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As we found out in Pomona Valley today - the crowd wasn't quite that. Jules Vasquez reports:

Jules Vasquez reporting
Today, 275 growers - large and small and their employees - crowded under a tent in an open area near CGA Headquarters to hear two hours and twenty minutes of speeches that went right through lunch.

The speakers ranged from familiar faces but also included the Belize Coalition for Justice, a journalist turned advocate and a former minister who last the lost election.

Nancy Marin, Belize Coalition for Justice
"We are to stand with you, we ask you to remain united, follow the leaders, they are doing a wonderful job."

Luis Wade, PLUS TV - Journalist/Advocate
"So I ask you today is it your company?"

Crowd
"Yes."

Luis Wade, PLUS TV - Journalist/Advocate
"You don't even know. I'll ask you again, is it your company?"

Crowd
"Yes."

Luis Wade, PLUS TV - Journalist/Advocate
"Do you have majority shares in it?"

Crowd
"Yes."

Luis Wade, PLUS TV - Journalist/Advocate
"Why did you decide to keep majority shares - because you wanted control. Do you have control?"

Crowd
"No."

Luis Wade, PLUS TV - Journalist/Advocate
"Some of you aren't sure yet."

Melvin Hulse, Former Area Representative
"I cannot, will not, do not will never support what a minority has power over the majority. To me that is the bottom line and this is what this is about."

Will Maheia, Belize Coalition For Justice
"Ten years ago we had over 1,000 small farmers, today we only have 450. Something is wrong and I am glad to see that Mr. Hulse was here. I want to know if he was elected if he would have been here today. I am calling out the elected officers, the elected area representative. Are they here today?"

There were no current elected representatives at today's event - but there were certainly enough speeches, we counted over a dozen - and when they were finally finished it was time for the protest.

We can't say whether this Halloween getup for the CEO of CPBL was a Halloween caricature or an effigy - but it seemed to get the point across.

Special teams of police were on standby at the Valley Community police station

But they wouldn't be needed because these tractors - already dressed up for the day would not be used in the protest - Police disallowed it.

So the protest would have 300 or so participants marching with these signs - dozens of them - each with its own particular spin on the CGA message - which was that they should control the CPBL processing plant.

And that's where the protest was headed down the half mile to the CPBL headquarters - with reggae music as their marching music - the crowd seemed there but not boisterous in the least.

And as a sign of their good natured spirit - they didn't throw stones; they raised their hands and prayed in Spanish and English when they walked past the processing plant.

As they marched grapefruit deliveries rolled by on the same highway - operations at the plant were still going.

It was secured by a cordon of barrels and a line of police stood guarding the entrance. The crowd seemed hardly interested in challenging them - except for a brief glancing skirmish:

Anthony Chanona, Former Chairman, CGA
"That factory belongs to the Citrus Growers Association. We call out on Banks to respect the rights of the growers."

Geovanni Brackett - President, COLA
"This belongs to the people and we will no longer sit back. Who owns it?"

Crowd (a few people)
"The Citrus Growers Association."

The police wanted them to keep moving and they did - indicative of the conundrum where they were protesting against their own property, their own asset:

Denzil Jenkins - Director - CPBL
"The idea of this demonstration is not to punish the growers of CPBL. CPBL as a company which we own majority shareholding in. We are about to punish CPBL or to do anything that is going to be detrimental to the employees of CPBL. We haven't got any problem with them. We are making a stand - we are standing before CPBL. I am a director of CPBL."

Jules Vasquez
"You can't go in there."

Denzil Jenkins - Director - CPBL
"When I want to go in there, there are all kinds of red tape to get inside there. Now when the directors of Banks on CPBL board - when they come to Belize a red carpet is as it were laid down for them from the International Airport to right though here. They go right through walking, gliding on a red carpet and there is a welcome. I hardly want to come here because the workers have been program - they look frowning at you. I am a director here."

Eccleston Irving - Chairman - CGA
"Our right are not been defended and the rights of other people are being defended who are minority shareholders."

Jules Vasquez
"How long will you suspend delivery?"

Eccleston Irving - Chairman - CGA
"It's up to the growers. The growers will be the one to say when they want to come back Jules. We are not going to tell the growers what to do. We take instructions from them. I could tell you the growers have wanted to protest and we are the vehicle to ensure that it is orderly and that we do things properly. At the same time we are sending a signal to the majority shareholders that enough of this."

Reporter
"How effective is this activity in your assumption?"

Eccleston Irving - Chairman - CGA
"Any kind of protest is always effective because we live in a culture where people are suppressed - where people are muzzled."

Reporter
"The last time you had about 3,000 people. Now you only have 300 - that time they didn't do anything about people coming out here, they didn't respond. Do you expect that they will this time?"

Eccleston Irving - Chairman - CGA
"What is happening is that there is a different strategy we are appointing now - you notice that the demonstration is over 4 days. It's not a one day demonstration, then we have broaden the coalition of people that supported us." "We are built because of the first demonstration, people are noticing our cause and we are built on that positive effect."

And while it is unclear to us whether they are building on success or losing ground, they say this is a last stand

Eccleston Irving - Chairman - CGA
"Ladies and gentlemen the nonsense that is being talk out that's its big men who grow citrus - that's craziness. A lot of big farms I know ten years ago produce 400,000 box of fruits and producing 50-60 boxes thousand now. I know a lot of medium and small growers who have step up to the plate who have doubled their production. We are those people voices; they are not there to be saying this to the media and everything out there. What is being said out there is false. Now ten years ago we had 1,000 growers in this industry close, now we have 450. I am telling you this stand is to save 300 of those growers."

The crowd marched past the plant two times and then hung it up for the day. They say they will be back tomorrow.