REKINDLING THE DREAM OF 1953

Nov 16, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Very little attention has been paid to the fact that Navin Chanderpal is on his party’s list of candidates for the 2011 elections. This clearly indicates an intention on the part of the PPPC’s presidential candidate to reunite his party by retaining on the ticket, tried and tested members of the ruling party whom many observers were claiming had a falling out with the President.
The fact that Navin Chanderpal is on his party’s ticket and his wife is also on the ticket is an indication that things are going to be different under a Donald Ramotar presidency.
Already he is making a difference. The son of the former President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, has endorsed Donald Ramotar, as has the former Minister of Finance Minister of Guyana, Mr. Asgar Ally.
The PPPC has not made any major political catch so far but it seems as if at every major rally it keeps announcing those who are coming forward and endorsing the PPP or its presidential candidate. There are still at least two more major rallies left and perhaps there will be others.
A common denominator of those who have come forward, however, has been that all of them are placing a great deal of trust in Donald Ramotar. Most have said that they have known him a long time and that he is man of his word.
Donald Ramotar has also on the campaign trail been speaking about Guyana achieving national unity. In driving home both his desire and passion to unite all the people of Guyana he has harked back to the vision of 1953 when the PPP was united.
All the people of Guyana were however not united in 1953. The unity of 1953 was a unity of the working class. There are classes in Guyana who want political stability because its serves their interests but they do not wish working class unity because this will reduce their profits.
In 1953 there was working class as opposed to national unity. The two are not interchangeable terms.
The subsequent split in the PPP divided the working class movement. This deeply pained Cheddi. He tried desperately to recreate that unity, often, according to recent testimony, having secret meetings with Burnham on the seawall in the midst of the country’s political turmoil, seeking unity. He understood that this unity must be first reflected through an accommodation at the political level, since it was political division that split the working class movement.
Donald Ramotar is trying to rekindle the spirit of 1953 when there was no division in the country’s working class. From his public pronouncements, he believes that Guyana is at the stage where that elusive dream can be realized in the years ahead. He is extremely passionate about this and he’s obviously hoping that during his presidency he can advance this goal.
Achieving working class unity requires a politician who at the minimum can bridge political differences. Is Donald Ramotar this politician?
Already there are persons who were not originally from the PPP who are saying that he is someone that they can work with and under whom Guyana will do well. Already there are persons who were against the PPP but who are saying that things will be different under Ramotar.
It will however take more than faith and confidence in Donald Ramotar for working class unity to be achieved. It will take more than someone who can mend political fences.
National unity is not the same as working class unity. Right now, very few people are speaking about working class unity; they are speaking about national unity which is mainly about bringing our people together.
Working class unity on the other hand is about making the interests of the working class paramount. It is not just about ending the divisions based on ethnicity and race. It is about uniting the working class. And working class unity is going to scare a great many people whose existence depends on keeping the working class divided.
Political unity is critically important to the goals of both working class and national unity. But political unity does not mean power sharing.
Donald Ramotar has said very clearly that he is willing to give consideration to the suggestions of the opposition.
In fact, if after the elections an accommodation can be found between the leaders of the PNCR and APNU, it will send a positive signal throughout the country and set the stage for nationwide healing.
As such if Donald Ramotar wins the elections- as is now widely expected- his first priority should be to find this accommodation. He must make this his number one priority but he must do this without pressure.
There are many who believe that he will try to find an accommodation. An accommodation does not mean a government of national unity. A government that sets itself the goal of uniting the people of Guyana, that is inspired by the exciting period of 1953 when the working class was united against British imperialism and colonialism, will make more progress that an administration which has to go through the pains of trying to create some power sharing arrangement at the top.
Leadership is important to achieving an accommodation between our parties. If that leadership is provided in the week after November 28, then perhaps the dream of Cheddi Jagan, the dream of uniting the working class once again can be realized. But the first stepping stone to that dream has to be finding an accommodation between the PPPC and APNU. Is Donald Ramotar the man to do this?

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