Mexico’s President-elect, Doctor Claudia Sheinbaum snagged that country’s general elections on June second for a six-year term. She will replace Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has been in office since 2018. Sheinbaum, a scientist by profession, led the left-wing political party Morena, into the elections. She has served from 2000 to 2006 as Secretary of the Environment under Obrador’s tenure as Mayor of Mexico City. She was also elected Mayor of Mexico City in 2018, the same year she was named one of the B.B.C’s One Hundred Women. Today, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico, Oscar Arnold weighed in on Doctor Sheinbaum’s historic victory.
Oscar Arnold
Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico
“This is the first female president in all of North America and the first female president from Mexico and in an historic election where it was the largest election in their electoral politics history as well. In what has been also a very historic election for them. It’s the largest selection that they’ve had in their history with the number of seats federally and locally that have been in play. Dr. Sheinbaum has said that they will continue with some of the initiatives that was started by her predecessor.”
Sheinbaum’s victory came in the largest election in Mexico’s history. In addition to the presidential race, Mexicans also voted for candidates contesting more than twenty thousand positions across Mexico. And as Mexican women celebrate that one of them has achieved this first ever victory, Mexico’s policies on trade and bilateral relations with Belize will likely expand. Ambassador Arnold shares his thoughts on this issue.
Oscar Arnold
Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico
“We have an ongoing discussion with a formal trade agreement with Mexico that has been started a couple of years ago. And that will continue. I don’t see that completing itself in her term, because usually these trade negotiations are long and drawn out, but we do see a continuation of some of the policies that were enacted under President Andres Manuel López Obrador. I see some of those continuing and maybe even expanding. One of those is the Sembrando Vidas program, which has also come to Belize, where we’ve seen farmers benefited from technical cooperation as well as our financial assistance for their crops. We also know of the investments of the Tren Maya. Under, President Obrador when he visited Belize, I believe in May of 2021 he made special arrangements for some of our agricultural products. Cattle was already penetrating the Mexican market, but that was expanded to include quite a bit of agricultural products from the, within the borders of Belize. Those, that type of agreement I see can be expanded. There was stuff to include coconuts. And other, maybe even cacao, which is also being organic cacao is also being produced in Belize. And we just have to when we have these meetings when the Minister of Agriculture, when Beltrade, and so on, when we are interacting with the Mexicans, If there’s a product that we would want to introduce, then we obviously have to make, raise our hands and make them aware that this is what we want to do and then both sides will then work out the nuts and bolts.”
As far as the cartel uprising in the Quintana Roo area is concerned, Ambassador Arnold says that the situation has improved and that no Belizean has been targeted in the incidents, as military presence remains in southern Mexico. What is of concern are the intermittent power outages across Belize. Less than a month ago, outgoing Mexican President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had pledged to offer Belize an additional twenty-five megawatts of power when he met with Prime Minister John Briceño. Ambassador Arnold says the demand for more power is not only a Belize issue, but also one in Mexico because of the growth in tourism.
Oscar Arnold
Oscar Arnold, Belize’s Ambassador to Mexico
“The Mexicans have seen a boom as well in their tourism in all of what we consider the Riviera Maya. And so there is a need for more power production. And so they’ve seen that, and they’re not only meeting what they need now, but for what they would projected that they will need for the next 10 years. Obviously, I believe you’re aware that there have been some challenges during this dry spell in Belize with the power generation, and if the Mexicans have an excess of power that we can tap into then that’s always a benefit for us.”
History was made on Thursday when Belize’s first-ever Disability Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives. This thirty-three-page bill seeks to ensure that people with disabilities have full and equal enjoyment of rights, privileges and benefits afforded by the Constitution of Belize. As Belize committed to the United Nations Conventions for people with disabilities in 2011, the integration of a disability bill has been highly anticipated. We spoke with a few people who played a part in the creation of this bill to find out how it will benefit this vulnerable population and what measures it takes to preserve their rights. Here’s News Five’s Britney Gordon with that story.
Britney Gordon, reporting
The long-awaited Disabilities Bill has finally been presented in the National Assembly. In 2011, Belize signed and ratified the United Nations Conventions on the rights of persons with disabilities which is a commitment to ensuring that the rights of people with disabilities are preserved and that they have equal access to opportunities. Now, after thirteen years, this commitment is finding its way into Belizean law. Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development, introduced the bill in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Dolores Balderamos Garcia
Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Human Development
“So we’re a little bit late. We’re, we’re playing a bit of catch up. But of course, where we are today is as a result of a lot of advocacy and I think of, the older people who went before, the people who have been wonderful advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities, those who have passed on and those who are retired. But then, of course, we have the people who are working now on it. We have people like Miss Christy Almeida. We have our special envoy, misses Rosanna Briceño and mister Marshall Nunez. We have many advocates. And basically, we’ve come to a point now where, a year and a half ago or so, we decided to do extensive consultations on what should go in our disabilities bill. And which we hope will become law this year for sure.”
