Edmee Yolanda Schakron-Rodríguez (born 25 September 1965) is a Belizean activist and People's United Party candidate, best known as the aunt of murder victim Chris Galvez and a founder and president of Belizeans For Justice. Schakron was briefly the PUP standard bearer for the Lake Independence House constituency in 2012, but her candidacy was disallowed due to her dual citizenship at the time in Belize and the United States, after which she renounced U.S. citizenship. Schakron was the unsuccessful PUP nominee for Mayor of Belize City in 2015.
Early life
Schakron was born in Guatemala to Belizean parents. She previously lived in the United States, where she became a citizen at age 15 along with her parents when they naturalised. Schakron was married to Alfred Schakron, a businessman from Lebanon, but the two divorced. After their separation, she continued to raise her two children alone.
Anti-crime activism
Grieving aunt
Schakron first came to public attention following the 22 December 2009 execution-style murder of her 23-year-old nephew Chris Galvez on Faber's Road in Belize City. Galvez was the city's 92nd murder victim that year. A week after the murder, autopsy results revealed some findings that were inconsistent with the police reports on Galvez' death; Schakron and her brother Martin Galvez made public comments accusing the police of covering up for Chris Galvez' real killers. A suspect had been detained for questioning but released and then departed the country for the United States. Belize's Ministry of National Security (MNS) formed a commission of inquiry to look into Galvez' murder, headed by Deputy National Security Coordinator Oliver Del Cid, MNS administrative officer Jennifer Saldivar-Ramirez, and Assistant Superintendent of Police Marion Allen. The commission's report criticised the police for procedural irregularities in their investigation, but refuted accusations of a cover-up.
In the aftermath, Schakron became the "public face of the [Galvez] family's anguish". In media interviews in February, Schakron announced that she was founding a movement for the families of crime victims, in order to bring pressure to bear on the police to investigate their cases. She claimed that "everybody in Belize" knew who murdered her nephew and blamed the police for not acting. Her movement began crystallising in March with the establishment of a website entitled Peace and Justice for All, which she co-created with poet Erwin X. In early March, she stated that she had received threats on her life. Two weeks later, under the banner of the newly formed organisation Belizeans For Justice which she co-founded with families of other crime victims, Schakron participated in a protest march which attracted roughly 200 participants.
Rising profile
Schakron's anti-crime activism led her into danger and into politics. In July 2010, at a Belizeans For Justice press conference that had already been delayed due to threats of violence against her, she called for the resignation of Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries at a Belizeans for Justice press conference, after Jeffries allegedly told her he wanted nothing to do with the organisation. In January 2011, BFJ led a court challenge against Prime Minister Dean Barrow's refusal to expand the Senate of Belize to 13 members as required by a 2008 amendment to the Constitution of Belize. In response, Oscar Rosado accused BFJ of having been "hijacked" by its legal advisers, namely ex-Prime Minister Said Musa and attorney Anthony Sylvestre, both People's United Party (PUP) members. In April, Schakron's vehicle was set on fire; she stated that she had received a phone call with information that two police officers involved in the murder of her nephew and another murder were behind the arson.