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Ralph Fonseca was responsible for some of the most memorable lines in this political era:

Ralph Fonseca
"When I heard about this thing, I almost said, F-U, to the whole bunch of them, I don't need this. Put me back in my office in Miami and Panama and Montevideo and Cuba let me continue to make lots of money."

Ralph Fonseca, 13th Aug, 2004
"We have a lot of balls up in the air. Most of those balls, if you like, are hovering around my desk."

Fonseca's ascent to the highest level of power was when he served in Said Musa's Cabinet from 1998 - 2008. He was Musa's closest ally and advisor as his Minister of Budget Planning and Management, then Minister of Finance.

That's when - in 2004 - 7 Cabinet members - the G-7 went to the Prime Minister demanding his resignation, thus plunging the Musa administration into its deepest crisis - one from which it never truly recovered. In the thick of it, Fonseca gave me one of my most memorable interviews:

Ralph Fonseca, 13th Aug, 2004
"And for myself, if you cut me, I will bleed. Although people think that Ralph Fonseca is a work machine, I was hurt at first and then angry afterwards and then almost going into war mode. But I'm a politician and I'm more than a politician."

"If you're expecting me to say anything bad about any of these kids that went into the prime minister's office, you're not gong to get that. I'm a team player. I'm having some problems now, because of existing conditions. I'm going to solve them, given the time."

Fonseca survived that but was never the same in terms of wielding power. And he remained a divisive figure within the PUP and a hated one in the public - where just the mention of his name galvanized vitriolic opposition to the PUP.

Here was was at BTL during its ownership crisis being booed by employees:

But, it wasn't always like that. In 1984 he started out like Dean Barrow, a promising young politician trying to win the seat in the newly formed Queens Square constituency.

Barrow won that one but remembers Fonseca for his outsized ambition:

Dean Barrow, Former Political Opponent
"I've, I've got to say that Ralph proved to be a, kind of colossus who bestrode the narrow world of politics in Belize. He was a hell of a figure, a man of large appetites, large ideas - some might even say grandiose - who was undoubtedly possessed of a tremendous skill set."

"Absolutely brimming with self-confidence and with cause. So I have no hesitation in saying that. He has left a mark on governance, on Belizean political affairs that's well nigh ineradicable no doubt."

And that mark also led the UDP under Barrow to its greatest political success in 2008:

Jules Vasquez
"Without him, the UDP does not win - It can be argued - 25 to 6 in 1998, (2008)."

Dean Barrow, Former Political Opponent
"No doubt. You can't get away from it. As I said, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill. He was the man and he was not just a convenient, but an inevitable focus of the attacks, the political attacks that the UDP and the social partners launched."

That tainted Fonseca's legacy for many years but his mark as one of the defining figures of politics in Belize as a disciple of neo-liberal policies cannot be questioned:

Ralph Fonseca, was linked to Money Laundering in 1998 - Feb. 20th, 2007.
"I have been working as a financial consultant for over 20 years."

Reporter
"Have you done business in Panama?"

Ralph Fonseca
"Never ever had any problems with the authorities, but obviously I've dealt with people that have very large portfolios."

Merlene Bailey Martinez, Commissioner - DFC Commission of Inquiry
"Did you in any way benefit financially from the purchase of lands in Los Lagos?"

Ralph Fonseca, Testifies Before DFC Commission of Inquiry- March 9th, 2007
"No, Madam Commissioner. May I just add, Madam Commissioner, that I have owned hundreds of companies. That's the nature of my business. When I'm not in government, there are shell companies and they are sold off and they do many things afterwards."

And while that was politics - Barrow who visited Fonseca a number of times during his illness - says it was never personal:

Dean Barrow, Former Political Opponent
"I've been to see him. His wife was very kind, inviting me to come and see him at home. I'd been to see him when he was at Belize Medical Associates."

"And we had spoken before when, at the first onset of what turned out to be ultimately this terminal illness we had spoken. I remember one time he was in Miami and we spoke on the phone. I was here and he was saying, you know, whatever it is, Brother Dean, no chemo for me. I've seen what that has done to my friends. No, no, I'm if I have to go, as we all must, ultimately if I have to go sooner rather than later. So it is."

And now, in passing, both Barrow and another one time adversary remember his kindness:

Voice of: Michael Finnegan, Friend of Fonseca
"Ralph was a pretty good, decent guy. He treated people with dignity, respect and kindness."

Dean Barrow, Former Political Opponent
"He was never less than kind to those who would go to him from the opposition to ask for favors, I have to say, was never numbered among that lot."

"But there were others close to me that would say bwai, you know, I've gone to Ralph, and I told him, man you have to help me, and that he would."

"Again, as I said perhaps because he felt, mek I try help dem out, I mean I am at least politically a superior creature and he must be kind to others who don't quite fill up the stratusphere as I, Ralph Fonseca do. But withall it was quite a mix in trying to identify Rlph qualities and the impact that he had."

"But, I repeat, whether some people will say very much for good, some people will say very much for ill, whichever way you go, there is no doubt that he had one hell of an impact."

And, while we didn't have a chance to speak with Said Musa - he declared his position on Ralph two decades ago:

Said Musa - Sept. 6th, 2004
"I maintain absolute and full confidence in the Honorable Ralph Fonseca, so nobody is going to affect the friendship and the love that I have for Ralph Fonseca."

Fonseca was a three term representative for Belize Rural Central from 1993 - 2008.