Former UDP Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel’s decision last week to come public and endorse Anthony Michael for the UDP’s mayoral convention this Sunday, October 5, while at the same time implicitly condemning the mayoral incumbent, Zenaida Moya, is a remarkable decision which requires analysis.
In Kremandala’s analytical model, we always make sure to know where Landivar is, the same way that the Jesuits, political creatures that they are, are always in anti-Partridge Street mode. The Jesuits had extraordinary influence over Belize’s first two Prime Ministers – George Price and Manuel Esquivel. Landivar’s interests were represented in the Said Musa era by Ralph Fonseca, and they are represented in the Dean Barrow era by Carlos Perdomo. There have, however, been a lot of questions about Perdomo’s competence in the last few months.
The Esquivel television ad endorsement of Anthony Michael represents a political gamble of sorts. Rt. Hon. Manuel is a ranking elder statesman of the UDP. Last week’s municipal election endorsement is below his dignity. It means he is positive that Michael will defeat Moya, because if the reverse occurs, and Zenaida prevails, his Michael endorsement will be a major political humiliation for Manuel.
While it may very well be that Rt. Hon. Esquivel’s daring move was provoked by paternal emotions, his daughter being an incumbent councilor who is on the Anthony Michael slate, Manuel does not have an emotional reputation.
We prefer to view the Esquivel comeback more through the prism of Landivar politics. The streets are saying that Carlos is not cutting it, so Landivar may have decided to hedge its bets. As the Zenaida killer, Esquivel would control Belize’s population and financial center.
All the visible indications are that Zenaida is in trouble, under attack by some major UDP players. Z, however, has gone directly to her union roots and to the people. She is a street fighter, and should not be taken lightly.
There are many of our readers who will need to know who the Jesuits are. They are the most militant and trained wing of the Roman Catholic Church, and they have a simple but effective strategy. Wherever they are, the Jesuits seek to control the education system. Control of education amounts to the power to mould young minds, and the Jesuits believe that if they mould the young mind, then the adult version of that mind will be theirs to direct.
The ideal situation for the Jesuits is where the government finances their schools. They prefer for the government to pay the bills rather than for the parents of their students to pay directly, as in the United States, because they have found that paying parents tend to interfere more than paying governments.
In Belize, the Jesuits have created the ideal situation for themselves. Since 1956, they have controlled the political leadership of Belize, mostly directly, but where necessary, indirectly. They are the most powerful and focused force in Belizean education, and the bulk of the financing for their schools has come from Belizean governments. More than that, the Jesuit–dominated Belizean education system is lauded in Belize as ideal, productive, and successful. Jesuits rule.
Partridge Street helped to elect Manuel Esquivel in 1983 and 1984, but as soon as he achieved maximum power, he began to make it clear where his loyalties lay. Then, in 1988, he attacked Partridge Street directly when he forced Rufus X out of the UDP Belize Rural North contest.
Manuel Esquivel, when he returned to power in 1993, essentially pushed Kremandala into an alliance with the PUP. Unfortunately for Partridge, this turned out to mean Ralph Fonseca. But Landivar, for its part, was as comfortable with Ralph as it had been with Manuel. Fonseca and Esquivel were both adult minds which the Jesuits had moulded as children.
Landivar knows that Dean Barrow is not their enemy. But they want to make sure to maintain their power if Perdomo falls. This is probably the reason for the Manuel Esquivel comeback. Those with eyes to see, let them see.