History moves to a cruel and familiar rhythm. Time and again, the working class pledges loyalty to political and economic elites, only to be betrayed. They vote against their own interests. They cheer for their own exploitation. And when the consequences arrive; poverty, dispossession, injustice, they stare in confusion, as if the trap had been laid by invisible hands.
This is not unique to Guyana. The pattern is etched into the bones of nations.
In the American South, poor white laborers clung to the myth of white supremacy, believing it would shield them from the greed of the planter aristocracy. Instead, they withered in poverty while the elite built fortunes on their backs. In Thatcher’s Britain, working-class communities rallied behind policies that gutted their unions, crushed their industries, and left them destitute. In Bolsonaro’s Brazil, the desperate poor cheered a man who would later abandon them to die in a pandemic.
And now, Guyana.
Once more, the working class places its faith in the architects of its ruin. The PPP government, flush with oil wealth, governs like a cartel, hoarding power, enriching insiders, and dangling the illusion of prosperity before a starving public. Meanwhile, half the nation struggles to feed itself. Youth languish without work. Schools crumble. Hospitals decay.
And still, the people cheer.
Why? Because they have been conditioned to believe that obedience will be rewarded. That if they stay silent, vote correctly, and bow low enough, they will be carried upward by the rising tide. But there is no tide lifting them, only a current dragging them under.
I will not mince words, the political elite will burn this country to the ground before they relinquish control. They will bankrupt the treasury, sabotage institutions, and sacrifice lives to maintain their grip. The evidence surrounds us, contracts flow to cronies, critics face intimidation, and every public office bends to serve party interests rather than the people.
And where is the opposition? Fragmented. Weak. Distracted by petty squabbles while the nation suffocates. Rather than joining forces to dismantle a predatory regime, they retreat into ideological corners, squabbling over scraps while Guyana burns.
Perhaps some do not yet see the PPP as a true threat. Or worse, perhaps their hunger for power outweighs their duty to the people. Either way, the result is the same, betrayal masquerading as principle.
Meanwhile, the PPP’s machinery grinds on, extracting, consolidating, devouring. But the working class must wake from its delusion. None of this is normal. None of it is inevitable. None of it is deserved.
The lesson is simple, the future of Guyana will not be won by the generosity of the powerful, but by the courage of the people. The moment we stop kneeling before our executioners is the moment we begin to reclaim our country.
