In every contest, there are some events so decisive that they are just definitive, like a blowout in basketball, or a knockout in boxing, o…a landslide in an election. These triumphs put an instant pause on all the punditry, shut up the speculation, and, for a brief moment, create a vacuum of victory that mutes all the detractors with their back-biting and second guessing.
It's transient, and may only last a few days, but, tonight, John Saldivar is riding that worry free wave, because after all the cries of corruption, and all the aspersions against him from Mason to Dermen, he did just what he said he would: let the people of Belmopan decide. And a UDP subset of them did, coming out in record numbers to say, basically, "We want John."
That's the result of the convention where almost 2,000 voters came out to decide whole would represent the UDP in the capital. Jules Vasquez and Cherisse Halsall were there, here's the story:
Both Emil Torres and John Saldivar paraded to the UB gymnasium with a phalanx of supporters.
Or in Saldivar's case, flanked by the politicians in his Caucus for Change. And from the streets to the greens, to the trees, the UDP took over the UB Gymnasium grounds yesterday
In fact, candidate Emil Torres even took over the blue sky. Under his tent - the newcomer had a team poring over the list of their pledges. While John Saldivar had the caucus for change confident under his tent with those old familiar faces.
While George Lovell had the lean look of a dark horse stalking a victory inside the gymnasium all three candidates met to do something about the line!
Around 11:00 am. There were hundreds lined up with each of the candidates putting in their work in the line.
The voters waited patiently - a surprisingly strong turnout for an opposition thought to be on its deathbed.
The lines we saw seemed to be dominated by voters from the migrant communities adjacent to the UB gym.
The former minister and CEO team now turned adversaries still had common cause to get the voters out of the sun.
George Lovell, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I don't like to see my people waiting in the sun for 1, 2, 3 hours and we can do much better. We have a gymnasium that has a top that can protect our people from the elements and I need to get them in there."
Jules Vasquez
"Who are these people out here supporting, sir?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I wouldn't know that. Only they know that in their hearts. I could tell you what I believe. (smiling). But left that lone, it looks good for John Saldivar machinery today."
George Lovell, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"Man, the people came out because the people identified that this is very important, Jules. This is not something to play with. This is something that they certainly want to be a part of and so I am happy, I'm excited about this, because it means that the decision that we'll have here at the end of the day wil be that of the people."
Jules Vasquez
"Man di spend money."
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"Well, I noh know about man di spend money. I am not spending. My people are out here for love. Here the people are out because they like what I was when I was there. They like the area representative that was there."
Jules Vasquez
"John Saldivar says he's not spending today."
Emil Torres, Candidate
"Okay, no problem. Tell that to dem people who he done coordinate things with. That is between he and dem."
And while we don't know for sure who was behind it, we are sure that lots of coordination was happening here at what are known in political parlance as "bacon houses." This is on St. John's Street in San Martin, 1,000 feet on a straight path to and from the gymnasium. After putting in their work at the gym, voters come here for what is euphemistically called, lunch money. But, no one seemed to want to talk about what was on the menu it smelt like bacon:
Reporter
"Good afternoon, Channel 7. Wanted to talk to you guys - sir, what's this line for? Who tell you to stand up in this line?"
Voter
"I noh sure."
Reporter
"Hi good afternoon, Channel 7. Wanted to talk to you guys, why are you standing in this line for? Food?"
Voter
"Yes."
Reporter
"So they are serving food at the end of this line?"
Voter
"Yes."
Reporter
"What kind of food?"
Voter
"What kind of food you eat?"
Reporter
"Who is handing out food? Is it Mr. Lovell? Is it Mr. Emil Torres? Anybody else know what this line is for?"
Voter
"Miss, get that camera out of my face."
Reporter
"You have any information about this line?"
Man
"This is private property."
Reporter
"Okay, thanks."
About 60 to 75 people in this line and it was continuous - a steady stream of voters waiting for their reward. It is both the shame and the symptom of a distorted democracy, but a standard feature of elections in Belize.
Whose operation was it? We can't say for sure. But we did see vehicles with George Lovell signs in the area when we circled. And while things were on a silent sizzle at the bacon house the voters were going at a steady trickle back at the UB gymnasium.
George Lovell felt he was coming on late in the day:
George Lovell, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"All this fanfare and music and all their people in front and we thought that they had muscles, it was puff of breeze and everything else."
Jules Vasquez
"So you feel confident?"
George Lovell, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I am confident, Jules. I told you that from day one."
That was an hour before closing - when Torres's stragglers were still coming in while he seemed like he was trying to get even my vote.
