A fiery political dispute has erupted in Belize just days after a high-profile social media ad targeted Senator Glenfield Dennison, a public officer and member of the country’s Public Service Union (PSU). PSU President Dean Flowers has leveled a serious allegation against the ruling Briceno administration: claiming the government is diverting public taxpayer funds to run coordinated attack advertisements aimed at discrediting public servants who speak out against official government policies.
In comments made public following the appearance of the ad targeting Dennison, Flowers framed the attack as part of a broader pattern of intimidation by the administration against critical public officials. He opened his remarks by welcoming the senator to what he sardonically called an exclusive “club” of public servants who have faced government-backed smear campaigns, noting that targeted attacks are typically a sign a public official is doing meaningful work that challenges the status quo.
“Nobody stones an empty mango tree,” Flowers said, illustrating that aggressive pushback from the government only comes when an official’s work poses a legitimate challenge to its agenda. He went on to highlight the staggering scale of public funds the government controls — totaling $1.9 billion — arguing that it is inappropriate, if not unethical, for those public resources to be used to target a relatively low-profile public servant who is simply exercising his right to dissent.
Flowers added that this pattern of attacks did not reopen old wounds for the union, because challenging the government and speaking truth to the Belizean public is at the core of the PSU’s mandate. “This is what we do. We tell the truth and try to inform and educate the Belizean people,” he stated. Flowers called for an immediate end to the misleading attack ads, noting that while the government can only sustain these smears for a limited time, the union’s work to advance transparency and public accountability will continue indefinitely.
He closed his remarks with a blunt rebuke of those who amplify the ads: “And only idiots, I want you to air this, only idiots and fools support those ads and add commentary to them.”
This report is adapted from a transcript of an evening television newscast, with original Kriol language commentary rendered to text using a standardized spelling system.