People's United Party

People's United Party Partido Unido del Pueblo
House		25 / 31
Council control	9 / 9
Councillors	65 / 67
Party flag
Website
www.pup.bz www.planbelize.bz
Politics of Belize Political parties Elections

The People's United Party (

.

Overview

The PUP was founded in 1950 out of the

.

After Price's retirement in 1996, the PUP won a landslide victory in 1998 under the leadership of Said Musa. The PUP won 22 of the 29 seats in the House of Representatives in 2003. It subsequently held 21 seats after losing one to the UDP in a by-election in October 2003 after the death of one of its House members.

After nearly 10 years in power under Musa the PUP decisively lost the

they won an overwhelming victory, gaining 14 seats and winning in almost all local councils.

Leaders

• John Smith (1950–1952)
• Leigh Richardson (acting) (1953–1956)
• George Cadle Price (1956–1996)
• Said Musa (1996–2008)
• Francis Fonseca (29 October 2011 – 31 January 2016)
• Johnny Briceño (2008–2011, 2016–present)

Early history (1941–1952)

1940s politics: the trade unions

Belizean politics in the 1940s was dominated by activists from the trade unions, particularly the Workers and Tradesmen's Union (later the

Coalescing against the British

Among the favourite places for anti-British sentiment to manifest itself was the Belize Town Board (now City Council), which offered opportunities for anti-colonial elements to gather strength and support from British Hondurans. A group of college-educated students, led by John Smith, George Price, Herbert Fuller and Herman Jex were all elected to positions on the Board and later the Legislative Council, assuring that they would be well placed to act. On December 31, 1949, an incident occurred that would force them to act.

Devaluation and the People's Committee

On this date, a Saturday, the Governor devalued the

after previously insisting he would not do so. An ad hoc committee, the People's Committee (PC), was formed in January 1950 and began to speak out against this unwelcome act in particular and colonialism in general. Such members as Price and Smith in street corner meetings and Goldson and Richardson behind the printing press of the sympathetic daily the Belize Billboard, pressed the issue and sought the support of the Belizean people. A wave of anti-British and anti-colonial sentiment struck British Honduras (or Belize as the PC called it for the first time) that had never before been seen, not even in the 1930s at the height of Belize's Labour Movement. The PC found that almost overnight it had become the salvation of the people.

Formation

Belizeans rapidly accepted the new party's statements against colonialism and exploitation of the masses. On February 12, 1950, a crowd of 10,000 marched to Government House in Belize City and proceeded to stone the houses of supposed pro-British elements. A meeting at the Battlefield Park in central Belize City was teargassed by police, and a state of emergency was imposed until July. It was the first time that Belizeans had spoken so forcefully against British colonial policy and on a national level, featuring men and women. By April, the PC/PUP had infiltrated the General Workers Union and sought to turn it toward a nationalist, socialist perspective. By September 1950, an overworked PC was forced to admit that it had overreached itself and that the work of enlightening British Hondurans was the vein of a political party. Its members agreed unanimously to the dissolving of the PC and the birth of the PUP on September 29, 1950.

Colonialist response

A draft constitutional report prepared to examine Belize's readiness for development appeared in April 1951. It argued that the British system allowed Belizeans to "(enjoy) the fruits of their labours" and argued that rapid political development in such a

. Its views reflected those of the middle class of merchants and colonial supporters who saw no reason for change. The PUP attacked the report, mobilized its supporters against it and declared a break with all things colonial, including the name "British Honduras"; PUP leaders routinely referred to the country as Belize thereafter until the name was officially changed in 1973.

The colonialists also sought to mobilise support, and created a

, the only leader to escape the colonial attack, topped the polls. since then the PUP took advantage

Expansion and dissension (1953–1969)

General strike

The PUP for the moment turned its attention to the labour front. George Price was named head of the GWU in April 1952, and returning leaders Richardson and Goldson called for a "Crusade against Colonialism". The national holiday, on September 10, was dominated by a PUP-sponsored parade that clearly showed how much it had grown beyond its early years. Another opportunity came in October 1952 after workers at a Stann Creek citrus factory called a strike and were joined by their fellows in the Colonial Development Cooperation,

scab labour

were met with violence from demonstrators and a number of people were arrested, but by December 8 some 48 workers were on the job and the GWU called off the strike. Membership in the GWU (and support for the PUP) rose dramatically.

