Over the last 3 months, the People's United Party has been holding virtual launches of their Plan Belize Manifesto for the 2020 General Elections. Rather than unload all that political talk in one extended and tedious sitting, the party rolled out its manifesto in bite sized portions, focusing on important sub-topics like education, housing, and health.
Today, the party held a grand ceremonial signing of the entire Plan Belize Manifesto, encapsulating all those sub-topics in one manifesto.
Daniel Ortiz was at the launch:
The People's United Party had been launching major sub-topics of their manifesto, which has been branded Plan Belize. But for today's launch, all those sub-groupings were presented as one entire manifesto document, which each of the Party's standard-bearers endorsed in a public signing ceremony.
This is their black-and-white pledge to deliver on these election promises:
John Briceno - Leader, People's United Party "I, we [are] here this morning not just to submit the harsh judgment of history on this failed administration, but more importantly, to offer a fresh hope, to share our carefully considered plans for national renewal, and to assure every Belizean, that our party is ready to govern."
Over the last few weeks and months, the PUP has delivered its Plan Belize manifesto in smaller bite-sizes. Whereas the past presentations were detailed and granular, for this full manifesto launch, each candidate presented a manifesto bullet point.
It gave the lesser known candidates a bit of shine on national platforms - and showcased the multifaceted manifesto:
Kevin Bernard - Standard Bearer, Orange Walk East "The next PUP government will make sure that every citizen owns a piece of land. We will prioritize first-time land-ownership for women and young families, ensure access to fertile family farmlands, encourage urban backyard gardens, make sure that no future government can reverse land reforms."
Gilroy Usher Sr. - Standard Bearer, Port Loyola "We will re-establish the lands survey department, respect communal land rights to ancestral lands, respect the environment on how we use our land by promoting reforestation and mangrove replanting."
Oscar Mira - Standard Bearer, Belmopan "We will increase the Belize Police Department to 4,000 officers, continue to train police in criminal justice, forensics, and community policing."
Michel Chebat Jr. - Standard Bearer, Cayo North "We will rally support for debt relief, and to help recover from the coronavirus, and to help us mitigate against climate change."
Oscar Requena - Standard Bearer, Toledo West "Our education policy will focus on the following 3 areas: free education from pre-school to junior college, early childhood education and development, leadership, administration and teacher training, special education."
Paul Thompson - Standard Bearer, Albert "Don't you think it's about time for us to mobilize the energy in our Belizean youth? In the PUP, we say sports is better for life, and it is about time we all do more for our youth."
Briceno, who would be responsible for turning these manifesto promises from words on a document to policies in motion got a glowing commendation and endorsement from his wife:
Rosanna Briceno - Wife of John Briceno "I don't need to tell you about John, the politician. He has been at it for years, and the fact that he keeps winning is a sure example that he is good at it. But today, I want to take a minute to tell you something that is special about my husband. John is a person who cares deeply for others, and he cares deeply for this nation. He is dedicated to his political work and is driven by his commitment to hard work. He truly believes that success comes with dedication and real determination."
John Briceno "Ladies and gentlemen, my team and I used these recent years to recruit the best Belizean expertise to our ranks and to consult and carefully consider the best practices of governance and public policy. The manifesto we launch today, Plan Belize, is the product of unprecedented collaboration and research, its goals carefully matched to the multiple national emergencies our nation faces."
Cordel Hyde - Deputy Party Leader, PUP "I dare say that this document is revolutionary in spots, daring. Some will say it's impossible, cannot be done. I say watch us. Watch us prioritize what's important. Watch us put people before things. Watch how we change how we think about ourselves. Watch how we make the impossible possible."
And if you think that's the end of the PUP's manifesto talk, well, they say that they have one more piece of their Plan Belize to discuss next week. That part will focus on the tourism industry, which has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
