Election Fever!

Well, after weeks of expectation from the general public, the date for the general election has been announced and all of a sudden laid-back Belize is buzzing with excitement as it prepares for the polls on 7 February.



There are two main parties; the People's United Party (PUP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP). The PUP is slightly to the left of Fidel Castro, and the UDP is slightly to the right of Atila the Hun. OK, I'm joking, but you get the idea. Confusingly, the colours are reversed, with the PUP wearing blue and the UDP in red. The poor people of Belize, although I'm sure they are incorruptible, are happy to wear a tshirt of any colour with any slogan as long as it's free, so there are some interesting party supporters around.



The parties rely not so much on manifestos as maligning each other, and the mud-slinging is great fun. Tales of weapons of mass corruption abound (eg, a $20 donation to the Belize government from the President of Venezuela, said to be for buying votes) and feathering nests (politicians' relatives being stopped at airport security with suitcases full of American dollars).



No holds are barred in the newspapers, and again confusingly, the Times is the mouthpiece of the socialist PUP while the Guardian supports the conservative UDP. Both papers make lurid and outrageous claims about the other which makes for entertaining reading.

I'm quite happy because the City Council (UDP) has been busily filling in the huge craters on Racoon Street and my taxi driver has stopped grumbling about the state of the road (at least until it rains, when all the sand and earth they've used will turn to mud). There's also been an influx of dodgy looking Council workers, who are busying themselves painting the fences around public parks, and clearing the weeds from the open culverts that line every street.

Last Friday afternoon there was a public display of might when what seemed like the entire Belize City Police Force marched across the Swing Bridge accompanied a brass band. Unfortunately though, there was an incident in my local, the Riverside Tavern, that night. The bouncers couldn't cope with the huge fight that broke out, and the police arrived and promptly shot two of the protagonists. (I heard they survived, and agreed to pay for the damage to the Tavern, so it turned out all right in the end).

You'll be relieved to know that I was safe at home and didn't go out last Friday night.