First national elections

Main article:

1954 British Honduras legislative election

The new constitution envisioned by the 1951 draft report called for universal adult

British West Indies Federation

which they claimed would destroy Belize's economy; their opponents continued to argue that the PUP was a front for Guatemala. The GWU proved important in getting out the vote in the districts and provided candidates in certain areas. On election day, 70% of the electorate voted, awarding the PUP eight seats and the National Party 1. A chagrined colonial government pledged to work with the PUP; the cautious victors replied that such a partnership would be welcomed only if it "did not retard the campaign against the colonial system". The colonials sought every opportunity to wreak havoc within the party. Already, the PUP was divided between a faction led by Richardson and Goldson, who advocated accepting the offer, and Price, who refused to compromise himself.

Party dissension and colonial mind games

This party dispute came to a head in the summer of 1956, in which ten central committee members left the Party, including Richardson and Phillip Goldson. A majority in the elected government, they nonetheless felt threatened by the overwhelming support in the street for Price, who controlled the rank and file through his connection with the GWU. Price was thereafter undisputed leader of the party, and went unchallenged for nearly four decades as such. As a minor result of the resignations, the GWU lost its popularity and this signalled the end of Labour's attempt to control the country's movement. The prodigal members had an equally hard time of it: their new party, in elections of

March 1957

, managed just 17% of voter popularity and overall voter turnout dropped to 63%.

A pleased colonial government now turned up the heat full blast on George Price. They dismissed him from the Executive Council on the old charge of selling out to Guatemala, giving his opponents something to work with; although Belizeans still debate the relationship between Price and Guatemala, the charges were not immediately serious. In March 1958, a protracted charge of

.

Working toward self-government

In contrast with its early years of mass action against the colonial order, the PUP of the 1960s was more focused on change from within. In October 1961, Hurricane Hattie arrived on the shores of Belize City, causing destruction in the de facto capital. The PUP immediately began calling for the moving of the capital to higher ground, to escape flooding. This demand led to the construction of Belize's current capital, Belmopan, later in the decade, and of the village of Hattieville, 16 miles from the city, to host the hurricane's evacuees. It also showed that George Price's vision for the country was national, rather than insular.

As of 1959, a women's arm of the Party, the United Women's Group (UWG), was created under Gwendolyn Lizarraga, later Belize's first female Minister; its task was to mobilise Belize's women to eradicate poor conditions in housing and urban development. Its efforts were mixed at best and illustrate the PUP's unwillingness to allow women much room in the march to development, preferring them to depend on their male counterparts in government.

On January 1, 1963, Belize achieved internal

, the last step before full independence. All matters outside of foreign affairs and national defence would now be the province of the government. The British also retained the public service, including bureaucrats and police, and internal security, meaning that loyalty was a higher priority than development and forcing Price to actively recruit the middle class to the PUP's side.

The PUP in this era presided over the shift from forestry to agriculture, the rise of the sugar industry, reforms to labour laws, land distribution, infrastructural development and increased social services contributing to a general improvement in the standard of living.

1970s and early 1980s: new challenges

As the PUP moved into the 1970s, it controlled the nation of Belize like never before. It had not lost an election, general or municipal, ever, and enjoyed the confidence of the Belizean people. But new challenges arose that would ultimately lessen Belizeans' confidence in the PUP.

UBAD and PAC

In 1968, students began returning from abroad with a serious sense of the kind of development Belize needed to stay afloat in the modern world.

]

UDP and dwindling fortunes

At the formation of the

Guatemala's claim

to Belize remaining unsettled. While the PUP eventually fended off this initial UDP challenge, their policy on Guatemala and independence at any cost would prove the party's undoing.

Heads of Agreement and decline

On January 30, 1981, Premier Price presented to the house a paper with suggestions for the new constitution to come into effect on the eve of independence, which the

. It was under this state of emergency that Belize gained independence on September 21, 1981, a hollow victory that came at the price of losing Belizeans' trust. The PUP, hanging on for three more years despite economic losses and general discontent, finally called a general election for December 1984, and lost, 21–7, to the UDP. In many ways, it was the end of an era.

Reform and resurgence

The PUP for much of the 1980s was heavily divided and out of ideas, characterised by intra-party fights such as the 1983 national convention in which

general elections in 1998

, the PUP were riding high once again.

Today

The PUP led Belize to eight consecutive years of growth, despite serious external and internal shocks to the traditional and non-traditional bases of the economy.

In 2004, several ministers resigned from Cabinet citing inability to work within the current system. The party wooed them back almost immediately, but aftershocks from this incident continue to affect the party.

Belizeans today are more sceptical of the party than ever before due to constant accusations of corruption which it says are falsified. The 2005 protests in Belize highlighted some of these claims.

