Faber dismisses Santi warning in Caribbean Shores

By Aaron Humes: Is the United Democratic Party heading for defeat once again in Caribbean Shores?

Its former representative, Santiago “Santino” Castillo, seems to think so; his party’s leader, Patrick Faber, disagrees.

A WhatsApp message posted online from a private chat group quotes the businessman, who was the area representative from 2012 to 2015, as saying he predicts UDP candidate Lee Mark Chang will be defeated by over 300 votes by incumbent Kareem Musa.

Castillo noted that he had won the division by over 700 votes in 2012, but even with the backing of the party and the City Council, former Mayor Darrell Bradley stumbled to defeat against Musa in 2015 by a fairly close margin. Castillo thinks that Kareem, now “cemented” in the division after five years, will have it easier against the transplant Chang (who moved politically from Freetown but has his home and business in the division’s boundaries.

Faber would not be drawn into a discussion with us on the statement, saying “best we leave that alone.” But he did offer this endorsement of Chang: “The candidate in Caribbean Shores, we have no doubt is going to be victorious. He has put in the groundwork; he has worked harder than most other candidates from the Opposition side in the PUP, over all of the years of them running. And to me, he is going to easily win these elections against the People’s United Party candidate.”

Caribbean Shores was established in 1984 and quickly became the domain of former Prime Minister and UDP leader Sir Manuel Esquivel, who represented it from 1984 to 1998. In a bit of irony, he had moved over from Freetown, same as Chang, in his case to avoid the juggernaut of the late George Price, who ironically would lose the 1984 election to newcomer the late Derek Aikman, and later have to switch divisions himself.

Castillo took over from Carlos Perdomo and defeated Dr. David Hoy in 2012 before stepping aside for Bradley in 2015 and then Chang, who defeated former City Councilor Leila Peyrefitte in a convention last year. He had previously lost a race in 1993 in the division of Belize Rural South to the PUP’s Glenn Godfrey.

Castillo has insisted elsewhere that he considers Chang a “good friend,” but has also said that the division’s voters, generally more affluent than other City voters, also have more of an independent streak compared to party strongholds. The division has been considered a bellwether in election predictions.

In three weeks, the voters will give their verdict. Both men will be nominated to contest on Wednesday.

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