By: Omar Silva I Editor/Publisher

National Perspective Belize I Digital 2025

www.nationalperspectivebz.com

Belize City: Friday 30th May 2025

📝 EDITORIAL

Belize is witnessing a moment of reckoning—a moment when those entrusted with power are choosing to weaponize the law against the very people who keep this country running. And the nation must decide: will we allow it?

In the name of budget discipline and political convenience, the Briceno Administration has crossed a line. Not only has it insulted teachers with a token 3% salary adjustment, to be followed by vague incremental returns over four years—it has now unleashed the full weight of the state to intimidate and suppress those daring to resist.

Let us be clear: the BNTU’s industrial action is legal.

The Labor Commissioner, Rissela Dominguez-Patt, has openly acknowledged that teachers are not covered by the Essential Services Act—and therefore, Section 15’s 21-day strike notice requirement does not apply. And yet, in a nationally televised statement, she cautioned teachers about fines and imprisonment, implying they were violating a law that does not govern them. That isn’t public service. That is state-sponsored misinformation.

It is now apparent that the Briceno government is using its bully pulpit—not to uplift teachers, but to beat them down with threats cloaked in technical jargon. This administration, once seen as a partner to unions, has now become a patron of deception.

🟩 #WeMatter Is a Movement of National Conscience

Teachers aren’t just standing for wages. They are standing for truth.

The #WeMatter campaign—now in Phase Two—is not merely protest. It is resistance against the erosion of trust, the manipulation of democratic processes, and the silencing of lawful dissent.

By taking to the streets, engaging communities, and educating the public, teachers are reminding us all: rights are not given—they are asserted. The BNTU has not only followed its Collective Bargaining Agreement procedures; it has acted with dignity and patience in the face of deception.

What did the government do in return?

It tried to buy silence with a broken-down offer, and then backed it with threats of jail time.

⚖️ This Is No Longer About One Union. This Is About the Soul of Our Democracy.

If a government can manipulate its own laws to intimidate teachers today, what stops it from targeting journalists tomorrow, or community activists next week, or students next year?

This is why the BNTU’s stand matters beyond the classroom. It is about setting a precedent that fear will not be the foundation of governance.

To the Prime Minister:

Your mother was a teacher. You say your wife is a teacher. But your administration is behaving like a regime that fears them.

To the public:

This isn’t a teacher issue. This is a national issue. Every Belizean benefits from a system where laws are respected, rights are upheld, and power is held accountable.

✊🏾 The People Are Watching. The People Are Ready.

We applaud the teachers who have said “No” to manipulation, and “Yes” to justice. We call on the PSU, APSSM, UB Faculty, KHMHA Workers, and every union in this country to remain unified and resolute.

The state may try to divide us. It may try to frighten us. But it cannot govern without our labor, our votes, or our consent.

Let this be known:

Teachers will not bend. And the people will not be bullied.