The Chairman speaks on the Party’s Philosophy

On the day of my election as Chairman of the People’s United Party, I never thought for a moment what it meant for me to be the first woman ever to hold this post.  While I embraced the role of Chairman, I did not immediately appreciate it as a position in the pecking order of things, a fact I later came to grips with.

What beckoned me, was the opportunity to be a part of a great movement, one that my parents, grandparents and great grandparents believed in. This was a political organization whose mandate was very clear in my mind, that is, that it is established solely to create a NEW BELIZE, to bring to all Belizeans a better quality of life, and a just share in the national wealth. This was the vision of our founding fathers and mothers, passed from leader to leader, from elders to the youths, from generation to generation.

It is also a vision anchored in three core principles:

First an acknowledgement of the supremacy of God.

Second, that we exist to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belize.

Third, we understand the need for a social and economic order that values our environment and natural resource endowment, while redressing the blatant inequity in the allocation of resources and opportunities, and the distribution of wealth in our country.

These are the principles which define us a Party, that makes a statement as to who we are, and what we stand for. That is our philosophy, and a representation of our collective beliefs and values.

Today 142,276 or 43 percent of our people live in poverty and an additional 46,648 or 14 percent are vulnerable to becoming poor. This does not represent the social justice that the PUP aspires two create in our nation.

This says to me that the PUP must be the party for all, especially for the working class and the poor, who have been victims of social and economic exclusion policies and practices rooted in colonial mental construct and carried over into post independent Belize.  For those who have no voice, who are oppressed and marginalized, the PUP must also be the Party of their choice. Our founding fathers and mothers even crafted the political blueprint and road map for us based on these principles. This is contained in the aims and objects of our constitution. It sets forth what we are to do, and what we are to work towards to change this state of affairs and realize this vision.

It was also cognizant that a revolution, as is change, is a process, but for us to continue it, we must begin by believing in something, or we will fall for anything. Our Philosophy is our moorings, it anchors what we believe in, and if we grasp this, if we hold on to it, it will bind us and we will not stray from it.

On Wednesday February 10^th, 2010, I was honoured and privileged to chair a historic meeting of the National Executive of the People’s United Party at Independence Hall. At this meeting, the Philosophy and Political Creed of the Party was unanimously approved. As collective stewards of our Party, and the revolution, we signed on to it.  By so doing, we are  affirmed, unequivocally, that every decision we make, every  action we take, every position we formulate, every cause we fight, will be grounded in our philosophy and creed, and be evaluated based on it, for we believe, and only in so doing, can we achieve the aims and objects of our Party. Our Philosophy is what we believe in, and our Creed is an Affirmation of that Belief and as PUP’s we believe:

THE PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICAL CREED OF THE PUP

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