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In addition to the PUP’s National Party Council meeting yesterday, the occasion also marked ten years since Prime Minister John Briceño first assumed leadership of the People’s United Party. The event was held at the Belmopan Comprehensive School, the very venue where Briceño was elected leader during the party’s 2016 leadership convention. Sunday’s gathering therefore carried symbolic meaning for supporters, as it commemorated a decade of leadership in his second stint at the helm of the party. Briceño had previously served as PUP leader from 2008 to 2011 before returning to the post in 2016. In an interview, Briceño reflected on the moment he was first chosen to lead the organization and the responsibility he felt at the time.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “I remember in 2008 when I was first elected, it was a very divisive, unfortunately a very divisive convention and I really tried to unite the party but the divisions were so deep that eventually I felt that it is in the interest of the party for me to step aside. And then I am very grateful to Francis Fonseca to have stepped in when there was not really many people wanting to take on that burden and he did. But then after that in 2016 when I was reelected I immediately reached out to both Francis and to Cordel and asked for us to be able to work together and we managed to put the party together. Once we did that, we’ve been untied, we’ve managed to get the successes we’ve had since as DPM said from 2018 we’ve been winning elections and I’m hoping that we will continue that trajectory of winning elections but you win elections when you work for people. You can’t forget why is it that you’ve been elected. We have to look at the future what is it that we want to do, how is it that we’re going to make the lives of our people better. I believe that we have been doing that. We have been making the lives of our people better.”
Incidentally, Briceno also noted that contrary to previous statements, he would not be readily resigning after this term. He explained that the journey since 2016 has been one marked by rebuilding, unity and eventual victory at the national level, crediting party members for remaining committed through difficult political periods. The Prime Minister also spoke about the legacy he hopes to leave behind, one centered on strengthening the party’s values and ensuring the next generation of leaders inherit a stable and forward-looking organization.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “I said that back then but people behind me it’s something that I have to reconsider if I want to or not but I believe that whenever the time comes to leave I think that what do I want to see as my legacy ? That I made Belize better. That the future of Belize would be brighter. That we were able to get more of our kids in schools. That we have an economy that’s resilient and creating opportunity for our people. That we can create more entrepreneurs in our country. That the protection of the environment that is more important than ever that’s why we’re doing this million tree planting that we have put in place. These are some of the elements I want that people could remember. And that more than anything that people can think about me as a leader with compassion and a leader that truly cared and that truly loved the Belizean people.”
PUP’s founder, George Cadle Price, led the party from 1949 to 1996. After Price stepped down, Said Musa assumed leadership from 1996 to 2008. Following the party’s defeat in the 2008 general elections, John Briceño became leader for the first time from 2008 to 2011 but resigned amid internal divisions, after which Francis Fonseca led the party from 2011 to 2016 during its years in opposition. In 2016, Briceño was again elected leader at the Belmopan convention and went on to lead the PUP back to government in 2020, and he continues to serve as party leader.
English (US) ·