By David Alire Garcia
BELIZE CITY: Belize, a tiny English-speaking Central American country, voted in an early election on Wednesday in which Prime Minister Dean Barrow hopes to secure a record third consecutive term.
Barrow, a 64-year-old lawyer, called the vote in late September more than a year ahead of schedule amid signs his political opponents were regrouping and fears that generous Venezuelan aid crucial to his budget might be at risk.
The incumbent says he wants to put an early end to the "distraction" of the campaign season in the country of about 350,000 people, which faces a push by neighboring Guatemala to absorb a large area of its territory.
Many voters voiced apathy, seeing little scope for change whether Barrow's United Democratic Party (UDP) or the main opposition People's United Party (PUP) wins. Others hoped the upstart Belize Progressive Party, which is also fielding candidates, could win some seats in the national assembly.
"I'm for change. We need better people ... Both of the two major parties are corrupt," said retired teacher Lorraine Gomez, her index finger stained with purple ink after voting.
Belize's $1.6 billion economy is highly dependent on tourism, as well as agricultural exports like sugar and bananas. It also relies heavily on PetroCaribe, a Venezuelan aid program that offers fuel at discounted prices.
Since 2012, Barrow has plowed the best part of 300 million Belize dollars ($151.52 million) in Venezuelan aid into infrastructure projects including 150 new paved roads in Belize City, the country's commercial hub.
"The sense I got from people is that they are satisfied, they don't love the government, there are things that they think and I agree need to be improved, but they're satisfied that the government has done right by the people," Darrell Bradley, UDP mayor of Belize City, said after the polls closed.
Venezuela's economic woes and the prospect of the opposition winning parliamentary elections there in December is stirring concerns that the aid to Belize could end.
"There are looming crises facing the Belizean nation and people. The PetroCaribe monies are drying up, the banking system is in trouble," said PUP leader Francis Fonseca, 48, a two-time former cabinet minister, who would become prime minister if his party wins the majority of seats in the national assembly.
A longstanding territorial dispute with neighboring Guatemala that Guatemalan President-elect Jimmy Morales revived during his successful campaign will also face Belize's next government.
Morales, a comedian who swept to power last month as an anti-corruption crusader, pledged to win back portions of Belize that a previous Guatemalan government argued it lawfully inherited from Spain's colonial holdings centuries ago.
"We will not be bullied and Mr. Morales needs to learn that right quick," said Barrow, whose UDP is hoping to add to the 19 seats it holds in the 31-member national assembly.
($1 = 1.9800 Belize dollars)
Reuters
