by Evan X Hyde

Since its establishment in September of 1950, the leadership history of the ruling People’s United Party (PUP) has been almost seamless, except for the leadership ouster of Leigh Richardson and Philip Goldson in 1956 and their replacement by the Rt. Hon. George Price, and then Mr. Price’s replacement as party leader in 1996 by Rt. Hon. Said Musa.

Mr. Musa resigned in 2008, and was replaced by Hon. John Briceño as PUP leader. In turn, Mr. Briceño resigned in late 2011, and was briefly replaced by Mark Espat, and then Hon. Francis Fonseca was elected PUP leader. Hon. Fonseca resigned after the PUP lost the 2015 general election. Mr. Briceño was then re-elected PUP leader, in late 2015 or early 2016, I’m not sure.  

The 1956 power struggle in the PUP was quite bitter. In fact, it is claimed that Mr. Richardson drew his gun as he was departing Riverside Hall under duress.

So then, the PUP history has not been as “seamless” as I suggested in the first paragraph. Still, the PUP never changed its name.

In the case of the United Democratic Party (UDP), however, they began with a pro-British National Party (NP) in 1951, became the National Independence Party (NIP) in 1958 when they were joined by a fledgling Honduran Independence Party (HIP), and finally became the UDP in September of 1973 after a coalition was formed among the NIP, the Dean Lindo-led People’s Development Movement (PDM), and a shadowy, so-called Liberal Party.

To my mind, what happened, in effect, when the Opposition became the UDP in 1973 was that it became a party dominated by business, whereas the NIP, under the leadership of Mr. Goldson from 1961 to 1973, had had a discernible middle class base.

All that I was trying to do in this short discourse was inform and remind people that Beverly Williams, who had been an area representative and Cabinet Minister during the UDP’s terms of office between 2008 and 2020, is Hon. Philip Goldson’s niece. News reports are saying that Beverly had been in very angry exchanges with UDP Leader, Hon. Shyne Barrow, at the UDP’s National Party Council gathering last Saturday. Hon. Barrow’s great grandfather, E. O. B. Barrow, had been one of the founders of the National Party in 1951, whereas Ms. Williams’ uncle, Hon. Philip Goldson, had been one of the founders of the anti-colonial PUP in 1951, apart from his leadership of the NIP between 1961 and 1973.

Beverly Williams is a relative unknown where Belize’s general public is concerned, but now she appears to be on center stage.

It is important for Belize’s democracy that there is an Opposition party to keep the government on its toes. Saturday was not a good look for the UDP, and people like myself wonder if there may be some ideological problem somewhere, apart from just these repeated personality clashes.