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Shyne, Still Leader? Or Just A Mad King?
posted (March 14, 2025)
And while Panton says Faber still has a place in the UDP - according to the man still sitting in the leader's chair at the headquarters - he and Panton remain expelled. Shyne may have lost in Mesop and lost the support of the colleagues who were standing with him - but he's not going anywhere. Jules Vasquez asked him what's next for him as leader:...

Jules Vasquez
"Five of your candidates were not even nominated. Four of your candidates were not even nominated. Fourteen of your candidates did not surpass ten percent. Did not get ten percent of the vote. At least two of your candidates, they were more spoiled ballots than they were votes for them. You have failed as party leader because the UDP..."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"So what happened with the Alliance? All of their candidates passed ten percent?"

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, if it weren't for the Alliance, if those people had followed you and say, we'll Shyne kick us out, so we have to just stay here, the UDP would only have two seats. It is because the Alliance clung to the UDP. It is because the Alliance clung to the UDP name that the UDP can claim five seats. It is because the Alliance clung to the UDP name against your every which calculation and machination."

"They clung to it. If it were for you, UDP would have two. This is the worst outcome in the UDP's history. And if you claim to be leader, as you do, it's on you, sir."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"So it's on me. It's not on the person..."

Jules Vasquez
"You dismantled. They are mechanisms of the UDP to install your candidates. Just, sir, Mr. Uk got 20 votes, sir. You put him in there just to undermine Tracy."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"No, she was expelled from the party. We needed a candidate. You invite me to these interviews so that you can spin your narrative and you're completely biased. You have a completely distorted view of every single thing that I do."

Jules Vasquez
"You refuse accept your failure as leader. You have turned a UDP into a laughingstock."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Everything that I do is a failure. So what has Tracy done?"

Jules Vasquez
"What's your plans as party leader? An outsider would say, you have no standing. You lost. Hugo Patt has said he's supporting Tracy. Mike Guerra was there today, we Tracy in Belmopan."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"What that means?"

Jules Vasquez
"No, I'm saying that because you were going to say, how Mike Guerra face look."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"No, no, no, I spoke to Mike Guerra today, I spoke to him yesterday."

Jules Vasquez
"Yeah, but Hugo Patt is a pivotal..."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"I heard Hugo Patt say that she's the leader of the opposition. I didn't hear him say..."

Jules Vasquez
"Hugo Patt said he will fall in behind her as leader, that's what he told me."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Well, it's not for one, it's not for one person to make that determination. The court, we have a trial, March 31st, and whatever Justice Andora decides, that is how we'll be guided. I know according to you court, you don't care about court, just let us be lawless and let us just do whatever we want. Life doesn't work like that."

"Furthermore, if the colleagues in mass feel that they want to let Tracy back into the UDP, She has to go through the process. We have to go through the procedures."

Jules Vasquez
"Looking from the outside..."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"When Beverly Williams lost..."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, but this is Shyne Barrow leader..."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Oh, and so Shyne Barrow is special because Jules no like Shyne Barrow."


Jules Vasquez
"Sir, you are the leader of the UDP as you claim to be."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"How you didn't say that when you talk to Panton?"

Jules Vasquez
"Let me finish, sir. So now what standing do you have since the leader has to have a seat in parliament?"

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Can't run again. But until we elect a new leader, I am the leader."

Jules Vasquez
"In 1998, when Manuel Esquivel lost, he had a press conference immediately. He had a press conference immediately. And he said, I lost. I led the party to humiliating defeat, I'm handing over to Dean Barrow. Why don't you go that route and just say, I led the party. Certainly my candidates, the SBUDP had the poorest showing."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"How they had the poorest showing and we had the most numbers."

Jules Vasquez
"Because we all won in large constituency."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Yes, according to you. You always find a way to slice and dice it."

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, ten of your candidates, 14 of your candidates, didn't get 10 percent. This is the point at which a leader says, you know what, I messed up. I'm going to hand over to Hugo."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"I messed up. I'm the one that had an October 20th. I'm the one that had an October 20th convention. I'm the one that had identity theft. I'm the one that broke the August 13th agreement."

Jules Vasquez
"But we are where we are now."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Oh, now, we are where we are. You don't care about the details."

Jules Vasquez
"But the voters have spoken. You are fixating on all these background."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"On details that don't matter?"

Jules Vasquez
"Because the voters spoke."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Law and order matters."

Jules Vasquez
"It doesn't matter to the voters. The UDP had the largest defeat in Belize's political history of any party."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"It didn't matter."

Jules Vasquez
"In Phillip Goldson Honduras independence party they didn't lose at this level."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Hold on, hold on, hold on. You just said that the UDP had five seats?"

Jules Vasquez
"Sir, 68% of the vote is what the PUP got. UDP, the highest record in George Price, days was 65% of the popular vote. Let me give you another statistic, the UDP lost 20,000 votes compare to 2020."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"And that's only my fault. Tracy has nothing to do with that."

Jules Vasquez
"It's you that fielded 31 candidates. You were leading until October 2024. You were the sole leader. Sir, they lost 20,000 votes. PUP lost 3,000."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"So Tracy has nothing to do with that. All of her candidates got thousands of votes."

Jules Vasquez
"Tracy is the leader of the opposition. Why don't you just have a press conference like Mr. Esquivel did and hand over to your first deputy Hugo Patt and say do as you wish, I have failed."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"No."

Jules Vasquez
"Because you haven't failed."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"I have done the best under the circumstances created by these fraudulent deceptive people."

Jules Vasquez
"But when we do our best and fail, we still failed."

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"Well, everybody that lost plays a role in it."

Jules Vasquez
"But you are the leader?"

Shyne Barrow, Maintains UDP Leadership
"I'm the leader when it's convenient to you."

Key to the Shyne's power base is Chairman Mike Peyrefitte - who again today declined an interview on whether he plans to continue to stand with Shyne.

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