She explained that the objective of the bill is to provide legislative security for people with disabilities so that they may have a ground to stand on when seeking justice over the infringement of their rights. Marshall Nunez, a disability coordinator who was a consultant on the creation of this bill, stressed the significance of this.
Marshall Nunez
Marshall Nunez, Disability coordinator
“The whole idea behind establishing a disability legislation is to work towards the protection and rights of persons with disabilities in an effort to improve their quality of life. I think the salient things coming out of the bill, I think first and foremost will be establishment of a disability commission. The commission will be so empowered to make recommendation to other ministries in so far as it relates to amending or upgrading their legislations, to bring it in compliance in trying to establish those very same things, the protection and rights of persons with disabilities.”
Should this bill be passed, a significant outcome will be the establishment of a disability commission that will have the power to make recommendations to other ministries to amend or upgrade their legislations as to further protect the rights of and accommodate the disabled. Additionally, a tribunal will be created to give more power to persons living with disabilities so that they may voice grievances over being mistreated. Kenrick Theus, President of the Belize Association for Persons with Diverse Abilities, shared his optimisms over the bill.
Kenrick Theus
Kenrick Theus, President, B.A.P.D.A.
“The bill has a lot of good in it, and as I said, for example, there are people who will never work in Belize who are disabled. And the bill sets out the original, because I don’t know what’s in this one sets out that the those who would never be able to work would still be able to get something out of the social security scheme. It offers protection where a person who is disabled feels discriminated against. It sets out in law where buildings would have to have ramps, for example access, accessibility. So all those things are good. And also talks about the where a child for example, the protection of people who are disabled and feel any sort of discrimination, they have the ability to go to a tribunal and then the tribunal will hear their matter, and then it should be cleared from there. And that tribunal has the, if I’m not mistaken, has the right mental levy fines and all that in there as well.”
Along with local consultations, the bill is also the combination of several other disability acts in the region. Nunez told us that it was created by selected what parts fit Belize best.
Marshall Nunez
“This legislation, we did a lot of consultation with persons within the region. We looked at those countries who have disability legislation within the region, Trinidad, Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Barbados. And so we looked at all of those and we felt that we took the best fit out of each and every one of them so as not to reinvent the wheel. And so I think we came up with the best fit. We use mostly Jamaica model. There is quite a lot of similarity with the Jamaica disability Act and so a lot of adoption for this one came out of that.”
Aside from the formation of the disability committee and tribunal, the bill also seeks to ensure that accessibility is made a priority throughout the country.
Dolores Balderamos Garcia
“If you make legislation that you are going to not only respect the rights of persons with disabilities, but do something about it, then the practical benefits that should come are That there will be recourse, there will be a place and a structure where persons with disabilities will be able to hold all the relevant parties accountable. Whether it’s government, private sector, schools, health, education, employment, all of these things are important. And basically what we’re saying is that we want to ensure that persons with disabilities, let’s take wheelchair access, is As the most, probably the most glaring example, the most obvious example, many of our buildings are not wheelchair accessible for persons with that kind of mobility difficulty, so basically what the law is saying is that buildings will have to make themselves accessible to people in a wheelchair, for example. No, it won’t apply to the panades shop, but it will apply to a building such as this, which is the home of Channel 5. It will apply to government offices. It will apply to private businesses. and so we will have to become a little more aware.”
According to Theus, while the bill is overdue, it is a step in the right direction. One that he hopes will continue to be taken as the bill develops over time.
Kenrick Theus
“So with time, if there’s anything else that needs to be added in or change, we have enough time to verify it over time. I would hate to have to do that rather quickly, simply because if we had all this amount of years to wait, then it should and we have, we can copy the wheel. We don’t have to reinvent it. Other people or other countries have built a similar to this. So why not get the best of what is out there and just simply implement it here. Some people will say it’s a matter of finance, it’s a matter of money. But then again, if you have this, you’ve always had this disabled persons in the country, and if your budget on them has been zero for the last fifty years, then it’s time to spend.”
Belize’s National Under-Eighteen Basketball team suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of U.S.A.’s under-eighteen team in Argentina. The upset came after a victorious first day for team Belize against Brazil on Monday. Team U.S.A. overcame Belize in blowout fashion, winning the game by a whopping ninety-six points. Belize must now regroup and prepare for the remainder of the tournament. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Belize’s National Under-Eighteen Basketball team faced an upsetting defeat in their second match in FIBA’s Americup in Argentina. Belize faced off against Team U.S.A, the number one ranked under-eighteen team. It was an uphill battle from the start. But, before the match we heard from a couple of Belize’s athletes.
Josiah Moseley and Elijah Favela
Josiah Moseley, National U-18 Basketball Team
“I think a lot of people are making this game a bit bigger than it is. At the end of the day it is just another game. We will approach this game like we approach any other game. I think the team is in a good mind space right now. We are prepared and we know what we are getting into.”
Elijah Favela, National U-18 Basketball Team
“I think what makes team Belize what it is simply that we have a strong brotherhood, and we just know what each other can do and we really trust each other and we are all tight and I think that is what helps us throughout everything, because we stick together and I feel that makes us be successful the way we are.”
Paul Lopez
“What is it that you all have been hearing from Belizean fans that you all like and appreciate, if you have been following on social media?”
Josiah Moseley
“We try not to stay into all the social media stuff. We try to keep our head focus and strictly on basketball and from our coaches and family we have all the support we need. But we are not focused on social media.”
Paul Lopez
“Any final words you want to say to fans and family back home?”
Douglas Langford and others
Douglas Langford, National U-18 Basketball Team
“Hi mom, We appreciate the love, thank you everyone.”
Early in this one there were already signs that it would not be anything close to an easy game for team Belize. Four minutes into the first quarter team U.S.A already had a huge lead over Belize with twenty-three points to zero. Team U.S.A wins the tipoff and Trey McKenney makes easy work of the layup. Darius Acuff Junior with the three-point shot. Ian Parham ended the drought with a three-point shot. But team U.S.A kept drilling those three-point shots. Josiah Moseley strong on the inside for Belize’s second basket. At the start of the second quarter, team U.S.A had a twenty-four-point lead. Moseley again, securing the spin around jump shot. But team U.S.A did not let up.
Here is another three-pointer from Mikel Brown to further extend their ballooning lead. Team Belize scored nine points in total in the second quarter. Team U.S.A scored thirty-five points in the same quarter. Douglas Langford coming alive in the third quarter with a slam dunk. At this point in the game, team U.S.A was leading by sixty points. That lead expanded to seventy-one points at the end of the third quarter. Team U.S.A outscored Belize by more than twenty points in the fourth quarter, punctuating their dominant victory.
This one ended one hundred and fifty-four points to fifty points, in favor of team U.S.A. That is a ninety-six-point defeat for team Belize as they go back to their hotel room and regroup for their match against Argentina on Wednesday.
Yama explained that her deceased husband may have entrusted the inheritance for their children to his sister because at the time of his death, they were separated. She said that she is not sure how much money the policy covers, and that her sister-in-law has been brushing off the children. Yama says that she was reliably informed not long ago that there is still money in the account. She turned to the Legal Aid office, but the attorney that was dealing with her matter has informed her that she will not pursue it any further. And what has now compounded the situation for her children, who must return to school in a couple months is that she has lost her job and was given a letter of eviction for missing payment on last month’s house rent. Yama says she and her children are barely making it because she decided to sell some of their home appliances to them to survive for a few weeks.
Voice of: Claudia Yama
Voice of: Claudia Yama, Accuses Sister-in-Law of Refusing Her Children’s Funds
“I have a voice recording where I record her when I call her and she strictly told me when my daughter asked her to please give her the money for her braces, she told me that she thinks there’s not enough money at the bank. Even though the lawyer has asked them, they refuse to give the lawyer that actual information as well.”
Marion Ali
“And then your lawyer has also abandoned the case?”
Voice of: Claudia Yama
“Yes, she did. It’s not really a lawyer, it’s a legal-aid attorney that she said that she’s not taking it to the court. She’s not doing anything. She’ll just leave it right.”
Marion Ali
“Did she say why?”
Voice of: Claudia Yama
No, she said that, said why is the reason. She just tell me like that, that she’s leaving it and she’s not fighting for the case anymore.”
Marion Ali
“Then you’ve received a notice to move out.”
Voice of: Claudia Yama
“Yes, I did. I have been sent a note for me to move out. I was actually working and I got laid off from my work because things are really slow and they don’t need any kind of worker right now. And due to that, I haven’t paid one month of rent. And I don’t have any place to go with my kids. I need back money to pay back fees, registrations, back to school, uniforms, all of that. And I don’t have that money. Two weeks ago when we went to inquire once more at the insurance place, the person from the insurance told us that all what the trustee needs to be doing is deposit X amount of money into my bank account for them, my kids, every month to deposit certain amount of money for my kids into my bank account. And I told her she is not doing so. I guess maybe he never trusts me with the money. That’s why he left his sister in charge of the kid’s money.”
The Belize Council of Churches a few minutes ago issued a press statement regarding the forest fires that continue to devastate certain parts of the country, particularly the Toledo and Cayo districts.
