Meet the Candidates in Cayo West

Cayo West has seven thousand, six hundred and seventy-four voters, making it the second smallest of the six constituencies in the Cayo district. However, compared to other areas like Belize City, it’s quite large. Both major political parties are represented here, with P.U.P. incumbent Jorge “Milin” Espat and U.D.P. candidate Miguel “Mike” Guerra running. There’s also an independent candidate, Esduit Moralez, in the race. News Five’s Paul Lopez gives us the scoop in this episode of Meet the Candidates.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Jorge “Millin” Espat rose to power in Cayo West in 2020 after defeating five-time UDP Area Representative Erwin Contreras by just over two hundred votes. Espat is back, asking voters in his area to support him again so he can win a second term.

 

Jorge “Milin” Espat, P.U.P. Candidate, Cayo West

“It is a constituency that needed all the support and needs all the support it can get. Cayo West was abandoned for more than twenty plus years, but now under this People’s Untied Party, under the great leadership of Prime Minister John Briceno I can gladly say that Cayo West is moving ahead. Cayo West is shining once more and Cayo West will deliver once more.”

 

Espat’s main challenge in his bid for a second term is UDP candidate Miguel “Mike” Guerra. He had a sizeable showing of support on nomination day in Benque.

 

Miguel “Mike” Guerra, U.D.P. Candidate, Cayo West

“This is the support. I feel good with the support of west constituency, even though I don’t have the resources to employ campaigners. I think what you see here is campaigners that are voluntary. I want to thank God for that. I think it is not about resources. It is not about flags. Cayo West is filled with blue flags. It is about personality. The problem here in Cayo West is not the P.U.P., it is the area representative.”

 

So, what are the commitments being made by these two candidates for the residents of Cayo West? Guerra says, he is not one to make promises to constituents.

 

Miguel “Mike” Guerra

“Nothing, I am not a person who will come out and promise anything. Maybe I am not a politician. I am not a politician. I am a hard-working man and a resident of Benque Viejo. If God gives me the opportunity then I can see how we will work. The amount of resources that the area representative gets I think he can manage to work in all of his division, including the villages. But, that can only happen if you are a hard working man. If you are not a hard working man, even if you have the resources, you don’t know what to do with your resources. What is being done right now in Cayo West, employing the money in flags. You don’t see a flag from the United Democratic Party on the post, not at this moment. I don’t believe in flags. The flags will not come out on the first of March.”

 

Guerra believes that economic hardship is the biggest issue facing Cayo West residents. He says that if he had the resources, he would provide food assistance to help them out. On the other hand, Espat plans to keep building on the progress his team made with Plan Belize by rolling out Plan Belize 2.0.

 

Jorge “Milin” Espat

“The priority for me is my constituents, giving them an opportunity to continue to uplift the constituency for better opportunities, such as employment. The health issue is a very important factor for my constituency. We have a building that was left under the last administration that it was so called a clinic. We are going to uplift that giving the residents under the NHI the benefits for all Belizean. Also my next accomplishment that I really want to do is brining the bus terminal with the marker and all the taxi parking space for that constituency. And that is just the beginning.”

 

Although there’s a third candidate in the race, independents haven’t had the same success as the major party candidates. In 2020, a third-party candidate only got sixty-eight votes, which is nowhere near Espat’s two thousand, seven hundred and three votes.

 

Jorge “Milin” Espat

“Four years is a little bit of time to accomplish many things we need. But I can say as a representative of the constituency of Cayo West, I have done many things that were not done in more than twenty years.”

 

Miguel “Mike” Guerra

“I have managed to unite the people, unite all that was divided, and I got them on track already. We are going to deliver the twelfth of March.”

 

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez