But, if you think it's going to be smooth going between now and then, think again, because Saldivar is a fighter! You've already heard about the crazy stuff he did for his client, so imagine what he wouldn't do for himself! An indication of the vibes coming out of his camp came to us through facebook today. His campaigner Linsford Castillo posted this on his Facebook page: "Message to Godfrey Smith, Francis Smith, Eamon Courtenay and Dolores Balderamos and Company, this PUP fight will be to the bitter end. We shall not be moved!" To that, national campaign manager Godfrey Smith only told us, quote, "So be it."
So, in the next few weeks, we should expect anything, which is why we were ready – when we got a call this afternoon at 2:00 pm to go and interview Saldivar at Azrock, which is Linsford Castillo's office. He wanted us to cover a donation he's making to a cancer survivor. We'll have that later, but of course, we used the opportunity to press him on his future with the PUP:…
Jules Vasquez
"Sir you have the dubious distinction right now of being the as far as I remember in the modern era, the only standard bearer that was suspended. Mr. Cal was removed but I can't recall of another suspended, pending investigation. What is that like?"
Arthurs Saldivar
"I have no idea."
Jules Vasquez
"But you are living it."
Arthurs Saldivar
"I'm a Belizean, I'm black, I'm proud, I stand on my own feet, always have, always will."
Jules Vasquez
"Are you going to get a fair shake?"
Arthurs Saldivar
"Those who want to know are welcomed to come and discuss with me. I'm always open to talk to my friends and my enemies, when they are civil."
Jules Vasquez
"Do you have any hostility against the P.U.P for making this unprecedented move against you?"
Arthurs Saldivar
"I'm a lover, i'm not a fighter. (laughs)"
Jules Vasquez
"Yes, but you have to think strategically. Apparently they're circling the wagons, many in there want to eject you and in fact I'm told the suspension is a compromise manoeuvre."
Arthurs Saldivar
"I have no idea as I said. When it's time to talk, we'll talk. I believe in the constitution of the party, I believe in it's principles and it's mission, it's aiming and it's objects and the aim is to serve. So i'm here to give service, always."
Jules Vasquez
"Yes, but you make presentations to the party this morning. I saw you stroll out of the meeting, you looked exasperated at the time."
Arthurs Saldivar
"It's a hot day, you may confuse what I appeared to be for the effects the heat may have had on me, but by no means. I'm always upbeat, i'm fully confident in the leadership of our great party. I believe we have an honorable man who's worded his bond, I certainly am giving my undivided and undaunted loyalty to my party and it's leader Hon. Francis Fonseca. And I said when the time comes for us to talk my brother, we'll talk."
Jules Vasquez
"Should the party be persuaded? That in fact the leader said that you are under scrutiny because of this complaint that you took 904 thousand dollars of Melonie Coye's money. You are a standard bearer of the P.U.P, should not your word be enough to tell them, man I never do it, no even entertain that, that is legal hijinks as you have indicated to us? Apparently your word to your party is not enough."
Arthurs Saldivar
"I don't know about all that. As I said I have not had anything to really deliberate on in terms of anything coming in writing as to what the specificities of the situation is. I await these things, I think it's premature and I'm not man who believes in prematurity. I like maturity, I don't deal on that other side of life, so I try to deal with maturity always. When the time comes for us to talk, we will talk."
Jules Vasquez
"I don't want to be speculative, but if it were to come up..."
Arthurs Saldivar
"But that is what you're doing man, why would you want to speculate?"
Jules Vasquez
"Because i'm interested in your political future."
Arthurs Saldivar
"Are you preparing a bonfire to go and dance like an indian around and do you little hoopla. I mean I don't know. I try to be the best P.U.P I can be, everyday."
Jules Vasquez
"Apparently the executive, they don't think you're being the best P.U.P you can be. I'm taking another's word above you. You are saying you don't know about this money but they're saying well we really have to look at that and while we look at it, you can't hang around us."
Arthurs Saldivar
"When it's time to talk Jules, we will talk. (laughs)"
Saldivar said he will be going to visit his supporters in Belize Rural North.
The Saldivar camp has indicated that the party constitution gives the national executive no power to suspend anyone.
His extended camp it seems has also come to include Hubert Elrington. He's no PUP, but he is a close associate of Saldivar. We met him with Saldivar at the Azrack office – and Saldivar encouraged us to interview him. We asked Elrington about Saldivar's troubles with his client Melonie Coye:…
Hubert Elrington
"You know that party, your client was in jail right. You know practically the family was in jail, you knew that. You know who got them out. You know the fight he had to put through to get back their money. These things cost what we say in law, a pretty penny. Apparently she's not prepared to pay a pretty penny. I'm not going to get into that but, I'm saying anybody who goes to a lawyer with the misconception that, if you get a million dollars, you are not going to pay the lawyer maybe 20 percent or 25 percent of that need to be woken up."
And while that pretty penny wisdom was one thing, Elrington also spoke as a political commentator – indicating that if he is rebuffed by the PUP, Arthur might just go independent. Elrington prefaced this by referring to his brother Wilfred who ran as an independent in 2003.
Hubert Elrington
"You're on a mission, remember when Sedi took on the U.D.P in Pickstock division and defeated them? He ran as an independent candidate. So if you have the money, you have the ideas, people will listen to you. So they have to be very careful, they don't have a lot of margin to play on. Neither P.U.P nor U.D.P have a lot of margin to play on. You know everything about the G7, I don't have to tell you about that. So people enjoy skating on thin ice and I like to watch them skate on thin ice. (laugh)"
PUP insiders appear ambivalent about the possibility of an independent Saldivar candidacy. They tell us privately that they don't feel Saldivar had much of a chance against Castro, and so replacing him would be a win win. Tough talk, but we heard it from more than one insider.
Again, that is ludicrous to the Saldivar camp who says their committee chairperson has not even been approached by the executive to hear his views. We'll keep following this one… | 