In its release, the Council says, “The Belize Council of Churches offers its prayers of solace to the victims of the fires in Cayo and Toledo. We also offer prayers of gratitude for the dedicated many who have fought, and continue to fight the fires.”
The release continues, “The Council of Churches has initially sent cases of life-giving water to Toledo with enclosed prayers for the firefighters, as they spend day and night not only in the heat of this dry weather but also the heat of the fire.”
On Monday, A.C.P. Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division, told reporters that forty-year-old George Dominguez and thirty-five-year-old Dwayne Tillett were shot because they were involved in a fight an hour earlier.
The incident happened in San Ignacio Town on Saturday.
A.C.P. Romero told the press that police responded to a shooting incident on Eighteenth Street in San Ignacio Town. Upon arrival, they discovered George Dominguez and Dwayne Tillett with gunshot wounds. He shared that the investigation revealed that the two men had engaged in a fight approximately an hour before the shooting. Subsequently, while in the yard, a male suspect approached them and fired several shots, causing their injuries. When asked about the motive, A.C.P. Romero stated that it was related to the prior fight.
However, Shajira Hyde, who lives where the shooting occurred, says that the two men were not involved in the fight. Hyde told News Five that it was Jair Frutos who was involved in the fight. She explains her version of events in the following video:
@news5belizeShots Rang Out as Children Slept; Woman Says Victims Were Not Involved in the Fight
Marion Hernandez, a Belize national, who is currently completing his degree in Dental Surgery at the University of Guyana (UG), was recently honoured with the Best International Student award when the institution’s prestigious College of Medical Sciences hosted its annual awards and prize-giving exercise to recognise its top achievers.
In an interview with UG’s Department of Events, Conferences and Communication (DECC), Hernandez, who currently serves as a Captain in the Belize Defence Force, expressed that the award is more than just an academic achievement. “To me, this award symbolises the diverse experiences, cultures, and perspectives that enrich our campus community. It serves as a reminder that with hard work, dedication, and a commitment to excellence, anything is possible,” the scholar said with much pride.
Reflecting on his journey thus far at UG, the Belizean explained: “The journey started in week one when I was selected as the class representative. Interestingly, no one knew I was an international student.” His leadership extended beyond the classroom as he held various roles, including Vice President of the UG Dental Students’ Association, President of the UG Dental Association, and Chairman of the International Student Affairs Committee.
The aspiring dentist noted that his passion for the sciences was evident from a young age, particularly during his secondary school years, when he delved deeply into biology. He detailed that as he got older, his interest in the medical field grew. He explained that about five years ago while observing the expansion of the Belize Defence Force’s hospital, he noticed a significant gap – a dental clinic without a dental surgeon. “I noticed a dental clinic devoid of a dental surgeon. Witnessing this gap sparked a deep-seated motivation within me to pursue dentistry, recognising the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to healthcare in my country,” he said.
According to Hernandez, selecting the university to pursue his studies in Dental Surgery was an important decision, and there were several factors he had to consider before he made up his mind. Beaming with pride, he said that he is confident that he made the right decision by choosing to pursue his academic career at UG.
“Dentistry is a practical field that requires extensive hands-on experience,” he noted while expressing gratitude for the comprehensive clinical exposure and early immersion provided by UG’s School of Dentistry. This rigorous training he explained, is preparing him to offer quality dental care to members of the Belize Defence Force and the broader community.
The scholar’s advice to other students aspiring to excel academically and achieve international recognition is rooted in humility and openness. “Form study groups, seek help from your peers and professors, and use your setbacks as a guide to improve yourselves. Immerse yourself in the culture of your host country and take part in unique festivities. Remember, at the end of the day, we are all students with remarkable capabilities.”
The University of Guyana boasts over 60 diverse programmes, offering Certificate, Associate, Diploma, Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral Degrees at very affordable rates. With over 60 years of academic excellence, UG has assembled a world-class faculty dedicated to providing an exceptional educational experience. Welcoming students from around the globe, UG stands as the ideal university for quality and accessibility in higher education.
The White House is preparing to sign off on an executive order that would shut down asylum requests at the U.S.-Mexico border once the average number of daily encounters hits 2,500 between ports of entry.
The border reopens only once that number declines to 1,500, with the impact of the 2,500 figure meaning that the executive order could go into immediate effect. President Biden is expected to unveil the actions at the White House on Tuesday at an event to which border mayors have been invited.
The 1,500 threshold at which the border would reopen for asylum seekers could be hard to reach. Biden has been deliberating on how to act on his own after bipartisan legislation to clamp down on asylum at the border collapsed due to Republicans defecting from the deal at the urging of Donald Trump.
The executive order will allow Biden to declare that he has pushed the boundaries of his own power after lawmakers, specifically congressional Republicans, killed off what would have been the toughest border and asylum restrictions in some time.
