BELIZE CITY, Wed. Feb. 9, 2022– Upon being appointed Leader of the Opposition this month, Hon. Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s first course of action was to take a trip to the United States—just as he did in August of 2021 during his first stint as Opposition Leader. This week, while in the US, he made a guest appearance on the Wendy Williams Show. During that episode of the show, which was hosted by rappers Fat Joe and Remy Ma in Wendy’s absence, Barrow spoke about his hopes for Belize, prison reform, and his rise from incarceration to being a parliamentarian. He also referred to himself as the Leader of the House of Representatives and stated that he plans to vie for the post of Prime Minister. Of important note, however, is the fact that “Opposition Leader in the House of Representatives” and “Leader of the House of Representatives” are very different terms—particularly because the latter term refers to a position that does not exist, and even if it did, that title would most likely be held by Ms. Valerie Woods, the current Speaker of the House of Representatives.

This is not the first time that the newly instated LOO has used parliamentary terms in a loose, or, at times, inaccurate manner. In August 2021, Hon. Barrow, after receiving his diplomatic visa, made his first trip to the U.S. since his deportation in 2009 and had indicated via a press release that he would be meeting with members of the U.S. Congress, state senators, and House members to “strengthen relationships and establish new relationships to further the development of Belize.” In addition to meeting with those members of the U.S. government, Barrow had also made an appearance at the birthday party of fellow rapper Fat Joe in Manhattan, New York, and at that gathering he had stated, while expressing birthday wishes to the rapper, “I’d just like to wish my brother for over twenty years now a happy birthday. You know, I’m the leader of the House of Representatives and they call me ‘Honourable’, but you’ve been honourable for all the years that I’ve known you.”

That misnomer used by Hon. Barrow had not been addressed or corrected publicly upon his return to Belize. This week, however, while on the Wendy Williams Show, he once again used the term “Leader of the House of Representatives” to refer to the post he currently holds. “Right now I am the leader of the House of Representatives in Belize,” said Barrow. It was a statement that received a resounding standing ovation from the American audience. He then went on to speak about the need for change in the prison system.

Many Belizeans have objected to Barrow’s leadership aspirations due to his past career as a hip hop artist and his subsequent conviction and incarceration in the U.S. two decades ago. The current Government of Belize even went as far as to introduce the 11th Amendment Bill, which was an attempt to bar persons who have served prison sentences from becoming members of the National Assembly. When asked by Remy Ma to comment on such views and actions, Barrow responded that he lets his actions and good deeds throughout Belize speak for him. One of those good deeds, according to Fat Joe, was giving land and housing to the citizens of Belize. Hon. Barrow also likened his journey to that of Malcom X and Nelson Mandela, the latter of whom was incarcerated because he opposed South Africa’s apartheid laws.

Hon. Barrow also spoke on his dreams for Belize, including plans to demolish the “political oligarchy” that exists in the country (an oligarchy which one might say that he himself is a part of and has benefitted from, with his father being former Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow; his aunt being Hon. Denise Barrow, area representative for Queen’s Square; and his uncle being Michael Finnegan, a former member of the House of Representatives and former area representative of the Mesopotamia division). “My dream is to transform Belize into a developed nation and to create equality. Right now our system is very imbalanced and people are not allowed the Belizean Dream. I want to create a Belize where you can go from a working-class laborer to a multi-millionaire,” he said. “I don’t want it to be the oligarchs in the upper echelons, they control everything and no one can have an opportunity to succeed based on their talent and success,” he added.

During the 11-minute segment, Hon. Barrow himself mentioned that his family helped to form the United Democratic Party.

Incidentally, today, when asked about Hon. Barrow’s reference to himself as the “Leader of the House of Representatives,” Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño said that he thinks Barrow misspoke.

“By virtue of being the leader of the PUP and the Prime Minister, I am the leader of the House. I think he misspoke as usual … always putting his foot in his mouth. I guess hopefully he will learn soon …,” PM Briceño said.