I am watching Guyana’s political theater unfold with a mix of disgust and despair. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) elite, those insulated insiders, jet around the globe, sealing lucrative contracts that fatten their networks and propel their leadership ambitions. They rub shoulders at high-level conferences, basking in the glow of oil-fueled diplomacy, all while plotting their next power grab. But here’s what they’re not doing, descending into the gutter of social media to lob ad hominem attacks, spewing venom at opponents with the grace of a cornered rat. No, they reserve that degrading spectacle for their Afro-Guyanese foot soldiers, the ones draped in red, desperately proving their loyalty by inflating PPP “achievements” while attempting to savagely dismantle the opposition. Send in the clowns, indeed, because that’s precisely the farce we witness, a scripted circus where the performers are expendable props in a game of ethnic manipulation.
This isn’t new; it’s a rotten thread woven through Guyana’s history of racial fractures. Back in the 1950s, when Cheddi Jagan’s PPP split from Forbes Burnham’s faction, not initially along ethnic lines, but soon devolving into one, the seeds of division were sown. Even today, voting patterns remain stubbornly divided, with most Afro-Guyanese aligning with the PNC or its successors, and Indo-Guyanese backing the PPP. Yet, in a cruel twist, the PPP cherry-picks a handful of Black supporters to front their dirtiest work, echoing the colonial-era tactics of pitting the oppressed against each other to maintain control.
Take the recent boast from one such teacher, a glaring example of this exploitation. He crowed on social media about snagging land; a basic right every Guyanese should claim without fanfare and a scholarship, which the constitution mandates as a fundamental entitlement, not some benevolent gift from the regime. Now he’s helming a national program clearly beyond his grasp, stumbling through responsibilities that demand expertise he lacks. It’s a pathetic display, this eagerness to parade crumbs as feasts, all while hurling insults at the opposition to affirm his “loyalty.” But loyalty to what? A party that historically marginalized his community, only to trot him out like a trained seal when it suits their narrative?
It’s heartbreaking to witness Black youths ensnared in this web, their potential squandered on self-sabotage. The depths of self-hatred on display, tearing down their own heritage to prop up a system that views them as disposable shields, beg for serious study. Psychologists could fill volumes on how internalized oppression turns pride into performance, loyalty into lunacy. Meanwhile, the PPP brass sip champagne in international forums, untouched by the mud they sling through proxies.
Guyana can’t afford this charade any longer. The oil wealth dwindles, the youth flee, and the world sees the rot beneath the red banners. It’s time to silence the clowns, expose the puppeteers, and demand a politics of substance over spectacle. Our nation deserves leaders who unite, not exploit, before the curtain falls on this tragic comedy for good.
