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Progresso Women’s Group Vs. Luke Espat
posted (March 18, 2014)
The most compelling convention of the PUP convention season has been the one in Cayo Central where Dan Silva and Luke Espat are vying for the seat. Intense campaigning has been going on for months now - all coming down to a May showdown.

Today it got slightly ugly when functionaries of the Espat camp circulated a newspaper foreclosure notice for a properties in Cayo owned by company affiliated with Dan Silva. We're not sure how that evens things out in a race where the other candidate, Luke Espat is presently appealing a judgement against him for 29 million dollars.

But Espat also has other, smaller worries. A few weeks ago two members of the El Progresso women's group from Cayo Central came to us saying that Espat, in trying to help out their group had in fact hijacked it:..

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"I don't know what they are doing with this because we wanted it in our name, we don't want it in another name."

Jules Vasquez
"Who is the president?"

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"Irma Lara."

Jules Vasquez
"Irma is here with you, both the president and vice president and both of you all are opposed to this?"

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"Yes, we don't want it in Javier Castellanos name, we want it as our name and it is not El Progresso Alliance Group, it is El Progresso Women's Group."

Jules Vasquez
"Either one or two things happen; Mr. Luke made a mistake?"

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"I don't think so."

Jules Vasquez
"What you think he is trying to do?"

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"Well, what he wants to say is oh, I did this for 7 miles women's group."

Jules Vasquez
"So in the process you feel like he is stealing your organization?"

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"In the process I think that he wants to be like our president of our group."

Jules Vasquez
"But Luke can't be president of a women's group."

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"But I don't know why it is registered under a man's name. It has to be a woman's name, so we want to change Javier Castellanos because I don't know him. When they show me the picture, I know that is Luke Espat driver."

Jules Vasquez
"But then something like this is easy to clarify. You could just call Mr. Luke and he will say okay, my bad and we could fix it. You don't have to make a big deal out of it."

Representative - El Progresso Women's Group
"It's not Mr. Luke, its Mr. Javier - he has to come and sign and change the name so that it can go in our name."

We sent Espat a text message requesting comment but he has not replied.

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