The PM has been doing a round of media interviews since he came back from Guatemala - and that's probably because, right now, the wind is at his back, so to speak.
He's vanquished the unions, watched the UDP self destruct, and just finished a historic trip to Guatemala. All this after coming off two massive electoral victories four months apart.
Indeed, he's riding as high as any political leader can, and we asked him about mashing up the unions:
Reporter
"Your government did what no government has been able to do; endure a strike by the joint unions and you won in the end. How do you feel about that?"
Hon. John Briceno, Prime Minister of Belize
"I don't think it's a matter of winning, but doing what is right and I wish that the unions would have been a bit more understanding after what we are attempting to do. By the time we got into government, the government was printing a million dollars every day to be able to pay the bills and we can't take out blood out of stone. As much as we try to explain, as much as we try to accommodate, we went in some marathon sessions, there were meetings that were going on for 6, 7, 8 hours at a time and what was a bit frustrating was that when we finish the meetings our people that were representing us in the consultation process, because it was not a negotiation, we were consulting with them - would come to cabinet excited and say well finally we think we have an agreement and then a few days later everything that they've agreed to was thrown through the window. Towards the end I felt it was important for me to respond to them, but then inform the nation what is it that we have extended to them and also to draw the line. We felt that it would have been a never-ending process, but we felt that the time had come to draw the line and said okay we've reach the end and all of this that we've tried to do to ease the sacrifice that will have to make, because it is a sacrifice and everybody is sacrificing, so it was important for the public officers and the teachers also to do a part of it."
