THIS is part 12 of my series tracing the political evolution of the Mulatto/Creole class (MCC). Part 11 was published on Sunday, September 3, 2024, titled “Returning to the political suicide of the MCC in 2023.”
You may have missed some salient points in the 11 columns gone by if you haven’t read all. I will repeat those points here. After global circumstances after World War 2 favoured decolonisation, the MCC prepared itself for political power in British Guiana.
Armed with the belief that philosophically, culturally, intellectually and anthropologically it was best suited to lead Guyana into a post-colonial zeitgeist, the MCC, through its civil society entity, the League of Coloured People (LCP) positioned itself to take power.
The LCP created a political party named the National Democratic Party (NDP). The reality hit the MCC that it needed to form alliance to take power. The NDP did not have the staying power that the MCC thought it would have.
So the MCC founded a political party much more powerful than the NDP. In the formation of the NDP, there was a minimum presence of Portuguese folk and Portuguese business people did not pour money into the venture. The beginning of the 1960s told a different story. The MCC founded the United Force (UF) with the Portuguese presence and Portuguese money dominating.
The NDP looked like child’s play compared to the UF. The UF had big names, big money, media houses that it owned and formed a tight alliance with the CIA in the US to topple the Cheddi Jagan government. Jagan was violently removed by the America Government and the UF became the junior member in the government with the PNC in 1964.
There was always anthropological tension between the MCC and the dark-skinned African population of British Guiana. That tension destroyed the relation between the PNC and NDP and the PNC and the UF. Forbes Burnham and the PNC found the UF insufferable. The racial factors in the relation had to lead to implosion. The 1964 coalition imploded and the PNC no longer wanted the UF as a partner. So the PNC rigged the 1968 election and did away with the UF.
This was the second time the MCC lost out – first with the NDP, then with the UF. There was a third time. The MCC threw its support for President Desmond Hoyte with Hoyte’s open, capitalist policies and his dissolution of the Burnhamite fortress inside the PNC. For more on how the MCC behaved under Hoyte, see the Stabroek News column of September 2 by Ralph Ramkarran entitled, “Explore all tools for free and fair elections.”
There was to be two more occasions. That made it five. The MCC lost out when Burnham devastated the WPA and when an infusion of Indians into the AFC diluted the MCC presence in that party. Nevertheless, the MCC came to power in 2015 with top MCC remnants in the WPA and MCC personality David Granger having a strong presence in the 2015 administration.
But it was déjà vu all over again. There was to be a sixth occasion of MCC’s loss of power in Guyana’ political history. The MCC was living through daily nightmares from 2015 because Mr. Granger did not have a strong political personality like Forbes Burnham, Desmond Hoyte, Cheddi Jagan, and Bharrat Jagdeo and chose not to take a hands-on approach to the exercise of power.
The 2015 regime then became a disguised form of African rule. The 2015-2020 era did not see MCC power saturation.
The two MCC personalities in the WPA- Drs. Roopnaraine and Thomas were sidelined and the AFC had a hard time controlling the PNC. So frustrated was the AFC that it held a retreat at the Conference Centre with a one-item agenda – to dilute the vast power of the ministry of the presidency. The retreat was a miserable failure.
The MCC has a congenital defect. It cannot embrace the working class African population and it is uncomfortable having camaraderie with African working class leaders who lack colour and middle class status.
But the MCC is more uncomfortable with Hindu and Muslim leadership. By genetic make-up, the MCC cannot accept Indian control of governments in Guyana and Trinidad. Since the opponent at the gate is the Indian, the MCC is forced into a continuous marriage with dark-skinned Africans and their leaders because after all they are not Indians and they are Christians and have Western culture in them.
So, when the PNC and AFC lost the 2020 election, that loss became the most (I repeat “the most”) devastating tragedy in the evolution of the MCC. The MCC then became an insane critic of the post 2020 government. Part 13 will be forthcoming shortly.