Jose Mai Steps Down Amid Health, Speculation Swirls

Prime Minister John Briceño says Jose Abelardo Mai stepped down from Cabinet to focus on his health, pointing to an upcoming back surgery. But that explanation has sparked questions, could there be more to the story? After all, resigning is very different from taking a leave of absence, and the timing comes after weeks of controversy and quiet diplomatic chatter. Notably, Minister Mai recently travelled to Brazil to represent Belize for Conference of Minister of Agriculture only a couple weeks ago. That means Minister Mai would have had to endure thirteen hours of flying, with a reported bad back that needs urgent surgery. Tonight, we take a closer look at what the Prime Minister revealed, and what he didn’t. Here’s News Five’s Paul Lopez with the details.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

It was a stunning development late Monday afternoon. Jose Abelardo Mai, who has served as Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise since 2020, tendered his resignation to Prime Minister John Briceño. And, today, PM Briceño sought to provide an explanation for the resignation.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I do believe he has a good future if that is what he wants. Many of you don’t know he owns a farm and one time he came to Cabinet saying he was riding a horse and he fell off. That is over a year ago. Many of us were bantering about it, teasing him about his lower back and his shoulder and now he was telling us he will have to be having surgery, going to have to take a leave of absence while he take the surgery and go through the recovery process. With your back it is a long process.”

 

But he did not take a leave of absence. Minister Mai resigned, leaving us to question whether the P.M. is being fully transparent, because there is a stark difference between a resignation and sick leave. Resigning over an upcoming surgery and a likely full recovery soon? That explanation feels a little hard to swallow.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“He think it would better serve the Cabinet and the government by taking time off to better take care of his health issues. I want to put on record my great and all of our tremendous appreciation for the great work that he did in the Ministry of Agriculture. I firmly believe that he is the best minister of agriculture we have had since 1981.”

 

Prime Minister Briceno’s explanation almost reads like a tribute to a long-lost friend. And it leaves a lot to be desired. Minister Mai is certainly not the first elected representative to have surgery performed on his back. Former Prime Minister Dean Barrow had multiple surgeries on his spine and back and never once resigned.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Minister Mai and I remain very close friends. We have been friends for a very long time. His parents live one block away from my house and we still keep in touch and we continue working and in Orange Walk district we work together and also in Northern Caucus. He is still the deputy party leader for the north. If he wants to continue in politics, I will support him. He has been an excellent area representative.”

 

Interestingly, Minister Mai looked perfectly healthy in photos posted on the Ministry of Agriculture’s Facebook page just last Friday. He was standing tall, nothing that hinted at an abrupt resignation three days later for health reasons. And take a look at this from October eighteenth: he’s not only standing strong at another event, but even bending low to the ground, appearing fit as ever. Still, Prime Minister John Briceño insists that last week’s meeting with the U.S. Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires had nothing to do with Mai’s decision to step down.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“At no time did they ever tell us about any minister that me having to remove from Cabinet. So, I want to make that very clear. But more than that I can’t say.”

 

Paul Lopez

“So, will he be back?”

 

Prime Minister

“Well, we shall take a look at it. Once he gets better, and he comes back, there is always room for good people in Cabinet.”

 

So, what is the future of Jose Mai? He remains the Area Representative for Orange Walk South. But, if it is to be believed that a back surgery forced him out of Cabinet, can he effectively serve his constituents moving forward? We reached out to Mai on multiple occasions for comments. Our calls and messages went unanswered. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.