We are a people of long histories, short memories and limited visions. Nothing has quite belaboured this point than our divisive political landscape and our reliance on narratives sowed by political elites and power brokers. It is true that our little Guyana has been through quite a lot before and after its march towards independence. With ideations surrounding freedom to rule, there also came those surrounding the ideals of democracy and inclusive governance. We have never been able to achieve those because the belief that free and fair elections represented them subsumed us. But free and fair elections are not the entirety of democracy and the exclusory nature of our ethnic politics will never truly see us attaining it.
I note the calls from the warriors for democracy with interest. A lot of it stripped bare reveals real concerns over ethnic subjugation and who has the right to wield power. While it is all natural and good as citizens and hypothetical power holders to want to have a finger in shaping the direction of one’s country, democracy is not without context. In holding fast to the liberal principles of collective self determination, they fail (intentionally/unwittingly) to address how economic and structural issues see select groups, politicians and corporations maintaining their grasp on the reins of power to the detriment of individuals who do not have certain privileges and protections.
There is serious dissonance in this place. Democracy is not just about marching to one’s polling station and then having that vote counted, it is much more than that. It speaks to all groups having equality under the law, economy and other social systems regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexual identity or religion; it means access to a free press and having the ability to criticize the government without fear of threats or repercussion. Can we truly say given these factors that Guyana has ever been a democracy?
My answer is no and we will never be able to attain it with our current governance model. Shared governance can lead to many progressive steps that can temper exclusionary politics and fears of the “other side’s” rule. The saying goes, those who have eyes will see yet so many remain willfully blind to avoid admitting how frail and persistently toxic our systems of governance are. Ethnic politics is going nowhere, particularly in this climate. While the youths are always a promised generation of change, this change bursts out in isolatory bubbles and ultimately fear wins. Politics at its core is centered on conflict between groups rather than compromise, so what we see in our election every five years will continue indefinitely unless there is growth and movement towards inclusive governance. Persistently holding our elections in a democratic void ultimately undermines the achievement of democracy itself.
While concerns over who will sit in the highest seat in the land abound and continue to take centre stage, the threat of COVID-19’s rapid spread and its effects is still to make itself fully known. The Ministry of Public Health reported that the confirmed cases still remain at five but given all we know of the virus and the fact that it took a while to identify, test and isolate those infected; the numbers are probably higher. We need just to recall recent history of a few weeks wherein Africa was thought to have very few cases of the virus, spurring claims that it could not survive in heat. However, it was only due to Africa’s limited testing of persons that those numbers remained so low for so long. Today, Africa has recorded close to 2500 confirmed cases, crippling their under resourced health services. Our health care system also under resourced will face significant challenges in the months to come should the virus take hold here as it has done everywhere else.
In an attempt to prepare, the Ministry of Finance has sought a loan from the World Bank. Both they and the International Monetary Fund announced no interest loans for low-income and developing countries to fight the virus. This has raised some questions here as to whether Guyana would be able to secure the loan given that the IMF rejected Venezuela based on lack of recognition of the Maduro government by the international community. Given the floated threats of sanctions against Guyana and our challenged electoral results, there is belief we might suffer a similar response from the World Bank. The IMF’s prompt rejection of Venezuela’s request for aid shows that it is taking directives from its largest contributor, the US of A; laying bare their callousness and political immaturity in times of crisis even as they grapple to contain it.
When faced with the realities of uncaring states, it is great to acknowledge those who commit to international liberation politics such as Cuba. Cuba has come to the aid of poor countries through the free provision of drugs and doctors to help combat the virus. With China now recovering from the virus’s crippling impacts, they have also been providing aid to other countries now battling it. In the midst of predicted capitalist failure, two socialist countries are giving ideas of a new way of living in a globalized world.
The coming weeks will demonstrate to us not only which governments would have used available information to anticipate problems and cater to the needs of its population, but will also reveal how unsustainable capitalism and globally linked economies are. It is time for us to see that no one deserves to work and live under unfair conditions that bring poverty and incentivize predatory behaviour. Humanity deserves more.
