Village Council elections started over the weekend in Orange Walk North and Stann Creek West. We’ll get to the results but the news tonight is coming out of Orange Walk District where there was politically motivated violence between UDP and PUP supporters in the village of Nuevo San Juan. The PUP won all seven seats including the chairman in that village – and that should have been the end of it.
But, it wasn’t – as with any political festival – alcohol was involved and combined with fiery political passions, it became violent. One or more fights started in San Juan at the close of the polls by rowdy supporters. It exploded into violence and at least 12 people in total sustained varying levels of injury and so far at least 8 persons have been arrested and charged.
Not surprisingly, supporters on both sides are blaming their opponents for initiating the violence, but the UDP, namely Juan and Donato Osorio and Ruben and Pedro Muy were the first to take their complaint to the police. With that police picked up members of the Blanco and Menjivar families yesterday afternoon. The persons detained include a retired nurse and a 60 year old female member of the Blanco family.
They’re all loyal PUP’s and the Blanco’s are relatives of the PUP Chairman of San Juan and so that’s why PUP leader John Briceno went to the Orange Walk Police Station last night demanding their release. Briceno says he had to wait until three this morning for all of them to be released. Today that group of 12 PUP loyalists were arraigned for harm and wounding and received bail on the condition that they not interfere with any of the complainants, and they are bound over to hold the peace. They re-appear on May 21st.
But it gets more complicated because the four arrested this morning are now making counter-complaints and showing their injuries sustained in a fight which they say the UDP initiated. Those complaints were just lodged today and it is left to be seen whether the UDP will also be charged. We were unable to reach Orange Walk Police for comment.
And while that’s the peripheral violence – which bears watching as the two month long village council elections cycle proceeds – the real story is the election. It’s considered a sort of midterm report on the performance of the UDP in those divisions where villages are plentiful.
Keeping it in Orange Walk, as we just told you the PUP won all seven seats in Nuevo San Juan which is considered a PUP stronghold. In San Jose the UDP won decisively, increasing the margin of victory they had won by in the last village council elections which was in 2007. In San Pablo, the PUP did not put up a slate. In Douglas the UDP made gains, taking all 7 seats in a council that was split four to three in the UDP’s favour in the 2007 election.
All those villages are in Orange Walk North which means that early on, the showing is good for Area Representative and Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega. The big test for him comes this Sunday when the Trial Farm village election is held. Vega’s hands will be full with that and simultaneous elections in San Luis, San Roman, San Antonio and Santa Cruz.
That means the always politically passionate area remains volatile going into the weekend and maybe that’s why our team at Price Barracks today saw a squad of riot-ready BDF soldiers heading north reportedly to Orange Walk to be on standby.
The news is not so encouraging for Stann Creek West Area Representative Melvin Hulse. Of the 6 villages in his division that went up for election the PUP claimed control of three, Maya Mopan, San Roman and Independence Village. Independence with its 1600 voters is a particularly strong and symbolic victory for the PUP because that had been a stronghold up until 2007 when the UDP won a majority. Except in this election the PUP didn’t quite dominate as they lost the Chairman’s seat by a mere 6 votes. Word from the PUP is that they want to challenge that vote count.
