SHAKE UP IN THE PEOPLE'S UNITED PARTY

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000407


DEPT FOR WHA/CEN (JENNIFER VANTRUMP)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL BH
SUBJECT: SHAKE UP IN THE PEOPLE'S UNITED PARTY

REF: 2008 BELMOPAN 130

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Summary
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1. John Briceo, leader of the People's United Party (PUP) has
recently proposed changes to Senators representing the opposition
and to the party's executive committee. The expanded membership has
been justified as a measure to bridge the division that has
permeated the party since his assumption of leadership in March

2008. Others have perceived the move as a counter balance to future
ambitions by Mark Espat. End summary.

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Background
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2. The PUP was the driving force behind independence, and has won 10
of the 12 elections since Belize first elected a legislative
assembly, under British rule, in 1954. In the last years of the
previous PUP administration, the party was rocked by allegations of
corruption. Following the party's crushing defeat in the February
2008 general elections, former Prime Minister, Said Musa, and former
Minister of Housing and Home Affairs, Ralph Fonseca, announced that
they were resigning from their leadership positions. The general
elections resulted in a landslide victory for the United Democratic
Party (UDP) which won 25 of the 31 contested electoral seats,
leaving only 6 seats for the PUP.

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Briceo's Rise to Party Leadership
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3. In March 2008, friction between conflicting personalities and
agendas within the PUP came to the fore in a bitter fight for party
leadership. On March 30, 2008, John Briceo, the Orange Walk
District Representative, emerged as the leader of the PUP through
the party convention process. (NOTE: Briceo was an IVLP participant
on the theme of "U.S. Elections" in 1996. END NOTE) Briceo's rise
represented a significant shift in leadership, which has
traditionally been concentrated in the Belize District. The 2008
Convention to determine a party leader reflected a wide division
within the party, which remains in place today. Despite allegations
that the process was rigged against him, Briceo effectively
defeated Francis Fonseca, who was the old guard favorite and is the
nephew of Ralph Fonseca. During this time, allegations of theft
against the former PM and Minister of Housing and Home affairs were
also beginning to circulate, triggering public outcries (reftel).
Despite this, old guard supporters of George Price, Said Musa,
Francis Fonseca, Ralph Fonseca, and Godfrey Smith refused to support
Briceo, and even threatened to proceed with a legal suit to
challenge the Convention results; however, such a suit was not
filed.


4. Upon assuming party leadership, Briceo was made aware that
certain key assets used to advance the PUP's interest were not in
the name of the party, but held by former PUP party leader, Said
Musa, and former PUP campaign manager, Ralph Fonseca. These assets
include Independence Hall, the building which houses the PUP
Headquarters, "The Belize Times" newspaper, and the Positive Vibes
radio station. Shortly after assuming leadership of the party,
Briceo entered into an agreement to pay Musa and Fonseca for the
assets, valued at BZD 850,000 (USD 425,000). In June 2008, a down
payment of BZD 100,000 (USD 50,000) was made and payment began. A
final payment of BZD 500,000 (USD 250,000) was due in December 2008.
The final payment remains outstanding.

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Structure of the PUP Executive
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5. In March 2008, the new party leader was challenged to undertake
assertive action, and to reprimand old guard supporters who
challenged him. In some cases this resulted in the expulsion or
suspension of Executive Committee members. These vacancies were
replaced internally with the following individuals:

Deputy Leaders--Mark Espat, Cordel Hyde, Daniel Silva
National Campaign Manager--Eamon Courtenay
Party Chairperson--Carolyn Trench-Sandiford
Communications Director--Nardia Garcia
Legal Advisor--Anthony Sylvestre
Chairman of Policy and Reform Commission--Anthony Chanona


6. In August 2004, Briceo, Courtenay, Espat, and Hyde formed part
of a group of seven PUP minister's (G-7) which challenged Musa's
administration. At the time, all four formed part of Musa's Cabinet
and sought the removal of Ralph Fonseca as Minister of Finance.
Fonseca effectively controlled the administration's finances, and
was perceived to be the person primarily responsible for the
excessive debt accumulation by the Musa Administration. PM Musa
neutralized the power of the G-7 Ministers by lessening or stripping
them of their cabinet portfolios, though he also assumed the Finance
portfolio from Fonseca, making Fonseca Minister of Home Affairs and
Investment (which later changed to Housing and Home Affairs)
instead.

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Recent Expansion of Party Executive
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7. As the party leader, Briceo has stated that he will undertake
wider reforms to transform the PUP into a united, accountable, and
responsible party. Despite the new leadership, the PUP faced a
crushing defeat in the March 2009 municipal elections. The rival UDP
won 61 of the 64 contested municipal seats, including all the
mayoral positions. Even though Briceo's Orange Walk constituency
secured the only three PUP Councilors, he was not able to secure a
complete victory in this area. Briceo's defeat at the municipal
level has been attributed to the continued split between the new and
old party regime, as well as to the continued lack of trust the
general public has in the party.


