Young trade unionist and political activist, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, at Montego Bay in 1945, adopted the Caribbean Labour Congress resolution for federation with dominion status and internal self-government for each territory.  He argued on this position in a debate in the Legislative Council in 1948.
The European oligarchy, however, did not want control of the colonies slipping out of their hands and saw Cheddi Jagan as their bitter enemy who could neither be bought nor persuaded to change his policies, so they decided to curtail his activities and undermine his influence at any cost, which they eventually succeeded in doing at the expense of the budding nationhood of a united Guyanese people.
The ‘PAC Bulletin’, which was informing and educating the masses on the need for self-rule, among other issues, was the focus of much agitation by the “massas”, who wanted a ban on the six-page mimeographed bulletin.
Vigorous and unrelenting lobbying had led to a new constitution being granted in 1943, with a Legislative Council comprising four ex-officio members, including the governor, seven nominated non-official and 14 elected members.  Elections had been postponed several times, but as a placatory gesture Ayube Edun and Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow had been nominated to the Council.
Several independents contested the 1947 general elections.  It was subsequent to those historic elections, after a victorious Cheddi Jagan first took his seat in the Legislative Council, that the political landscape of British Guiana took a dynamic and dramatic turn.
The Legislative Council became a genuine forum for real debates, even though ‘lil country boy’ Jagan was initially ignored by the middle and upper class ‘gentlemen’,  but he eventually succeeded in transforming the legislature into a forum for the pursuit of social and political justice for his people.
It was during this time that Cheddi Jagan was branded ‘communist’ by the colonials and the capitalists, because his politics was predisposed to fighting for equal rights for the working class; arguing for the empowerment of the helpless and vulnerable in society through various measures and mechanisms he propagated; and was uncompromising in his demands, much to the chagrin and anger of the ruling elitists.
Challenging the upper and bourgeoisie class for the establishment of rights for the proletariat in the Legislative Assembly, Jagan was defeated almost every time by the combined efforts of the commercial and ruling elite, but he pursued his struggles at street corners and bottom houses across the country, awakening an awareness and a militancy in British Guiana’s subdued and subjugated working-class masses.  Throughout his lifetime of struggle this bonding with the masses was Cheddi Jagan’s strength.  His trademarks, honesty and sincerity, were reflected in his blinding smile that won hearts everywhere.
Those who supported the injustices meted out to the working class were amply rewarded.  The opposite  held true of those who opposed the oppressive systems that had become institutionalized through various factors, all beneficial to the dominant class.  Jagan was perceived as their deadly enemy who must be crushed at any cost, and de-classified CIA documents proved true the fact that it was orchestration by the British and American governments, which worked in collusion with the Burnham faction to destabilize the peace and security of this country in order to depose the constitutionally-elected PPP government in the 1950s and the 1960s.
However, with the help of the Carter Centre, the indomitable freedom fighter of Guyana was returned as Head-of-State on October 5, 1992, hailed as “The Dawn of a New Era.”
But Cheddi Jagan, in attempting to restructure the devastated psycho-socio-economic dynamics of the country so that his beloved Guyanese people could, at long last, experience real personal and national progress, ran his health into the ground and died after a relatively short time in office.  Yet, within that short span of time, he had laid the groundwork for national growth and an incremental reduction of poverty in the nation through his Poverty Reduction Strategy, his debt-relief drive, and his concept of a New Global Human Order, which projected Guyana on the world stage as a force to be reckoned with.
His then Finance Minister, Bharrat Jagdeo, who had piloted the crafting of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, since assumption of presidential office has directed the PPP team in the implementation of the policies and programmes as outlined in the Strategy document; also,he created new synergistic initiatives and programmes to propel the nation’s developmental trajectory on an upward path as the needs arose.
As the nation celebrates the life of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, cognizance must be taken of the fact that he has not left his beloved people, but would forever live on as long as the PPP/C continues to serve the Guyanese nation.
It is the legacy of his lifelong commitment to the people he loved beyond his life.