By Breaking Belize News Staff: Honduran-born Toledo East Area Representative and Minister of State for Economic Transformation Dr. Osmond Martinez is facing criticism after using his Independence Day address in Punta Gorda to launch a lengthy political broadside against UDP mayoral candidate Franklin “Kranka” Polonio and the United Democratic Party. Martinez currently serves as Minister of State for Economic Transformation, while Polonio is the UDP’s mayoral candidate for Punta Gorda ahead of the March 3, 2027 municipal elections.
Martinez spent much of his address, approximately 11-minutes, contrasting the PUP’s record in Toledo with that of the UDP and Polonio, at one point challenging Polonio to compare what he accomplished during six years in municipal government with what Martinez said has been achieved over the past two years.
The speech took an especially sharp turn when Martinez accused the UDP of discriminating against Maya and Hispanic Belizeans. “Because the UDP is a party that endorses discrimination against the Mayan people, the Hispanic people,” Martinez declared, after alleging that Maya communities had previously been abandoned and denied development, including electricity.
Martinez then pointed to infrastructure works in Bella Vista as evidence of the current administration’s record, telling the gathering that the village now has one concrete street and promising more. “Bella Vista for the first time has a concrete street. We will have a second and a third street before the year is done,” he said. He also cited plans for a market and a new police station.
The remarks did not go uninterrupted. Martinez was heckled several times from the gathering, including while invoking the Bible. In one exchange, a person could be heard objecting in Kriol, apparently telling Martinez not to “bring up” the Bible because he was “wicked.” Another person challenged him over the political nature of his remarks.
Reaction online was also heated. In comments beneath one Facebook post carrying the video, several viewers argued that Independence Day was the wrong occasion for partisan attacks. “There is a place and time for everything,” one commenter wrote, while another said, “This was not the time n place for that sir.” Others defended Martinez, with one commenter writing, “Truth be told!!! Bridge must be crossed. Bravo Minister.” The thread had attracted more than 100 comments and dozens of shares at the time it was captured, but the comments represent reactions to that particular post and not a scientific measure of wider public opinion.
Former UDP Chairman Alberto August issued an even harsher response, accusing Martinez of using a “national day of unity” as a political platform and repeatedly referring to him as a “JACKASS.” August also wrote that while he was “no proponent of violence,” if Martinez had been “stoned off stage” it was something he had “earned.” August is a former senior UDP official who remains publicly active in political commentary.
UDP Toledo East also responded online, claiming Martinez’s speech showed that he was “frustrated” and that the PUP was “losing ground” in Toledo East. Those are partisan assertions ahead of the municipal campaign and not independently established facts.
The PUP will contest Punta Gorda under mayoral candidate Maclovio Ack, who won the party’s August convention, setting the stage for another closely watched municipal contest in a town where the 2024 mayoral race between the PUP and Polonio was decided by a narrow margin.
The post ‘Not The Time Or The Place’: Toledo East Rep Osmond Martinez draws backlash after Independence Day attack on UDP candidate, accuses UDP of racism, quotes Bible, gets heckled appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Honduran-born Toledo East Area Representative and Minister of State for Economic Transformation Dr. Osmond Martinez is facing criticism after using his Independence Day address in Punta Gorda to launch a lengthy political broadside against UDP mayoral candidate Franklin “Kranka” Polonio and the United Democratic Party. Martinez currently serves as Minister
The post ‘Not The Time Or The Place’: Toledo East Rep Osmond Martinez draws backlash after Independence Day attack on UDP candidate, accuses UDP of racism, quotes Bible, gets heckled appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