8. In September 2009, Briceo decided to shake up the party one more
time. He nominated H.E. Eamon Courtenay and H.E. Lisa Shoman to the
Senate to replace Senators Hector Silva and Eiden Salazar. The
Senate is composed of 13 members, who are appointed by the
Governor-General. These include the President of the Senate, along
with 6 senators who are appointed on the advice of the Prime
Minister, 3 on the advice of the Leader of Opposition, and 1 each on
the advice of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry/Belize Business
Bureau, the National Trade Union Congress and Civil Society Steering
Committee, and the Belize Council of Churches/Evangelical
Association of Churches. Both of the nominated individuals are
prominent attorneys and served as Senators, as well as Ministers of
Foreign Affairs, under the Musa Administration. Hector Silva has
publicly expressed his discontent with Briceo, claiming the
decision to remove him from the Senate was made without his prior
consultation. Bill Lindo, a political activist known for his public
criticisms of government policies with PUP loyalties, also disagreed
with Silva's removal. In his view, the removal was motivated by
Lord Ashcroft and targeted Senator Silva due to his abstention from
voting no on the bill to nationalize Belize Telemedia Limited. No
reason was given by Briceo for the abrupt removal and replacement
of the two Senate seats.


9. Shortly after the proposed change in Senators and after making a
rare public appearance with former PM Musa, Briceo proposed further
changes. These changes, which relate to the composition of the
PUP's Executive, were approved at a PUP convention on September 27,

2009. The most significant change was the expansion of the Party's
Executive Committee by creating a post for the Immediate Past Party
Leader, Said Musa. Another noteworthy change was the approval of an
additional deputy leader, Francis Fonseca. Following the
resignation of Anthony Chanona as Chairman of the Policy and Reform
Commission, which occurred prior to the change, the position was
expanded, and will now be co-chaired by Bill Lindo and Hugh O'Brien.
In addition, the Communications Director will now be assisted by
two public relations deputies, Mark Usher and Anthony Mahler. All
of these changes took place just before September 29, which marked
the 59th Anniversary of the founding of the PUP.


10. It is widely speculated that the proposed changes were an
attempt by Briceo to appease Musa and Fonseca regarding the
outstanding payments for the party assets they hold. This effort
proved unsuccessful, however, as on October 16 a letter was
delivered to Briceo from the law firm of Musa and Balderamos,
informing him that the assets would be repossessed if the payments
owed were not received on or before October 30, 2009.


11. On October 23 Briceo sought to retaliate by mobilizing the
PUP's Northern Caucus constituencies from Orange Walk and Corozal,
along with its associate constituency from Belize Rural South. In a
press release, the PUP Northern Caucus called upon the Said Musa and
Ralph Fonseca to return what they believe are the assets of the
party. A meeting of the PUP's National Executive, which now
includes Musa, was held on October 24 to discuss a strategy to move
forward. At the meeting a compromise was reached, which will allow
the assets to be transferred to a trust managed by Party
Representatives. The debt has been deferred and will have to be
paid for within 5 years.

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Comments
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12. The recent changes in the PUP suggest that Briceo is working to
unify the party, and also to ensure that all official
representatives of the party tow the party line. It is speculated
that Hector Silva and Eiden Salazar's replacement in the Senate may
be connected to their recent abstentions in the Senate on the
Telecommunications Bill, which the party later opposed in a press
release. It was under the previous PUP administration that the
Accommodation Agreement with BTL was reached. While their votes
would not have stopped the bill from passing, it was reported the
two PUP Senators did not vote against the bill to nationalize BTL.
The additions of H.E. Courtenay and H.E. Shoman to the Senate may
help to consolidate the party, as both are party loyalists who
worked under the previous administration. Nevertheless, there has
been some limited opposition to the change by some party members,
though no public comments regarding the change have been made by the
UDP.


13. Briceo has justified the changes in the structure of the
Executive as an attempt to restore party unity; however, it is
likely that Briceo is seeking to forestall any threat to his
leadership by appeasing the old guard and countering any ambitions
Mark Espat may hold for leadership. While there have been no open
attempts to replace Briceo as party leader, the fight for
leadership in 2008 was contentious, and his position has not
strengthened during his year and a half in office. With the next
general elections over three years away, working now to unify the
party and win back the public's trust is proving a difficult task,
but it could prove a winning long-term strategy for Briceo. End
comment.

FEATHERSTONE