The smokestacks at the Tower Hill Factory did not pipe any smoke into
the skies over Orange Walk today and that’s because the factory did not
operate. The strike is now in its ninth day and there is no resolution in sight.
The personal losses in terms of revenue to the cane farmers is enormous as are
the corporate losses to BSI which has a ship in port that it cannot fill; the
ship usually departs with 14,000 tonnes, but is presently only loaded with 5,600
tonnes – and with the strike still indefinite there’s no telling
where the other 8,000 tonnes will come from - that is if they are milled at
all before the ship has to leave.
The cane farmers yesterday made three main ultimatums to government:
First that chairman of the Sugar Industry Control Board Nemencio Acosta be removed;
that the core sampler be permanently removed; and that these conditions be met
before they sit to negotiate with government. The Prime Minister rejected all
three proposals and that’s where it stands tonight, with a standoff, and
a teetering industry in the balance.
Teetering because the industry saw one of its worst years in 2008 –
exporting only 78,000 tonnes, down from the 2006 figure of 114,000 tonnes. Another
bad year and the industry could go into a tailspin. Add to that the fact that
six thousand farmers, the breadwinners for at least thirty thousand Belizeans
in the north are not earning and you’ve got the makings of a full blown
economic and social crisis. According to reports, BSI has already sent home
all temporary and casual workers. The company’s 400 regular staffers will
be addressed by Managing Director Joey Montalvo tomorrow and the news is not
expected to be good.
The Prime Minister left the country today – but said at yesterday’s
press conference that he hopes they can continue to negotiate.
Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
“The farmers ought to be told of government’s position which
is that you can’t say that you have these demands that are non-negotiable,
that government must simply cave in before you even begin to talk. If government
just caved in, why would there even be a need for any talk. We also believe
that we have people of influence in the sugar belt and so we will be asking
them as well to try to intervene with the farmers, to bring them to the table.
But if the farmers refuse to come to the table, then I am afraid the stalemate
will continue.”
In the Prime Minister’s absence, Deputy Gaspar Vega is the acting
PM. Viewers will recall that his vehicle was manhandled by a mob of angry farmers
when he left talks yesterday.
And while the Prime Minister said he would be seeking out people of
influence in the north, two that he definitely won’t be seeking advice
from, have weighed in. First is the PUP, which yesterday issued a statement
criticizing the Prime Minister for refusing to meet the Cane farmers in Orange
Walk and making incendiary remarks during his press conference. The release
concludes that, quote: “The responsibility of Mr. Gutierrez’s
death and the injury to... farmers rest squarely with the Prime Minister and
his Government. We call upon the government to fully compensate the Gutierrez
family and the farmers injured by the security forces.....”
And not one to be spoken for by John Briceno’s PUP, Florencio
Marin Junior, the PUP area representative for Corozal Southeast and himself
the owner of cane farms issued a statement calling for the establishment of
a commission of inquiry into the use of deadly force by police. Marin also calls
for changes in the pricing and payment structure that BSI administers to the
farmers.
And while the political tensions are heating up, generally, things
are calm right now in the North, however there is no telling whether they will
flare up when the funeral for Anastascio Guttierrez is held. No date has been
finalized for that funeral because the post mortem could not be performed as
scheduled today. A number of cane farmers are pressing the family to have it
on Saturday February 7th which will mark the one year anniversary of the Barrow
administration and will coincide with his wedding day.
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