After three terms at the helm of Corozal Town, Mayor Rigoberto Vellos is now being forced to defend his political ground. On Sunday, he faces Shajerie Rogers in a convention that has become one of the most talked-about internal contests in the north. For some, it is a straightforward democratic exercise. For others, it is a proxy fight between competing factions, especially amid reports that Corozal Bay Area Representative Thea Garcia Ramirez is strongly backing Rogers. Vellos, however, is not staying quiet. On Thursday night, he turned to Facebook to speak directly about the convention and the politics surrounding it.
Rigoberto Vellos
Rigoberto Vellos, Mayor, Corozal Town
“As a three-term mayor, and a mayor that has done a lot of work together with his council, I do believe the party needs to look at these assessments very closely before making these types of decisions. Now I am not asking for any special treatment. If we need to face a convention then so be it, we will. But I can assure you, our community is in full support of team Rigo. They are aware of all the issues we have seen over the past weeks. There have been attacks. They have tried to sabotage my council. Certain projects we had on the pipeline, projects we are collaborating with Central Government, these projects suddenly paused and slowed down. We were asking why is it all of a sudden we have important projects that would positively affect our residents of Corozal have suddenly paused and we have not heard anything about them. We try to keep a positive mind. We are here to work with our people and we have a partnership with out people and we will continue to move forward with our people.”
Garcia-Ramirez Calls for Unity Ahead of Corozal P.U.P. Showdown
With the Corozal Town P.U.P. mayoral convention only days away, Area Representative Thea Garcia-Ramirez is urging supporters to keep the focus on turnout, unity, and the bigger picture. Garcia-Ramirez says Sunday’s convention should be seen as a healthy democratic exercise, not a party fight. She says once the votes are counted, she is prepared to work with whichever slate comes out on top. But beyond the race itself, Garcia-Ramirez is also raising concern about the tone of political attacks, especially against women who offer themselves for public office. She says Belize needs more women in politics, but the criticism and abuse female candidates often face on social media can discourage them from stepping forward.
Thea Garcia-Ramirez
Thea Garcia-Ramirez, Area Representative, Corozal Bay
“I believe that whatever the makeup eventually of that slate, I am prepared. I am more than happy. These are all my supporters. They’re PUP supporters, very good PUP people. It’s exciting because while the other guys are having problem fielding a full slate in Corozal, we have more than enough people that are offering themselves, people that have a lot to offer, that on both sides, very good working track records. And so whatever slate we eventually end up with, I am sure that we will have a great slate come March, and we will again take the town council. One of the things that has, that I can speak of personally, honestly, is the fact that, something that I don’t like to see, and I’ll be honest because I’ve been, I’ve been the center of a few of these controversies, that we still have a great deal of- Political violence against women in, you know, in this political arena, it seems as if it’s a boys club thing, so it immediately excludes women. There’s a lot of shaming and blaming and trying to scandalize women, and I don’t only mean here in Corozal, I mean across the country. I think any country that chooses to exclude women from electoral politics does itself a disservice, and it does so diminishing the democracy that they want to have, you should want to have.”
Garcia-Ramirez praised the growing number of women seeking political office, saying every woman who puts her name on a ballot helps move Belize closer to greater gender representation.
Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.
Watch the full newscast here:
