A carnival-like atmosphere erupted through the streets of Arouca on Friday as the PNM’s candidate for Arouca/Lopinot, Marvin Gonzales, made his way to the Five Rivers Community Centre to file his nomination papers.
Along the way, there was a friendly clash between supporters of the two main political parties.
Mr. Gonzales said he is not deterred by his opponents, as he believes his track record speaks for itself. He also said he is prepared to carry on the work he began in 2020 and take it forward to 2030.
“Indeed, like life, there will always be work to be done and given our strong track record of performance over the last five years, I want to assure not only the people of Trinidad and Tobago but particularly the people of this constituency that given the work that we have done in 2025 and 2030, I will do everything in my power to ensure that we have the best constituency in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Mr. Gonzales had a message for the candidate put forward by the United National Congress who is being supported by a former Member of Parliament and Government Minister under the People’s Partnership administration.
“It is a very poor signal and it is not an example for our young people in Trinidad and Tobago. It is not, and we’re going to reject her and all that she represents and we’re going to bury him once and for all.”
Mr. Gonzales, who is also the Minister of National Security, points out that the PNM Government has invested a lot to support the youth population.
“We have created an entire Ministry of Youth Development and National Service to offer training and opportunities for our young people so that they can deviate and turn away from a life of crime. The Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Sports and Community Development, all of these Ministries are offering programmes and courses to allow our young people opportunity and a hope to turn away from a life of crime.”
The UNC’s Dr. Natalie Chaitan-Maraj also successfully filed her nomination papers at the Five Rivers Community Centre.