The PPP is in the grip of the bourgeoisie

Nov 17, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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…Peeping Tom

Kaieteur news- The People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) stands at a crossroads. Once the vanguard of working-class politics in Guyana, it now bears little resemblance to the party envisioned by its founder, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. The transformation is undeniable. From its rhetoric to its policies, the PPP/C has become a party catering to the interests of a powerful economic elite.

The question is not whether the PPP has changed. It has. The question is whether it can change again. Can it return to its roots? Can it reclaim its place as a party of the people? Or has it become permanently ensnared by the grip of the bourgeoisie?

For decades after its founding, the PPP held firm to its working-class ethos. It championed the poor. It fought for the rights of workers. It was the voice of the disenfranchised. But power has a way of corrupting even the noblest of ideals.

Today’s PPP is unrecognizable. A bourgeois class has seized control of the party. This class, entrenched in economic privilege, dictates its policies and steers its decisions. The leadership, once collective, has given way to domination by a single individual. Decision-making is concentrated. Debate is stifled. The party apparatus exists not to serve the people but to maintain the status quo.

State power has been wielded to protect this oligarchic grip. The fear of losing jobs and influence and favour has silenced dissent within the ranks. The party, long a force for change, now conforms to the system it once opposed. Non one has stood up and resisted the seizure of the party by the bourgeois class. No has stepped into stop one-man domination.

The PPP’s ideological shift is stark. It once stood as the Caribbean’s premier working-class party. Now, it operates as a capitalist entity. References to socialism have been excised from its constitution. What remains is a hollow shell of the party Cheddi Jagan built—a party more comfortable rubbing shoulders with the rich than marching alongside the poor.

This shift is not accidental. It is strategic. The party has aligned itself with economic elites to secure power. These elites, in turn, have no interest in relinquishing control. The result is a PPP that no longer represents the masses. It represents the few.

Look at the policies. Look at the actions. The evidence is clear. The PPP’s priorities lie with the rich and powerful. Generous tax breaks for corporations and businesses.  Contracts awarded to well-connected businessmen. Policies that widen the gap between rich and poor.

The rhetoric may still echo populist sentiments, but the reality tells a different story. The PPP has become a party of privilege. Its leaders move in circles far removed from the struggles of ordinary Guyanese.

This is not the party Cheddi Jagan envisioned. He dreamed of a Guyana where the workers held power. Where the poor were uplifted. Where economic justice was the cornerstone of governance. That dream has been replaced by the cold reality of capitalist politics.

Change will not come easily. The bourgeois class that controls the PPP will not relinquish power voluntarily. Their interests are too deeply entwined with the party’s current trajectory.

For the PPP to return to its roots, a revolution is required. Not a violent overthrow, but a fundamental transformation from within. The working class must reclaim the party. The rank and file must demand accountability. They must challenge the leadership.

This will require courage. It will require sacrifice. The oligarchic grip on the party is strong. Breaking it will not be easy. But it is necessary.

The first step is ideological clarity. The PPP must rediscover its purpose. It must reject the capitalist ethos that has consumed it. It must re-embrace the principles of economic justice and equality.

The second step is organizational reform. The concentration of power in the hands of a few must end. Decision-making must be democratized. The voices of ordinary members must be heard.

The third step is a return to grassroots politics. The PPP must reconnect with the people. It must listen to their concerns, apart from its leadership holding fort at a head table under a tent at community meetings.

Will this change happen? The odds are slim. The forces opposing reform are powerful. The leadership has little incentive to upset the status quo. The bourgeoisie will fight tooth and nail to maintain their dominance.

Without a dramatic internal upheaval, the PPP will remain a party of the rich. It will continue to conform to the system rather than challenge it. It will drift further from its roots, becoming indistinguishable from the forces it once opposed.

The party of Cheddi Jagan is no more. In its place stands a party beholden to privilege and power. The PPP’s transformation is a tragedy, not just for the party but for Guyana. The working class has lost its voice.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.) 

(The PPP is in the grip of the bourgeoisie)

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• bourgeoisie, crossroads, Peeping Tom, PPP is unrecognizable., working-class politics

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