Following the PUP's defeat in the 2008 election, Musa and Fonseca announced that they were resigning from their leadership positions. Musa said that the PUP needed to "renew itself from the top."^[15]

On March 30, 2008, Johnny Briceño was elected as the leader of the PUP at a party convention in Belmopan, succeeding Musa. He defeated Francis Fonseca, who was considered to be the candidate preferred by the party establishment, receiving 330 votes against 310 for Fonseca.^[16]

A special convention was called for April 13, 2008 in Briceño's stronghold of Orange Walk.

On October 17, 2010, the PUP held their national convention in Dangriga in which Hon. Johnny Briceno was endorsed as the Party Leader. Carolyn Trench-Sandiford, a former party chair, was elected the PUP's (and Belize's) first ever female deputy leader.

On October 20, 2011, Francis Fonseca was endorsed at a meeting of the party's National Executive in Belize City as the new PUP leader following the resignation of Hon. Johnny Briceno on October 7. Fonseca was formally endorsed as party leader of the People's United Party at a special convention on October 29, 2011.

Following the general election in November 2015, Fonseca resigned as party leader. A national convention was held on January 31, 2016 to elect a new leader. Johnny Briceño returned as leader as the party with 1122 votes to Fonseca's 917.^[17]

Media

was established in 2002 as the official party station. Its manager is Gerald Garbutt.

Electoral history

House of Representatives elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Result
1954	Leigh Richardson	9,461	65.04%	8 / 9	8	1st	Supermajority government
1957	George Cadle Price	6,876	61.32%	9 / 9	1	1st	Supermajority government
1961		13,975	64.67%	18 / 18	9	1st	Supermajority government
1965		15,271	57.8%	16 / 18	2	1st	Supermajority government
1969		12,888	58.85%	17 / 18	1	1st	Supermajority government
1974		12,269	52.66	12 / 18	5	1st	Supermajority government
1979		23,309	52.4%	13 / 18	1	1st	Supermajority government
1984		20,961	44.0%	7 / 28	6	2nd	Opposition
1989		29,986	50.9%	15 / 28	8	1st	Majority government
1993		36,082	51.2%	13 / 29	2	2nd	Opposition
1998	Said Musa	50,330	59.67%	26 / 29	13	1st	Supermajority government
2003		52,934	53.16%	22 / 29	4	1st	Supermajority government
2008		47,624	40.72%	6 / 31	15	2nd	Opposition
2012	Francis Fonseca	61,329	47.54%	14 / 31	8	2nd	Opposition
2015		67,566	47.77%	12 / 31	2	2nd	Opposition
2020	Johnny Briceño	66,053	59.63%	26 / 31	14	1st	Supermajority government

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Merrill, Tim (1992), "Political Parties", Belize: A Country Study, Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress
2. ^
   ISBN 9780415024457
3. ^ ^{a b} Caribbean Elections|People's United Party
4. ^
   ISBN 9780313274183
5. ^ "Abandoning the realm: Republic of Belize?". Breaking Belize News. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
6. ^ ^{a b} Freedom in the World 2011 - Belize, Freedom House. (accessed 23 October 2014)
7. ^ Country overview: Belize, TrustLaw, archived from the original on 18 September 2012, retrieved 5 March 2012
8. ^ "Belize", Hutchinson country facts, Helicon, retrieved 5 March 2012
9. ^ "Hon. John Briceño - Ser servidor de la gente es el gusto mas grande que yo puedo tener. Reuniendome con los delegados de St. Mathews y contestando sus preguntas. Postularme como candidato para Lider del Partido Unido del Pueblo me fortaleze para hacer mas para mi pais, para los que necesitan mejor de su Partido, mejor para todos y eso solo es posible con un PUP unido. Yo prometo unir el partido y ganar! Estoy listo para Liderar; listo para GANAR! | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
10. ^ Voten este 11 de noviembre para el PUP | Vota para el Partido Unido del Pueblo Tu Voto contra los despiadados del UDP pero mas importante ＶＯＴＡ ｐｏｒ ＢＬＵ y un Belice bajo el mando de John Briceño... | By Belize Times Press | Facebook, retrieved 2024-01-22
11. ^ "Plan Belize". Retrieved 2024-01-22.
12. ^ Team, Internet. "República de China (Taiwan) felicita a Belice por éxito de elecciones parlamentarias". Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami 駐邁阿密台北經濟文化辦事處 (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
13. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
14. ^ "Belize's opposition party wins landslide in congressional elections", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), February 9, 2008.
15. ^ "Former Belize prime minister steps down as party leader", Caribbean Net News, February 14, 2008.
16. ^ "Johnny stuns Francis in ‘Pan!", Amandala Online, April 1, 2008.
17. ^ "John Briceño is the New P.U.P. Leader | Channel5Belize.com". edition.channel5belize.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.

External links

• Website of Belize Times
• Website of The Party
• 2020-2025 Manifesto of The Party