Will 2020 see Guyana free from neocolonialism?
The beginning of another decade is upon us. With it always comes the hope of new beginnings and a chance to change course from things that are working against us. Our country is at a critical juncture wherein the decisions we make now will impact our future and that of our descendants. I’m unsure though as to whether we as a people are ready to make the necessary changes for the achievement of a decade centred on development. To achieve this means that we have to be able to differentiate between the things that have served us and those that never have.
A week ago saw many Guyanese in a frenzied state of optimism over the drawing of first oil. It is quite an exciting time for our little Guyana. We have been plunged from relative obscurity to worldwide fame in a very short time. Our tourism rates have seen sharp increases, with many of course coming here to scope out possible avenues for investment in this land that is ripe for the taking. While the country will inevitably benefit from the black gold found on these shores, our expectations must be tempered to match the realities of our unpreparedness for the sector, our divisive politics and the easy corruptibility of man. Cautious optimism concerning returns from our wealth should instead be the approach taken by the public. The real winners in all of this unfortunately are the major oil players and select politicians in our midst, not the average citizen.
The coalition government has of course been selling the fable-like utopic vision of a future bolstered by the great returns of an oil economy. Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo even went so far as to state that oil will free us Guyanese from economic bondage. These are powerful words in a country plagued by poverty and inequality. The problem is that these are shallow words from a representative of a government aiming to maintain its foothold on power. Never trust the words of a politician in campaign mode. Given that even today we cannot claim full independence over our political landscape, Guyana’s quest for economic freedom from all indications is a very long way off and holding one’s breath for it might not be advisable.
In late September 2019, joint statements from the US, UK and EU called for an immediate election date to be set lest their developmental work in Guyana become hindered. They would later offer their help in the electoral process. I don’t know about you, but I found this quite ironic given these nations’ roles in the historic and present day underdevelopment of the Global South. Regardless, the clear warning to our nation’s leaders seemed to have worked. In preparation mode for the upcoming general elections, GECOM has enlisted the help of the International Republican Institute (IRI) that will be providing technical support on voter education. We should be concerned about the IRI being involved in our elections. While they sell themselves as being an organization centred on promoting democracy, they in actuality seem to operate more as a foreign policy arm for the rightwing conservative party. Their claims of nonpartisanship are a smokescreen as a casual look at the IRI Board members would find represented a who’s who of conservative republicans. Many IRI board members are extremely right wing and have been involved in the implementation of atrocious policies and actions that affected many minority populations in the US and the Middle East. The IRI has been linked to the overthrowing of the democratically elected government in Haiti and also served as a bridge in the military coup in Venezuela.
This is not to say that organizations such as the IRI are in reality incapable of supporting democracy, it is just that often, it must be in their interest to do so. Given the USA’s position in the world and its focus on building and maintaining its empire, their goals and that of small postcolonial Caribbean nations such as ourselves, often run counter to each other. When we examine the genesis of the IRI and recognize its creation under Ronald Reagan was aimed at rolling back the influence of the Soviet Union, we can see that the IRI’s work over the years of influencing political outcomes in developing countries and promoting a fiercely neoliberal economic and political model falls right in line with what it was intended for.
Given that our political history has for the most part been heavily influenced by foreign powers, particular care must be taken where our political future and national autonomy is concerned. Even in our achievement of independence, the latter has for a long time been withheld from us. In essence, we were pacified by European powers that in a successful attempt at placating colonial dissent gave us the symbolic myth of independence while withholding the reality of it. Unable to chart our own destinies and reorient our economic relationships, we have been left in-dependence even as a new decade beckons.
As West Indies professor, Tennyson Joseph, stated, “in the old days the colonial rulers enjoyed power without responsibility, today our local governments have responsibility without power, and international agencies enjoy power without responsibility.” When it comes to the dream of economic liberation of our people, I must say it a worthy one albeit hollow in the face of our forced and willing enmeshment with the policy agendas and goals of the world’s superpowers.