Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Aranda (1934 – July 2022) was a Belizean politician and

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and traditionally speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language. The Garifuna ...

activist.

Education and UDP career

Aranda held an M.A. (1967) and a Ph.D. (1971) in Education from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. He worked with the Belizean branch of the

CARE Care may refer to: Organizations and projects * CARE (New Zealand), Citizens Association for Racial Equality, a former New Zealand organisation * CARE (England) West Midlands, Central Accident Resuscitation Emergency team, a team of doctors & ...

organization. In 1974, he joined the newly formed United Democratic Party and quickly rose up the ranks. In 1979, he was one of the five representatives elected for the UDP, representing the

Dangriga Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the ...

constituency. He was elected UDP leader as the previous leader, Dean Lindo, was defeated for re-election in the Fort George constituency. After a stormy stint as the country's first post-independence

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 ...

, Aranda was either ousted or resigned from the UDP leadership in late 1982, leaving the party entirely shortly thereafter.

Christian Democratic Party and move to the PUP

Aranda briefly revived the Christian Democratic Party in 1983 and unsuccessfully sought re-election in Dangriga under its banner in 1984, finishing third with 24.3 percent of the vote. He went on to join 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 ...

and re-captured the Dangriga seat as its candidate in 1989. Russell "Chiste" Garcia defeated him for the seat in 1993, but Aranda won a third non-consecutive term in 1998. He was not a candidate for re-election in 2003. Since Belize's 1981 independence from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Aranda was the only person to win election to the Belize House as a candidate for both the UDP and the PUP.

World Garifuna Organization

In 2000, Aranda formed the World Garifuna Organization, a body claiming to represent Garinagu across the world and in Belize, though the official Belizean body is the National Garifuna Council. Aranda had been at odds with younger members of the Garinagu population.

Death

He died in July 2022.

References

External links

Evan X Hyde on Aranda's influence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aranda, Theodore 1934 births 2022 deaths People from Dangriga Garifuna people People's United Party politicians Christian Democratic Party (Belize) politicians United Democratic Party (Belize) politicians Government ministers of Belize Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Dangriga University of Illinois College of Education alumni Belizean activists