person and I respect her guts and determination, so it pains me a bit to say this, but I don’t think that she has done the kind of job as Mayor of Belize City I hoped she would. Sure, the previous PUP City Council plumbed the utter depths of corruption and it left Belize City bereft of funds. Yes, the PUP Central Government has spared no effort to make life miserable for the present City Council, but these councilors had to know what the game would be going in.
Ms. Moya appears to have had difficulty keeping the infighting among her colleagues under control and in-house only. The outburst over that sign was unwise, unnecessary and politically damaging. Dale Trujeque, who should be forever christened “The Mole,” has become a nightmare for the City Council with his plethora of taped conversations that reveal the questionable ethics of some major party players. And, the UDP appears to be less than convincing so far in getting voters to believe that they will be totally different from the PUP. “Vote for us because we steal less and are not as corrupt as the PUP; You don’t have any other choice,” does not make the average voter enthusiastic about this kind of “change.”
The only politicians other than Mark and Cordel who treat the electorate with respect and who are willing to take public positions on real issues are some of the third party candidates; notably Hubert Enriquez, Patrick Rogers and Erwin X of VIP, along with Wil Maheia of the NBA. Voters, beware. Settling for second best because of a feeling that we can’t do any better “and third parties can’t win anyhow” will not help us one bit!