Tag: 2024-07-15

A new standard bearer has been chosen to represent the voters of Corozal Bay.  In a hotly contested convention held by the People’s United Party on Sunday, Thea Garcia-Ramirez defeated incumbent area representative Elvia Vega-Samos to become the P.U.P.’s candidate of choice in that constituency. A total of three thousand, twenty-nine voters cast their ballots in the exercise with Garcia-Ramirez, the daughter of C.E.O. Narda Garcia, coming out on top with one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine votes.  The lead up to yesterday’s event at Saint Francis Xavier R.C. School saw the nominees canvassing the area with their respective supporters and tensions between both camps was often described as simmering. 

Thea Garcia-Ramirez, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, Corozal Bay

“Conventions have the ability to become very divisive and I just want to say categorically that I don’t take things very personally.  I know that passions run high, you know, there’s a lot of, there’s certainly a lot of energy and some of it is not always positive.  I am offering my hand and saying that we need everybody to win.  We need her camp, we need my camp, we need her machinery, we need my machinery in order to remain blue in Corozal Bay.  That is the ultimate goal.  So I am endeavoring to send her, in just a bit, an offer, if you will, and extend an invitation, rather, to form part of the new executive, my executive, and to ask her to come onboard.  I believe that she does have much to contribute and she is a person with a longstanding career for service.  She’s an educator and she’s a psychologist and I believe that as soon as tempers and emotions cool down a bit, you know, cooler heads usually prevail and that we will find a way to work together in harmony because, after all, we both have the same goal at heart.  We both have Corozal Bay and Corozal Town and the development of that town at heart.”

Thea Garcia-Ramirez is also the chair of the National Women’s Commission.  Her foray into electoral politics is attributed to a group of childhood friends that she went to school with and the community work they have been able to achieve together.

Thea Garcia-Ramirez, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, Corozal Bay

“Part of the success is that we are active monthly.  We are either doing clean up campaigns, we have done the entire rehabilitation of a school and we’ve painted another school and we do regular fundraising for these activities.  So it’s a team that I know well, that knows me well, [and] we work very well together and it’s a big team.  We have about two hundred and fifty people out there yesterday. I didn’t have enough time to meet with everybody, so, right off the bat, I want to assure supporters that I did not get to see this time around [that] I will definitely continue the campaign and ensure that I make more thorough visits and consultations.  It was definitely hectic.  Corozal has grown and so, as statistics recently show, it has nine thousand households.  So those are the amounts of households that we have to visit and it takes time, you know, to speak with everyone, especially establishing a relationship with the voters, the families.  It’s not a five-minute visit. I wanted to take the opportunity if I can for thanking Corozal Bay for all the voters that came out, all the voters that cast their votes.  There were some people, unfortunately, that were not on the list and to them, I would like to say, that despite that, I will reach out to each and every one of them as voters of the bay and I will campaign to them and I will present my ideas and I honestly wanted just to thank them because many of them, even if they could not vote, stood with us, encouraging and supporting, and the positive, positive energy, was really contagious.”

As we mentioned, Thea Garcia-Ramirez garnered one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine votes, while her political opponent and sitting area representative Elvia Vega-Samos received one thousand, one hundred and seventy-four votes.  Fifty-six votes were either spoilt or rejected.

In Corozal North, David Castillo was also chosen as the People’s United Party’s standard bearer who will be contesting the seat occupied by U.D.P. Deputy Leader Hugo Patt in the next general elections.  Castillo ran against Doctor Einstein Bodden and Ivan Valencia in a convention held at Mary Hill R.C. School.  A total of one thousand, four hundred and ninety-eight voters cast their ballots during the convention.

David Castillo, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, Corozal North

“We almost had one thousand, five hundred voters turn out yesterday.  There was a while when it was raining very hard, you know, if not we would have probably had more people coming out because we just had a previous convention last year whereby we had like one thousand, seven people coming out.  That convention was to elect a chairman of the P.U.P. executive.  Yesterday was for a standard bearer.  But, in general, the turnout was good, it was satisfactory and yes, I got the support of the people.  The people, basically gave me that support yesterday to continue the good work. We will ensure that we continue to roll out Plan Belize.  As you know, Plan Belize has benefited the country of Belize.  Basically, Plan Belize has restored the Belizean economy by our good Prime Minister, Honorable John Briceño and his cabinet, they have restored the economy and that is a major area that the party has concentrated in.  But there’s a lot to Plan Belize and we will ensure that Corozal North benefits from the plan of the People’s United Party and at the end of the day it will be beneficial to the people of Corozal North.  So that is our major plan for Corozal North.”

Following the results of Sunday’s convention, Castillo says he plans to reunite the party by working closely with his opponents who ran against him.

David Castillo, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, Corozal North

“One thing that will help a lot is the margin that we won by.  It was overwhelming, almost two or three to one.  So that in itself will help the reunification process.  Knowing myself, and people in the north and Corozal District, and even the country, I would say, know me for being a very humble and kind person and I’m a team player.  So I see no issues in reaching out to those that participated, I congratulate them for participating.  Our party’s foundation is built on democracy so it’s good, you know, it’s healthy.  But personally will reach out to them and we will get their supporters, the people that voted for them, to come in and support because they are also part of our plans, our plans for Corozal North, great plans, Plan Belize and, in particular, our plan as well.”