Unity and Struggle

Jul 16, 2010 Editorial

To many, the PPP remains an enigma. Formed as a nationalist party in the anti-colonial struggle after World War II, for one shining moment in 1953, it represented “what might have been” for Guyana. Declaring unabashedly that it stood on the side of the workers of the colony, it made known that the interests of a vast majority of the populace would be represented. The manipulations of the colonial powers fuelled the ambitions of some leaders and the party was split – unfortunately on ethnic lines.
We therefore had the anomaly of a Marxist party operating within a Westminster system of governance supported by an ethnic bloc. In 1969, the PPP declared itself a “Marxist-Leninist” party and reorganised itself to conduct its affairs in the orthodoxy of such an identification. One of these innovations being, for instance, the much-maligned practice of “democratic centralism”, where decisions are seen to be made at the top and passed down as “dictat” to the rank and file. The entire party was putatively required to toe the line on those decisions whether or not there was complete unanimity of views.
In the post-1992 era, the criticism of “democratic centralism” intensified as the PPP government struggled, under the new dispensation, to institute the values of what it had formerly scoffed at as “bourgeoise democracy”. The involvement of the people in the making of decisions that affected them was one of the values at the top of the list. The theory and practise of democratic centralism was thought to vitiate this right.
If the truth be told however, the reality of the latter practice in the PPP of Dr Jagan was much more nuanced. Firstly, before the decisions could be made from the top, it was required that the opinions from below be solicited. In the deliberations within the PPP, Dr Jagan made as an article of faith, the principle of “unity and struggle”. The need for unity implied that there were differences within the party: unity is unremarked where there is a priori unanimity. But unity was never for unity’s sake: it was always a means to give strength to the party to achieve particular (and declared) ends for which the party had to struggle.
Dr Jagan was famous for encouraging debate at all levels of the party from the group level to the Central Committee, which mitigated – at least within the party – criticism of unilateralism. One outsider, Dr Henry Jeffery recently ruefully remarked that Cabinet meetings under Dr Jagan sometimes went on interminably so as to accommodate diverse views (struggle) – until consensus (unity) was achieved. In the post-Jagan era, there have been persistent grumblings that this collegial approach to decision-making has lapsed. Whatever the merits or demerits of that censure, it appears that in one crucial area there is an acceptance of the reality of differences within the party and the need for a more open debate to arrive at a unity to best conduct the struggle of the party. This is in the selection of the Presidential Candidate of the PPP for the upcoming presidential elections. Four senior executives of the party have publicly thrown their hats in the ring: Messrs. Ralph Ramkarran (Speaker of the House), Donald Ramotar (General Secretary of the PPP), Mr Moses Nagamootoo (MP) and Clement Rohee (Minister of Home Affairs).
Most recently, Mr Ralph Ramkarran, has admirably taken the opportunity to demonstrate that while he firmly believes in party unity, he recognises that there is a need for a more open struggle within the party to achieve that unity. Delivering the feature address to the FITUG conference, he announced his core beliefs that would guide his possible presidency: commitment to the working people; elimination of ethnic insecurity and ethnic politicization; pursuing a low carbon development strategy; developing our hydro electric potential; and increasing our productive capacity in agro-industries and in many other areas.
We trust that in the coming months Mr Ramkaran will expand on his declaration and that the other candidates from the PPP will also follow his lead. This course, we believe, will be in the very best “unity and struggle” tradition of the party – and in the new dispensation of democratic governance.

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