Attorney Pennelope Beckles made history on Sunday as she became the first woman to lead the People’s National Movement (PNM), taking the helm of the main opposition party in Trinidad and Tobago after its resounding defeat in the April 28 general elections.
“On this day, we herald the beginning of the journey to bring back the love to the PNM, to bring back the values that made us strong… Values such as compassion and listening in leadership,” Beckles declared to applause at a special convention where she and the new executive were sworn in.
Elected unopposed to replace former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, Beckles made it clear she would not serve as a figurehead.
“I’m not here to be a figurehead or a caretaker, a token or somebody’s pawn,” she said. “I’m here to work, to meet you boldly, to listen to you deeply, and to work with you… to restore our great party. So I ask you not for blind faith, but for open hearts. In return for your trust, I make this solemn vow to you. I will lead our PNM with integrity, humility and love.”
Beckles paid tribute to the party’s past leaders, including founding father Dr. Eric Williams and the late Patrick Manning.
“He gave me the opportunity to serve as a councillor in the Arima Borough Corporation in 1992 and first appointed me as a senator in 1995,” she recalled. “In 2000, he led the screening team and selected me as a candidate for Member of Parliament for Arima. And I served in his cabinet… and he appointed me the first female deputy speaker in 2007.”
While hailing her own historic elevation, Beckles emphasized that her leadership symbolizes a larger shift for women in politics.
“It’s about generations of women who dare to believe they belong… not just in the crowd, not just as the backbone of the movement, but now at the helm of leadership,” she said. “This moment redefines every future for every young PNM daughter who now knows that there is no space too high and no position too important for them one day to occupy.”
Addressing the disillusioned party base, she issued a heartfelt appeal: “To every single member of the PNM who stayed home recently… who felt left behind… Come back home. We need your wisdom. We need your honesty. We need your experience.”
She continued, “To the undecided, to the sceptical, to the observers, I invite you to take a second look. This is a new era, new leadership, a renewed commitment. Join us, help us, hold us accountable.”
In the most recent general election, the PNM secured only 13 of 41 parliamentary seats, with the United National Congress (UNC)-led coalition winning a commanding majority. The PNM attributes its poor showing in part to dissatisfaction over the selection of Stuart Young to replace Rowley.
Meanwhile, new PNM chairman Marvin Gonzales urged party members to prepare for political battle, particularly in light of the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration’s recent dismissal of 10,000 workers from the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP).
“Get your marching shoes ready,” Gonzales told supporters. “If it is one thing that is going to wake up the PNM fighting spirit, it is now that they are going after the CEPEP workers… the URP workers… the reforestation workers. They have touched us and we are going to respond… not only in the courts, but… politically as well.”
Gonzales also decried what he described as a wider trend of job cuts across state entities.
“Today, more than ever, our country needs us, needs the PNM to be great again. In one week, we have lost our Central Bank governor… the CEO of the Water and Sewerage Authority and nine executive officials… All the (300) CEPEP contractors and, by extension, the 10,000-plus workers,” he said, adding that additional layoffs were expected at the Land Settlement Agency, WASA, and the reforestation programme.
Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath has defended the government’s decision, stating the goal is to transition CEPEP workers into more sustainable employment.
“It is not about keeping people in the mindset of cutting grass for the rest of their lives,” Padarath said at a news conference. “It is about empowering them and empowering their children to have a better quality of life.”
He also criticized CEPEP’s past use, saying it had been “used as a political pawn to have people go to political meetings.”
Despite the brewing political tension, Beckles maintained a message of unity and renewal.
“We are not just preparing to win elections; we are prepared to win back the hearts and minds and trust of the people,” she said.
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