As Belmopan’s 2026 municipal election approaches, one United Democratic Party (UDP) mayoral hopeful is facing a unique, high-stakes challenge: overcoming the shadow of his party’s troubled past to convince voters that he can deliver the fresh leadership the capital city needs. Isidoro “Richie” Galvez, a former deputy mayor of Belmopan, has launched his campaign for the city’s top local government post under the campaign slogan “A New Era”, framing his bid as a people-centered break from the partisan status quo that has long defined local politics.
Galvez’s path to the nomination has not been without significant headwinds. Critics and political opponents have repeatedly tied him to the previous controversial UDP administration he served as a junior member of, an administration that faced widespread public criticism over reported financial mismanagement and persistent governance gaps. For Galvez, every campaign stop, every community outreach event, and every policy proposal doubles as an opportunity to address these lingering questions head-on, as he works to separate his personal political brand from the unpopular actions of the prior administration.
In comments shared in a recent televised interview, Galvez pushed back against critics’ claims, framing his past time in municipal government as a learning experience rather than a mark against his candidacy. “I am more, Belmopan first, people first, community first, rather than putting any political party first. That is my belief and I am sticking to that,” he said. “The new era movement that we are pushing in Belmopan, the momentum is crazy. You have a lot of young people who had no interest in politics who wake up and are going to the elections and boundaries office getting ready.”
Looking back at his entry into politics in 2018, Galvez noted that he joined the Belmopan City Council as a first-time rookie councilor with big ambitions for change, but quickly found that rank-and-file council members held little decision-making power to deliver on campaign promises. “Entering Belmopan City Council, you feel like you could get so much done, access to certain resources and it is not like that. Any of the councilors there presently or been there once can attest that you don’t have much say as the council,” he explained. His tenure as deputy mayor was further interrupted by unforeseen global events: just two weeks after he took up the deputy post, the COVID-19 pandemic upended local governance, leaving him with little opportunity to implement his policy goals. “I didn’t do much during that period. I hear the cries; I hear what the opponents are trying to sell that I am part of the Belmopan City Council back then and as a rookie councilor I can say a lot of what I wanted to do I never got done,” Galvez added.
The race now hangs on a critical question: can Galvez convince fed-up Belmopan residents to look past his party’s past missteps and give him a chance to lead the city into a new era? Or will the long shadow of the prior UDP administration prove too heavy a burden to overcome on election day?