12 days ago, on March 13th PUP Orange Walk Central Representative John Briceno told Channel 7 that he was withdrawing from the race for new PUP leader. At the time he said he wouldn’t participate in something that’s a farce. But it turns out that he will. Briceno reversed his decision over the Easter weekend and today held a rally in Orange Walk to declare that he is back in the race for leader.
For a leader who has resigned and un-resigned from Cabinet at least twice – it seems to be just one more flip-flop. But today in Orange Walk Town, Briceno told an excited crowd of supporters, that it is not what he wanted to do, but what party supporters told him he must do. And while saying it is one thing, putting the air back in the balloon is quite another.
Still, Briceno and his people did their darn-nest at a hyped up rally today. We have this video courtesy our colleagues at Channel 10 in Orange Walk.
John Briceno, Candidate for PUP Leader
“I invite you to join us in this forward march to a new kind of leadership where more of us have a say. Join me and together we will take back our party, so we once again can say with pride that we are truly a People’s United Party. PUP all the Way!”
Fortunato Noble, Channel 10
“On March 13th you withdrew in front of thousands of people in the media your candidacy for the party leader, now you are back. Most people will say you can’t be serious, you’re not serious.”
John Briceno,
“Well events have changed and since I have announced that I am going to withdraw my candidacy, I have been having calls from all across this country asking me, begging me to please remain in the fight. Because this fight is no longer about myself or anybody in particular but this fight is to take back the PUP. But all of this movement crystallized on Wednesday when there was this announcement or this letter, this plan to expel one of six of the members of the National Assembly from our party and the outrage was so great among everyone, feeling that the leadership of this party has totally lost it, that they are living in a world of fantasy and that we had to do something about it – that we had to fight to take back our party.”
Fortunato Noble,
“The reason you gave for withdrawing your candidacy was that it was your belief that the elections would have been rigged and the delegates were not increased. Nothing has changed, what makes you want to go back? The status quo has remained the same.”
John Briceno,
“Well that certainly has not changed and that certainly has not changed. But what has happened is that we have people across this country, people like Dan Silva, and I use that as one example, people in the Corozal District, in Belize City, in Stann Creek, in the Toledo District, in San Pedro – who are telling us that whilst some of the standard bearers, not all, some of the standard bearers are supporting the status quo – they have been talking to the delegates and the delegates are telling them that they want change, they want hope. They want a party that can be united and a party that can win in the next general election in five years.
The delegates are saying we are giving you the same message: we want Johnny Briceno to stay in this election because even though the standard bearers are asking them to vote for the candidate of the status quo, they want change and they are going to vote for me. It is because of that reason then, and amongst many other things, that I have decided that my candidacy transcends me the person. This is one campaign where the rank and file, where the true supporters of the PUP are saying that we want to take back this party.”
Fortunato Noble,
Are you confident that you’ll have the vote of the majority of the delegates?
John Briceno,
“Presently we do feel that we have the majority. It is going to be a lot of work and I’m not fooling myself, we just have about three days, maybe four days campaigning to do. I have already been making lots of calls, I have been visiting people, I have a very busy schedule starting tonight – going all across this country meeting with the delegates and talking to them personally. And also we have people on the ground in the different areas of the districts that know the delegates personally and they are going to be meeting with these delegates.”
At this morning’s event, Briceno had endorsements from two candidates, Jose Mai from Orange Walk South and Dr. Marco Tulio Mendez from Orange Walk East. He also had declarations of support from the Collet Division, Corozal North, Corozal Southwest, Corozal Bay as well as Cayo including former western general Dan Silva.
Notably absent were Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde. Espat today told us that if his Albert delegates go to the convention on Sunday in Belmopan, they will support Briceno. But it is not certain whether they will go, because it would be difficult to support a process that they have criticized as fraudulent.
