But today, his Cabinet colleague, Julius Espat had a more sober assessment. He lamented the state of the opposition and what it means for democracy in Belize. He also put the blame fully on the shoulders of the former prime minister.

Julius Espat, Area Rep. Cayo South
"The state of democracy, it's not in a good place. The opposition, I have said it in the House, they need to get their act together. I mean, we're two weeks away from an election and we don't know who is really red. We don't know. And so it even demoralizes our side. It has a negative effect on the human beings on the blue side because if you don't have a vibrant opposition because you can start believing a lot of things that are not true. And you start acting in a different way. You may act maybe a little bit more arrogant which is in the detriment of us and the government. I hope and I pray every night that we have humility, that we sustain humility, it has to happen. And I must say we have a prime minister that is humble and he instills some of that in us and pushes us to remain calm and always be prepared. But we need a good and strong opposition, it's the only way that the issues are ventilated properly. And right now, they're not- I mean, when I go to the House my energy level, as you have seen, is much less than it was before and it's because what do I have to add to what's happening? It's difficult. You look at the other side and the level of competence is… you need more."

"I blame Dean Barrow. I do, 100%. You had a strong man for so long that didn't believe in mentorship, he didn't prepare his party for what is coming, it comes for all parties and so he left and he was a strong man and he was the only voice, in fact he was the minister of everything at the time and therefore there wasn't anywhere else to carry the mantle."