by Colin Hyde
When Brother J Enriquez called for redistricting more than a decade ago, he was correct in respect to the letter of the Constitution, as it pertains to the number of people in the constituencies. But our Constitution could not have contemplated that wars in the neighborhood would rapidly change the number and culture of the people who formed the Belizean fabric. The Constitution allows for a person to acquire citizenship and vote within five years, but that was based on the normal flow, gradual population growth.
Because of cruel civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala, there was a flood of displaced persons into little Belize. There is not a single sincere country in the world that would keep a law that would expose it to a situation where so many people who have no connection to 1798, 1862, 1964, 1981, could have such an impact in determining the country’s future within five years of coming here. Some countries find ways to deny immigrants the vote. Our political leaders had two options: change the Constitution, or just ignore Jerry. They chose the latter.
Today, 40 plus years after independence, people who came here to escape civil wars have been exposed to our system and culture for some time, and their children are full-baan Belizeans. I think everyone agrees that redivisioning has to take place. But it’s not an easy cat to skin. I’ve seen all the suggestions, but if we keep it simple, old Belizean stock in Belize City lose 3 divisions: Fort George and Pickstock merge; Albert, Queen’s Square, and Mesopotamia merge; while new Belizean stock get three seats, as Belmopan and Cayo South become three divisions, Stann Creek gets a seat, and Toledo gets a seat.
Among a number of initiatives, the present government’s reform manifesto included legislation to regulate campaign financing; set a fixed date for general elections; have a transparent redistricting exercise; make the Elections & Boundaries Commission (EBC) independent. I don’t know how sincere the PUP was, but from the moment the party embarked on giving us a full overhaul of the Constitution, a mammoth task, the reform promises in the Plan Blu Manifesto got shoved to the backburner.
This full overhaul decision was made when there was grumbling over the 11th amendment, which sought to stiffen the letter of Section 58 (1) (d) of the Constitution, which deals with the eligibility of persons who have committed crimes in the Commonwealth, to serve in the National Assembly.
The Amandala, July 10, 2021, said, of the 11th amendment: “Section 58 (1) (da) of the draft amendment bill disqualifies persons who have served a prison sentence of more than 12 months outside Belize. Subsection (dB) adds provisions for those whose sentence is still in effect or ongoing. Section 59(3) (a) was also amended to disqualify persons who have been convicted for offenses related to corruption and abuse of public office, or for election-related offenses.”
The Amandala said the PUP argued that, in respect to anti-corruption, there was no “better way than to include stricter disqualification measures for those seeking to represent Belize in the National Assembly.” The Amandala said the bill appeared to be directly aimed at Shyne Barrow, who called the proposed amendment “classist and inhumane.” S. Barrow, who had served time in a US jail for a shooting, said the amendment was arbitrary, and “that is why the social partners insist with the 9th amendment, the 10th amendment, and now the 11th amendment that no amendment of the Constitution should take place until there is a convening of a constitutional reform commission …”
I have my beef with the social partners for calling for and lending their weight to a full revision of the Constitution. We have had our Constitution since 1981, and in many ways we have been a model democracy. Piece by piece we could have addressed the parts of this guide book which we felt weren’t serving us as well as they should. It’s a noble initiative, but way too big a bite. With that mouthful, promised reforms got shelved, until, and so did the redivisioning.
Patt sat on it
Last week, the court effectively said to the leader of the SBUDP (Shyne Barrow’s UDP faction) and his lawyer that it was not going to insert itself in a party popularity contest. Rehashing the UDP story very quickly, in early 2020, an election year, John Saldivar went up against Patrick Faber for leadership of the UDP. For years everyone knew there would be a showdown between those two: Faber from Belize City and John from ‘pan, for the leadership of the party when PM Dean Barrow retired.
Backtracking to the surprise victory of the Reds in the 1993 election, Melvin Hulse, father of the Melvin who was a UDP minister, ran in Cayo South as the NABR part of the victorious UDP/NABR ticket. Melvin did not win Cayo South, but the Reds could not have won without the NABR half. Melvin moved to set up to represent the government in Cayo South, and got blocked by the Esquivel UDP. People from the inside would have to explain why Melvin’s star faded and John took his place. It could have been as simple as age. Melvin the elder was no spring chikin. Ah, it could have been that the UDP couldn’t deliver on a promise it had made to the NABR.