Meanwhile, the Saldivar Camp seemed to be coasting and even the PUP mayor of Belmopan came to cool out.
As the polls were closing, Saldivar left the gym for counting to begin and as soon as the first results started coming out of the counting room, the energy from the Saldivar camp was palpable.
Saldivar sat like a Bhudda of the ballots as his team warmed up to the and by 5:30 the voting trend was clear, this was a wrap - Saldivar was beating his opponents almost two to one and by 5:45, I declared him the winner on our live broadcast:
Jules Vasquez
"John Saldivar, the new standard bearer for UDP Belmopan." (Crowd cheering)
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"Well, it feels good to feel the love of the people. As I've always been saying that is the only thing that can save me, because I don't have any money. I can only win by the love of the people and that's what happen here today."
Jules Vasquez
"In your mind, does this terminally put to rest all that has been said about you?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"That's not for me to decide. It's for others who criticised me to decide to give it up. The people of Belmopan have spoken, so if they still want to march like little Johnny against what everybody is saying that's up to them."
Jules Vasquez
"How would you respond to the criticism that well of course you won, Oscar Mira supported you because you are a political liability?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"Jules, that's a fairy-tale. There is no night that Oscar Mira sleeps well when I'm in politics."
Jules Vasquez
"So now, what happens to your leader Shyne Barrow? He broke every rule, every convention of politics, publicly came out against you in every forum he could. He wanted the government to arrest you. What do you have to say to him tonight?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"Our party is not a one man show and so when we make decisions to move forward with our party, it's a collective decision, not a one-man decision and that is what I am going to follow going through. I will respect the decisions of my party, I will respect my party leader. He is going to have to decide how he treats me after this."
Jules Vasquez
"Do you expect he will be your party leader at the end of this year after another national convention?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I can't foretell that."
Jules Vasquez
"How would you respond to the criticism that, well the UDP just took on a huge liability, because the PUP will now forever say that one of the UDP's leading candidates and the most powerful man in the UDP, that's what you prove today - the most powerful man in the UDP is deemed by the U.S. to be significantly corrupt."
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"And I don't think that anybody will be thinking about that after bringing in Khan to Belize."
Jules Vasquez
"Do you see yourself as a political liability? Would you accept?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I don't think that what is shown here today can tell you that I'm a political liability. I think I'm a political asset to my party."
Jules Vasquez
"So Shyne owe you an apology?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I am not a personal person. If that is how he felt, that is how he felt. I did my work not even worrying about what he was doing or saying."
Jules Vasquez
"Why is this so meaningful?"
Phillip Willoughby
"To everything they do to hurt my friend, redemption."
Jules Vasquez
"This is vindication for John Saldivar and caucus for change."
Phillip Willoughby
"This is an elevation, recognition - he is a formidable force to be reckon with. Like it or not."
Jules Vasquez
"Why didn't your party leader see that?"
Phillip Willoughby
"Next question."
Jules Vasquez
"Should John Saldivar lead the UDP?"
Phillip Willoughby
"If it is the will of the people, it is the will of God."
Jules Vasquez
"Should you be the leader of the UDP?"
John Saldivar, Candidate - UDP Belmopan
"I say stop it."
And while Saldivar could laugh that off - the Torres camp wasn't laughing; they felt they were cheated:
Crowd Chanting
"We noh buy votes."
Emil Torres, Candidate
"Belmopan Belize this da weh happen all the time. I was trying to make a change, coming out of my comfort zone stepping into politics, because I wanted to see a difference. I noh pay fi one vote. I will never do it, never in my life. My integrity and morals are not to be bought. At the end of the day we could keep our heads up high. We could work with any camp out there, we could work with anybody out there, you know why, because we are people of realm integrity and morals."
Still, Torres - who finished third, did concede:
Emil Torres, Candidate
"I respect John Saldivar, he is our standard bearer and I will support him. That is the way it supposed to be. I will be the bigger man, the man win, salute. When the next seat opens, I am coming for them."
And that was perhaps the only clear hope for the UDP coming out of this convention, that they could use this to generate some momentum:
Mike Peyrefitte, UDP Chairman
"We hope that in the different conventions to come we will see similar numbers, similar percentages and to demonstrate to the government and to the people of Belize that the UDP is not dead, but very much alive."
In the end, 1870 votes were counted and Saldivar got almost half of those with 901 votes, while Lovell was second with 512 votes while Torres finished last with 457 votes. We note that the turnout is almost exactly twice the 940 voters that came out in the PUP convention which elected Oscar Mira in 2018. Mira went on to crush John Saldivar in the general election in 2020, where the UDP candidate didn't win a single box.
