The Parliament of Aruba is writing a dark page in the political history of our country, and even more so in the history of the AVP party. What was recently witnessed in the Parliament hall is the reflection of an unrecognizable faction, a faction that demonstrated it has no backbone and chose to turn its back on the second candidate of its own list and the working people of Aruba. A candidate thanks to whom those who voted against his motion are able to sit there today.
In a lamentable display of lack of vision and political courage, fellow parliamentarians—thanks to the thousands of votes that the people deposited in them—decided to turn their back on a noble, pragmatic, and well-founded motion. A motion that did not put any sector in trouble, but instead sought to bring social justice and real relief to more than 40% of our population who today live and survive on a minimum wage.
Aruba’s economic reality today shows that the country has a surplus and that the economy is moving in a positive direction. However, this good economic wind is not reaching the pockets of those who need it most. More than 40% of our workforce remains trapped in a minimum wage that is insufficient to cover the enormously increased cost of living.
The proposed motion sought a direct and structured change to take effect starting January 1st, something that Mike de Meza had made a desire of his through a motion in parliament.
The incomprehensible stance of the AVP faction is that the motion did not place an unsustainable burden on the commercial sector. The proposal involved a pragmatic compensation formula. It seems that before Mike Eman leaves his government, he himself, together with FUTURO, is trying to jointly destroy AVP.
The motion speaks of:
BBO relief for merchants: Give merchants a reduction or a break in their BBO payment to compensate for the minimum wage increase. Instead of paying the full BBO, the merchant receives this discount, preventing them from having to pass the wage cost onto consumer prices.
Inflation control: This increase should not be passed on (reken door) to grocery prices, avoiding an inflationary spiral that harms the consumer.
Improvement in quality of life: The minimum wage worker receives their first substantial and net increase without the cost of living rising in parallel.
This represented an ideal win-win situation: the merchant does not lose, the people do not suffer inflation, and the minimum wage worker receives the economic justice they deserve.
When a faction turns its back on its own leadership and on such a noble and balanced motion, it demonstrates that momentary political interests come before the well-being of the people who voted for them. A party that historically carried the banner and was always focused on the people has today shown the difference.
The information we have is that behind the scenes there is plenty of pressure and shouting about how things should run; the minister enters the house of the people—the Parliament of Aruba—and imposes on the parliamentarians, who practically and regrettably do not know their power at the moment when behind-the-scenes threats take place by ministers who do not love this country.
Instead of ministers coming to dictate what parliamentarians must do, the power is in the hands of the parliamentarian to instruct the minister that he is wrong and how they want the structure changed, and if the minister truly doesn’t like them as a parliamentarian, they can send the minister home. Where the minister has to step down from the position if they do not want to work for Aruba. But at the same time, regrettably, we see that the salary and the seat make coalition parliamentarians swallow everything hook, line, and sinker, where ministers gain power over them without truly knowing why they sit in the parliament of Aruba: not for party interest, not for the minister’s interest, not for the seat, and not for the money, but for the interest of Aruba.
