THE fatal flaw of a nation’s unelected leader who does not enjoy extensive popularity among the citizenry is the rejection of compromise. If you are unelected and unpopular and you refuse to compromise with your critics that have sufficient leeway in the country, then your rule is doomed.
There is no other graphic example of that than Forbes Burnham in Guyana. At the lowest point of his popularity Mr. Burnham did four things that made his future a nightmare – banned popularly used food items, made National Service (NS) compulsory, rigged a referendum to change the constitution and implemented paramountcy of the party.
These four things could have been accepted by the nation if Burnham had done the commonsensical thing which is older than the seas and go to the major political and social players in the country and ask them if they would support these four directions and what it would take to gain their consent. Mrs. Janet Jagan was willing to concede compulsory NS in return for women being exempted. Burnham refused.
The world became enchanted with Castro. He came to power in 1959. Thirty years after, the aura and charisma of Castro had faded. The economy was limping along. The American embargo was hurting. But Castro refused to talk or listen to his critics. When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the USSR, he made it clear to Castro that it was time to reconsider the path he had taken since 1959. He ruled Cuba six months short 50 years. That was sufficient proof that power replaced vision.
I will look at the implications of the US action against Maduro in the context of international relations. While as a student of international relations it is difficult to support what the US did; I think we Guyanese are faced with a very complex situation. At the mental level, we do not support invasions. At the emotional level, Guyanese cannot be discomforted at the removal of Maduro.
He was simply a terrible man that Guyana must not forgive. He wanted to invade Guyana, and his constant threats caused the lives of some top-level army officers and in a country of 800, 000 people, that was a huge loss. If Maduro had not threatened to invade Guyana, those five men would have been alive today.
It was his lack of popularity at home that generated jingoism in him. He thought that by invading Guyana, it would galvanise support for him at home. As it stands, unless officially removed, Venezuela continues to include Essequibo as part of the country as decreed by Maduro and he has appointed a governor for Essequibo. This was the nature of the man who got a taste of his own medicine when the Americans invaded Venezuela a few days ago.
What was going through his head as he heard the jet fighters roar over Caracas? He wanted his jet fighter to roar over Essequibo in similar fashion. There is now strong circumstantial evidence that his elite school of bodyguards and intelligence officers sold him out. They no doubt despised him because of his repressive ways.
He missed the fundamental point of politics the way Burnham and Castro did. When you are unpopular, try to embark on compromise with those who have strategic placements in society. The characteristic of Maduro’s rule was identical to that of Burnham and Castro. The need to talk to those who oppose you knowing that you are not an elected leader is something that unelected leaders cannot do for a strange reason.
What is important to note about unelected leadership is that there are two types. There are those who are arrogant, pompous and very unpopular and those who do not have a system of electing leaders through nation-wide one vote by one person, but are popular and respected by their people.
Singapore with Le Kuan Yew is the perfect example. For decades he ruled Singapore without legitimate elections. But his nation thought he was a genius that would make Singapore a great nation and he did just that. At the height of Singapore’s transformation into one of the world’s most successful economies, Lee Kuan Yew became synonymous with Singapore. That was the extent to which his people admired him.
China at the moment has a similar position like Singapore when Lee Kuan Yew ruled.
Unfortunately, Castro though unelected was as popular as any elected leader anywhere in the world, but it didn’t last. As for Maduro, he had none of the qualities of his predecessor, Hugo Chavez. Maduro was a dictator who tried to use the intended invasion of Guyana to stay in power. All Guyanese should welcome his removal.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