From the outside looking in, with the UDP base being in Belize City, Faber should have had the edge with the Belize City Barrow crowd, over John from ‘pan who was an Esquivel boy. But when the men went to the convention to choose a new leader in early 2020, D Barrow and his Belize City crowd backed John, who had earned some stain during his time in politics, over Faber, who had no published mud on him. One explanation for the Barrow choice could be the Port Loyola convention to choose a standard bearer. John and Faber backed Philip Willoughby over the exiting PM’s choice, Mike Peyrefitte. Brother Peyrefitte got shelled, and in that matter Faber, being from Belize City, would have taken more blame than the visiting John. Another story for Faber being on the outside with the PM was that he had reportedly intimated that when he came into his kingdom, he didn’t owe the Barrow family any favors.
John won the convention, but within a week he had to hand back the crown. Coming up to the convention he had denied that a man who was charged for major financial crimes in the US was a donor to his divisional treasury. My take here is that PM Barrow knew prior to the convention that John was not acceptable to the US government, and would have to return the crown, but he backed him for the reason of humbling the upstart Faber, to make Faber know who was boss.
Okay, John returned the crown. Faber became leader. The UDP got crushed in the general election. John maintained a simmering rivalry with Faber, and gave encouragement to Shyne. Faber stomped a wall behind which an ex-lover had secured herself to avoid him. Faber pulled the hair of a lover who it is said was acting a little eccentric. Faber stepped down from leadership. John couldn’t step up because of his baggage. Reluctant Tracy stepped up against Shyne for leadership of the party. On March 2, 2022, Tracy’s husband, Herbert, died of heart failure. In the convention, held in late March 2022, Faber was out of the country, reportedly for a family funeral, and Shyne defeated a despondent Tracy by 3 votes. Tracy called for a recount of votes, and was refused. Shyne seized the crown with both hands. He immediately dumped some candidates, choices of John/Faber/Tracy, and moved to destroy John’s faction, which initially had supported his rise in the party.
Shyne said John was corrupt, and moved to have him removed as standard bearer in Belmopan. In a February 2023 convention, John won the right to represent the UDP in the next election. Shyne led the UDP to massive defeat in the Municipal Elections in March 2024, and in a bi-election in Toledo East in July 2024—the last loss he blames on the old guard. There is growing unrest in the UDP, but Shyne holds on as UDP leader in the House with the support of his aunt, Denise, who never attends House meetings, and faithful Hugo Patt. Shyne also holds on to leadership of the party with the March 2022 convention certificate. He says he was “promised” that he would have been allowed to lead the party into the next general election, which he had said the party was not likely to win.
In October 2024, UDP-ers from across the land who are fed up with Shyne at the head converged at the Belize City Civic Center and gave Tracy an overwhelming endorsement as leader. Shyne refused to let go, and Patt helped him to hold on. Shyne hired a lawyer from Jamaica, and they went to court. That ended in disaster when the judge told them, mas o menos, that the court wasn’t intervening in a Reds popularity contest.
Whew, Mr. Patt! He was defended by D Barrow when he was brought before the tribunal that investigated government’s sale of used vehicles, and he won a financial award from the government and people for his, ehm, having been questioned. The same “guardian angel” was beside him when he appeared before the Special Senate Committee and was tightlipped when asked about his management of lands near Northern Lagoon.
Patt has stood with D Barrow’s son through thick and thin, of late mostly all thin. He could have saved the UDP from this disarray; he could have unified the party under Tracy when the faithful congregated at the Belize City Civic Center in October 2024 and emphatically said that she was their girl. No one will blame Denise Barrow for voting family. Everyone knows that she was just holding place, that her being elected to the House was about family, not about country.
As it is set today, in about three weeks the UDP will contest the 2025 general election as two parties. If it’s not that Patt feels beholden to the Barrow camp, then people might wonder about the hand he has played.
In closing this page, three of the four Reds who attend House meetings could face a rival Red when we go to the polls, quite likely March 12. In Corozal North, one of the FOUR, Patt, seemingly faces the electorate as a unified Red. That’s the story as it is set today, Monday, February 17, 2025. Ha, ha, a story is that the Barrow faction offered him their backing after John was forced out in 2020, but he was reluctant. Incredibly, at this late date there still is some wind out there for the UDP’s sails. It arrives, if Patt stops sitting on it.