PM Briceño on Belize Parliament: “We Argue… Then Hug and Talk Like Friends”

Belize’s lawmakers may argue fiercely, but they do not come to blows, Prime Minister John Briceño said.

On Monday, violent clashes erupted in Mexico’s Congress among lawmakers during debate over reforms to the capital’s transparency oversight system. Video from the chamber shows legislators shoving and pulling hair after opposition members occupied the podium in protest.

The reforms remove the INFO CDMX as an autonomous body and place its functions under the executive. The governing Morena party says the move streamlines operations. The opposition argues it weakens accountability.

“It goes to show you how well behaved we are when you look at what’s going on not only in Mexico,” Briceño told reporters today. “We could argue with one another in the House, and when that’s done, we are hugging one another and talking like we’re friends.”

He added, “At the end of the day, we’re all Belizeans, so why do we need to go into any kind of physical fight?”