P.U.P. Celebrates 74 in Style with Delegates and Cake

Seventy-four years ago, the first political party in British Honduras emerged, challenging colonial leaders on pressing issues of the time. That pioneering organization, the People’s United Party (P.U.P.), celebrated its seventy-fourth anniversary on Saturday in Belize City, under the leadership of Prime Minister John Briceño. As the world has evolved from 1950 to today, so has the P.U.P. However, Briceño emphasized that the party has steadfastly upheld its core values of fighting for social justice, equality, and improving the quality of life for all Belizeans. News Five’s Marion Ali brings us this report.

 

John Briceño, Leader, People’s United Party

“PUP, PUP, PUP. Que Viva el Partido Unido del Pueblo. God Bless you, thank you so much.”

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

With its delegates in attendance in Belize City on Saturday, the country’s oldest political party, the People’s United Party, celebrated its seventy-fourth anniversary. Complete with a birthday cake made with the party’s traditional blue and white, the National Party Council passed three resolutions during their meeting. One was in support of the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation address, and of the initiatives and policies outlined in the address. The second was in support of Belize’s celebration of thirty-five years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan and to further the bilateral relations. The third resolution was the endorsement of the party’s thirty-one standard bearers who will contest the next general elections. Unwavering and outstanding P.U.P. delegates with long membership and hailing from various constituencies were also recognized during the event. Deputy Party Leader, Cordel Hyde paid tribute to the awardees, recognizing that the party’s success is because of the service of people like them.

 

Cordel Hyde, Deputy Party Leader, People’s United Party

“We would not be here without the people dehn weh work hard fi we. We are nothing without our committees, without our campaigners, without our street captains, without the people weh sacrifice dehn families fi walk the streets night and day fi we, soh we have to reward dehn. We have to acknowledge unu. We have to give unu weh unu deserve.”

 

Hyde spoke of the P.U.P.’s success in turning around the country’s finances since taking office in November 2020, when COVID had buckled the economy and left over sixty thousand people jobless, and the previous government had to borrow a million dollars a day to pay public officers’ salaries. He gave credit to his party leader, Prime Minister John Briceno, for turning thing’s around.

 

Cordel Hyde

“The IMF came and insisted to the Prime Minister, you have to fire three thousand teachers and public officers and you have to raise GST to nineteen percent. Yoh understand weh ah di tell unu? These were the absolute worst of times. We worked really hard and we did some incredible things because we have a prime minister who is a man to be reckoned with. We have a prime minister who history will record as one of the great ones because. He did not buckle. The man smiled at the first Cabinet Meeting when the Financial Secretary come tell wi that the world di end. He opened up the country in the middle of COVID, opened up the borders when all the experts were saying “You can’t do that.” He renegotiated the Super Bond and put that behind us forever and gave us the Blue Bond. He renegotiated the Petrocaribe Loan, and he raised the minimum wage to five dollars when the experts all around were saying “You can’t do that.”

 

In his speech, Briceño reminded the audience that the party was founded by giants who left their successors with a philosophy and the purpose of its formation in the first place.

 

John Briceño, Party Leader, People’s United Party

“We stand on the shoulders of those who left us with a philosophy or a P.U.P. creed that says we must work to build a Belizean society that is rooted in social justice, equality and defend the principle that this P.U.P. belongs to all of us. (applause) Now seventy-four years is not just a measure of time, my friends. It is the formation of the DNA of our party. It is seven decades of struggle, progress, and triumph over our enemies. Seventy-four years ago, a small group of visionaries came together, united by a common cause to chart a better way for the masses of Belizeans.”

 

At the end of the event, John Briceño, flanked by the thirty-one P.U.P. standard bearers and to the tune of the Happy Birthday song, cut the cake. And thereafter, he told the media that once the P.U.P. does not drift away from its core values and remains united, it should be around for many more years.

 

John Briceño, Leader, People’s United Party

“Despite [the fact] that we may have our differences, we always remember what the P.U.P. is all about, which is to serve the people, and I’ve been telling people over and over, once we keep that in mind, that’s what drives us to serve the people. I have every confidence that we’ll be able to keep it together and to be able to continue to get the support of the Belizean people.”

 

Marion Ali for News Five.