Ralph Henry Fonseca (9 August 1949 – 6 June 2025) was a Belizean politician and a member of the

People's United Party The People's United Party (, PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2025 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean Hou ...

Political history

In 1984, he became a candidate for the House of Representatives in Queen's Square, running against attorney and city councillor

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as the fourth prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served a ...

. He lost and returned to private life until 1989, when he was appointed a Senator and Minister of State in Finance and Leader of Government Business in the

Senate of Belize The Senate is the upper chamber of the National Assembly of Belize. It has 13 members appointed for a five-year term by the Governor-General. Establishment and appointment Senators are appointed by the Governor-General in the following ma ...

until 1993. In the 1993 elections he won in the newly created

Belize Rural Central Belize Rural Central is an electoral constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2020 by Dolores Balderamos-García of the People's United Party (PUP). Profile The Bel ...

constituency despite the PUP's close overall loss. He repeated this victory in 1998 and 2003. He served in Cabinet as Minister of Budget Management, Investment and Home Affairs until 2003, when he was moved to

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

again while keeping Home Affairs. Beginning in 2006, he was in charge only of Home Affairs. He became the PUP's national campaign manager in 1985. Fonseca was undecided as to whether he would seek a fourth term in the February 2008 election, but he subsequently decided to contest his constituency. He was defeated, in what was considered an upset, by the UDP's Michael Hutchinson, a relatively unknown candidate. On 14 February, the PUP announced that Fonesca had resigned as PUP campaign manager.

Personal life and education

Fonseca attended St. John's College High School and Sixth Form in

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

before going to university in Canada to major in information technology, specialising in systems analysis and control data. He was married with three children. Fonseca reportedly loved diving and fishing. Fonseca was a cousin of former PUP leader and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

Francis Fonseca."Francis Fonseca on Why He Wants to Lead the PUP"

Tropical Vision Limited Tropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, ...

, 25 February 2008. (accessed 25 October 2014) Fonseca's younger brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, served as Mayor of

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

from 1999 until 2006."Former Bze. City Mayor David Fonseca Takes His Own Life"

. (accessed 4 May 2015) Fonseca's only son, Ralph Fonseca Jr. was killed in a motor accident on 11 September 2007.

Non-political work

Before going to Canada, Fonseca acted as an assistant general manager at the

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...

oil company in Belize. In Canada, he was employed in various capacities of information technology. After returning to Belize, he worked as managing director for Belize Brewing Ltd., Hilllbank Agroindustries and Consolidated Electricity Services. Sandwiched between these jobs were posts as Chairman of the former Belize Electricity Board, now Belize Electricity Limited, and the Telecommunications Authority, now BTL. He served as a consultant in the petroleum, mining, airline, and shrimping industries.

Criticism

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

, Fonseca popularised the policy of growth economics, which proposes to develop Belize's economy through privatisation of assets and encouraging foreign investments, which in turn is supposed to create jobs for Belizeans. Supporters argue that Growth Economics is behind Belize's consecutive gains in total growth; detractors say any benefits from growth economics only accrue to PUP interests and in reality Fonseca damaged Belize's international reputation due to high debt and poor economic indicators. He was further accused of practising official corruption, granting favours to party supporters in return for shares in the profits. However, claims either way cannot be measured. Fonseca had a notably tense relationship with certain media houses antagonistic to his policies. The

Amandala ''Amandala'' is a Belizean tabloid newspaper. Published twice weekly, it is Belize's largest newspaper. ''Amandala'' was established in 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been poli ...

and KREM Radio, who under chairman

Evan X Hyde Evan Anthony Hyde (better known as Evan X Hyde; born 30 April 1947) is a Belizean writer, journalist, media executive and former politician. He publishes and writes for the nation's largest newspaper, ''Amandala'', and oversees its subsidiaries ...

had been in partnership with the PUP since 1994, claimed to have ended that relationship under pressure from Fonseca.http://www.amandala.com.bz/index.php?id=5546 _{Amandala editorial: Message to the Blue People.}

Channel 7, managed by

Jules Vasquez Jules Vasquez (born July 8, 1970) is a Belizean journalist and media executive. He is the News Director and Chief Editor at Tropical Vision Limited, known locally as Channel 7 News, the longest operating broadcaster in Belize."Our Belize Community ...

, also came under fire by Fonseca for a perceived bias against him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonseca, Ralph 1949 births 2025 deaths People's United Party politicians Finance ministers of Belize Government ministers of Belize Members of the Senate (Belize) Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Belize Rural Central Belizean businesspeople 20th-century Belizean politicians 21st-century Belizean politicians