He was elected party leader on Sunday and John Briceno was officially sworn in as the parliamentary Leader of the Opposition today. For the man who spent 9 years as Deputy Prime Minister – it seems almost natural progression. But of course, it is not; Briceno resigned from the Musa Cabinet in frustration in June of 2007 – and became party leader against the wishes of his former party leader and leader emeritus, who had favored Francis Fonseca. So today when he was sworn in by the Governor General, it was with a sense of vindication and triumph against the status quo. His swearing in was witnessed by his father, former Minister Joe Briceno.
John Briceno: “I John Briceno do swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Belize and will uphold the constitution and the law and that I will conscientiously, impartially, and to the best of my ability discharge my duties as the Leader of the Opposition.”
Sir Colville Young: ‘I want to congratulate Mr. Johnny Briceno for his assumption of the very very important role of Leader of the Opposition.’
John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
“Well the first priority is certainly unity. I just met with the western caucus just a few minutes ago, before I came here to the Governor General’s office and also met with the Stann Creek District leadership. Both Mr. Rodwell Ferguson and Mr. Cassian Nunez were also present and my message was simple and clear, that our first step was to unite the party.”
Jules Vasquez,
Was it hard reaching out to people like Rodwell Ferguson who I saw on the election day, one of the few candidates with a Francis Fonseca t-shirt? Was it hard reaching out to him and bringing him under the tent?
John Briceno,
“Not at all, Rodwell is a good person, a good man. He is an honorable
man. He had his candidate and I respect that but now that it is all over, he has come to me, he has pledged his support, he is pledging his support to me as leader of the PUP and that he will do everything possible for us to succeed within the next five years.”
Jules Vasquez,
Sir speaking about the specifics of the executive of the party, we know that Godfrey Smith who has been very candid in his criticism of you, we know that he is a deputy leader. Would you expect that he would resign as Deputy Leader being that he has called you things including an intellectual light weight?
John Briceno,
“I think that Godfrey being the intellectual heavy weight knows what is the right thing to do.”
Jules Vasquez,
Speaking about the media instruments of the party, specifically the Belize Times and Positive Vibes media, and including the Independence Hall, we understand that those are owned by private companies, not the PUP; companies affiliated with personalities in the party but not owned by the party. How will you go about managing and accessing those resources?
John Briceno,
“Well those are some very important issues that we will have to address as a party and that we will be addressing in the near future.”
Jules Vasquez,
Do you know who owns them?
John Briceno,
“Not at this time.”
Jules Vasquez,
Will you reach out to Francis Fonseca to be a part of your executive?
John Briceno,
“I’ve met with Francis, the Honorable Francis Fonseca yesterday afternoon. He and I, we had a long and cordial meeting, starting to discuss the way forward, and I have invited him to join the new executive and at a very senior position.”
Apart from Rodwell Ferguson and Cassian Nunez, also present at today’s swearing in were Mark Espat and Cordel Hyde from the city, and Rolando Zetina, Orlando Habet, Dan Silva and Hector Silva from the west.
And so while Briceno gathers support from within – the challenges to his leadership by the “other PUP” remain formidable. Best indications are that Deputy Leader Godfrey Smith intends to serve out his term, and new information suggests that National Campaign Manager Ralph Fonseca intends to do the same. At a post election meeting of the national executive, then-party leader Musa had said that both he and Fonseca would be stepping down. But with the power shift, things have changed, and it’s left to be seen how the old guard will find its footing in Briceno’s PUP. As for George Price who publicly endorsed Francis Fonseca, Briceno says he plans to meet with him later this week.
