Choose the right parallels in politics

Dear Editor,

One of the challenges confronting open-source opinionators is how to capture present-day political events in Guyana and how to cast those events as historical in letter columns.

If there is one of the many paradoxical tendencies of modern political life in Guyana, it is the more times feel unprecedented, the more we reach for past parallels.

A good example of this reach for parallelism is the current public debate and the making of a comparative analysis of the modus operandi between the 1999 Ramkarran-led Constitution Reform Commission and the 2026 Carl Singh-led Reform Commission^[1]. That public debate has been settled by A.G.Nandlall… hopefully.

That aside, some have argued that there were occurrences in Guyana where ‘history repeated itself first as a tragedy and then as farce,’ and that personalities did play roles in shaping the political landscape of Guyana. True.

In case he was not aware of it, Dr Bertrand Ramcharan (a non-Marxist)in his KW column of August 11, 2026 ventured exactly where Marx did in his 18th Brumaire Louis Bonaparte where he wrote: ‘The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living’.^[2]

Ramcharan in his brush at parallelism made comparisons between the post-independence histories of Guyana and India, identifying a ‘number of areas for vigilance.’ Debatable.

At home, one just has to look at the sudden burst of social media posts by followers of Forbes Burnham who they claim, ‘played a major role and accomplished certain achievements’ while he traversed the land of the living. However, in an effort to draw certain parallels between Burnham and Jagan as fighters for Guyana’s independence, Burnham’s followers failed to make the qualitative distinction between the two men whose contributions were like comparing chalk to cheese.

On the domestic front, local diplomatic pundits have already began drawing parallels albeit prematurely between the Ramphal-Rodrigues-Birkett contest for the top post at the UN^[3]. Efforts at drawing parallels. Early days yet. We shall see.

Another compelling example of the reach for parallelism can be found in government’s efforts at reaching out to the populace through outreaches, its significance and how they should be interpreted from a social psychological perspective.

Presidential, cabinet or Ministerial outreaches are not new, the practice has been a permanent feature of political life in Guyana ever since the PPP/C assumed office. The practice became a hallmark of Jagdeo’s presidency.

Outreaches are organized depending on the exigencies of the political situation obtaining at a given point in time, as well as on the disposition of the political leader at the time;

whether he is prepared to listen and transform learning experiences from people on the ground into policies for consideration at cabinet and implementation by government.

The thought process as regards parallelism becomes even more complex with the effort to understand the unity and struggle of the opposites in a Guyanese context irrespective of how unbelievable it might be. By opposites I mean the position of government versus the position of the parliamentary opposition and non-state actors.

The opposition, while seemingly united on crucial issues such as defence of Guyana’s territorial integrity; the need for free and fair elections; poverty reduction and a market, rather than a socialist-oriented economy, seem more inclined at fighting down, rather than working with government on issues that unite rather than divide us as a nation.

And if that appears to be politically naive and idealistic or even opportunistic, the perennial challenge within the opposition camp

has always been, who is best qualified to lead knowing that their efforts, however disguised, is nothing but a grab for political power.

But there is still time and space for those opposed to back away from toppling over the precipice. And It will not be for the sake of a utopia but a society where, everyone, irrespective of social standing or class differences wins, with no one being left wondering “what did I do wrong?” Or “why have I got nothing?”

And while there is no agreement between government and opposition over how the ‘oil money’ ought to be spent for public sector projects, and on an individual basis, it begs the question which comes first, the chicken or egg?

The role of historical analogy in Guyana’s political life cannot be done by simply drawing parallels, in doing so, we may be drawing parallels in a way that solves nothing politically, it only upsets our expectations. In other words, to minimise harm to our body politic, we must learn how to choose the right parallels if we are to judge well in politics.

References

1. Carl Singh-led Constitution Reform Commission is already a colossal failure with no reasonable prospect of redemption - Kiskadee Watch — kiskadeewatch.com ↩
2. Guyana at sixty: promises and pitfalls ↩
3. Guyana's Rodrigues-Birkett emerges top candidate for UN Secretary General in informal UNSC poll - english.udayanews.com — english.udayanews.com ↩