Dear Editor,
A couple days ago Pedro Castillo was sworned in on July 28, 2021 to lead his country, Peru, after a tightly contested election. Reading the edifying news I would like to highlight the elevation of this rural man to power and congratulate him as the new president of Peru. Mr. Castillo is an Indigenous and peasant man as he refers to himself; from the interior of his country. When I visited that country in 2017, I spent some time in Tarapoto an interior location, and interacting with the people there. They told me that he was a promising leader for them which became a reality; even though he now faces a strong opposition in the senate to work with, however with transparency and healthy dialogue between the two sides, it is hoped that both can work things out to execute projects that best benefit the people of that country.
The newly elected president Castillo is a teacher and Indigenous man, an inspiration for Guyana’s indigenous or other rural people to initiate a political party in the future, with innovative approaches and bottom upwards plans for unifying the country and promoting a holistic development for all Guyanese. President Castillo political party evolved from the bottom wards (coming from a mud house in the interior to eventually winning) and now living in the presidential palace, leading his country as an indigenous and rural man. I wish him all the best in his leadership endeavors! As a primary school teacher in rural Peru, President Castillo over the years used his teaching skills to not only teach academics and cognitive learning, but to educate and empower his fellow grassroots people with the necessary knowledges: to think critically, and be conscious to deal with skullduggery, political rhetoric and to accept and bless hand outs from the governments while maintain their empowerment to develop themselves holistically and to speak and act united to achieve their goal that resulted in putting a fellow grassroots man to lead their country.
Editor, I think Guyana needs this approach in its politics even though after sometimes power will eventually corrupt the grass roots man. However, for too long the country has been ruled by a bourgeois group of politicians from the coast who have a myopic vision in politics. Most of whom think that Guyana is Georgetown and most display arrogance and are vindictive towards one another. Additionally, they make their ‘intelligence and brilliance’ stifle common sense and wisdom that result in a myopic vision of leadership for the country, compounded by a quagmire of soup drinkers and ‘yes’ men politicians who suck up to imperial powers. Against this backdrop, Pedro Castillo’s victory serves as a good example for US rural or grass roots population in Guyana, be they from the Indo, Afro or Indigenous and others; to mobilize and empower ourselves while accepting government’s services and investment from the oil money and simultaneously forming innovative and open minded persons with trust ( for example in the future to go ‘beyond frontiers’ of ethnocentrism etc., where we can have an Afro Guyanese leading the PPP and a Indo-or Indigenous Guyanese to heading the PNC/APNU) to govern the country and eventually shatter the rival Afro-Indo coastal dominant political hegemony, that obstructs the country from developing unitedily.
Sincerely,
Medino Abraham