Anthony “Boots” Martinez – Minister Human Development
“No man, come down – various equipment – my main focus was people. I was in charge of an amount of people of which, literally under the Ministry of Works, we were acting as a great degree, as the Ministry of Social Services and Human Development. The amount of single mothers we had employed, the amount of at-risk people we had employed, I was of the thinking that the name of the ministry is not important. The function of the ministry is what is important. I see that as a huge upgrade.”
Jules Vasquez
“So you actually – wait, because most people say it’s a downgrade, you actually see it as an upgrade?”
Anthony “Boots” Martinez
“Yes, that’s a huge upgrade. You have the Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation, and Poverty Alleviation.”
I can’t believe that the perception of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation is “a step down”. WOW and we wonder why our people are disillusioned and feeling hopeless? Do you understand what that means? We couldn’t be bothered to invest in our greatest asset? US????? Thank you Mr. Boots for putting Jules Vasquez in his place…Maybe Jules thinks that this ministry is too lame and is more like “woman’s work” huh? What the hell prompted his dumbassedness? If this wasn’t a seriously disturbing reflection on our society, it would be funny. But sadly, I can’t laugh. It’s more like I want to scream and rant and rail.
We need to take the weakest in our society seriously because a society which doesn’t is destined to fail miserably.
Very upset with Belizean mentality in this moment. Reminds me of when a certain dean of a certain school told me that they wouldn’t be giving out scholarships for psychology because it is not important. Shortsighted muthafuckahs.
Twocanview LLC 
Actually I think you misunderstood, or took the interview out of context. Jules was actually referring to the fact that as Minister of Works Boots was able to hustle massive sums of money through contracts. Also there is a certain amount of prestige associated with being the Minister of Works dealing with multi-million dollar contracts and responsible for many millions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects across the country. Jules was taking a stab at Boots, insinuating that to him (Boots) it must be seen as a downgrade.
See, as Minister responsible for Human Development and Poverty Alleviation…there are less opportunities to hustle (the PMs intention for putting him there) and more real work to be done. Boots will no longer be able to use Works resources and materials to build homes for himself and his family all over Belize.
Unfortunately, you are right in that ministries which should be the most important and pertinent to bettering the lives of Belizeans are the ones nobody wants and nobody ever does anything with. That happens because Ministers traditionally grasp for power, prestige and opportunity to secure riches as opposed to an opportunity to actually serve the people and better our lives.
Give brother Jules a break…we are all smart enough to know what is needed in Belize and which ministries are important. Sadly, we are also too smart to believe that our Ministers really want to do the right thing, or even know what the right thing is.
I didn’t misunderstand and notice I didn’t address that issue…that was NOT my point…I know why they think the Ministry of Works is prestigious…I heard a lot of rumours about Boots but that was not what my article is about…these two people just happened to be the characters involved in portraying the larger issue that I was actually addressing