Political scientist and former minister in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government, Dr. Henry Jeffrey, says the administration of President Dr. Irfaan Ali lacks the “moral standing” to advocate regime change in Cuba, arguing that Guyana’s own democratic record should first be examined.
Jeffrey made the assertion in his “Future Notes” column published in the Sunday edition of Village Voice News, where he reflected on regional debate over governance and democracy in Cuba.
His commentary follows recent remarks by President Ali suggesting that the current situation in Cuba should change. Speaking during a Fox News interview on the sidelines of the Shield of the Americas Summit in Florida, Ali said Caribbean leaders agreed that “the status quo cannot remain” in Cuba and that the country must move toward reforms that promote democracy, freedom and the rule of law.
In his column, Jeffrey argued that the PPP government cannot credibly call for democratic change abroad while facing criticisms about governance at home.
“Neither President Dr. Irfaan Ali nor the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has the moral standing to be suggesting regime change to improve the democratic situation in Cuba when the core of their socio/political policies over the last two and a half decades has been ethnic/political dominance in Guyana,” Jeffrey wrote.
The former minister pointed to past international criticisms of Guyana’s political system, recalling that former United States President Jimmy Carter expressed concern about ethnic political dominance during a visit to Guyana in 2004.
“In 2004, President Jimmy Carter left Guyana in disgust after making this very point, and almost two decades later, an independent study published by President Joe Biden’s administration made a similar point,” Jeffrey stated.
He added that the Biden administration had been encouraging governance reforms and inclusivity in Guyana.
“Indeed, the Biden administration was making every effort to ‘encourage’ the PPP regime to make reforms and behave inclusively,” he wrote.
Jeffrey clarified that his criticism of President Ali relates to what he described as hypocrisy rather than opposition to the idea that citizens or leaders can comment on governance elsewhere.
“Please note that President Ali is being criticised here for his hypocrisy and not because of his regime change suggestion,” he wrote.
Jeffrey argued that Caribbean societies are grounded in democratic values and that citizens and leaders have the right to examine and critique governance both at home and abroad.
“The Caribbean Community has been a beacon of liberal democracy, and every citizen has the right to assess and if necessary, criticise the operations of their democracy own and any other government,” he stated.
He also referenced the United Nations “responsibility to protect” doctrine, noting that states have a duty to protect their citizens from major human rights violations such as genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
However, Jeffrey pointed out that the international system often limits enforcement of those principles due to the structure of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), where five permanent members hold veto powers.
“Herein lies an important problem having to do with the nature of state sovereignty and the structural configuration of the UNSC,” he wrote, arguing that global ideological divisions often complicate decision-making.
Jeffrey also referred to commentary by Professor Percy C. Hintzen on regional debates involving Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who had criticised several former CARICOM heads of government over their positions regarding Cuba.
While acknowledging Cuba’s contributions to the Caribbean, particularly in areas such as healthcare and education, Jeffrey said support for regional cooperation should not be equated with support for authoritarian governance.
“Cuba has indeed been helpful to the Caribbean and to oppressed people everywhere. It is not an existential threat to the region,” he wrote.
At the same time, he warned that weaknesses in the global governance system allow powerful states to act outside international law.
Jeffrey also reflected on the historical development of Cuba’s political system, suggesting that both ideological choices and external pressures shaped the country’s trajectory.
“Developments in Cuba have resulted as much from initial faulty historical ideological conceptualisation as from the surrounding political and economic pressure under which for decades it has had to survive,” he wrote.
The political scientist further argued that debates about socialism, capitalism and democracy remain central to global politics, noting that economic inequality continues to widen.
“Among other ‘good news’ is that at present 12 billionaires own as much wealth as the bottom half of the world’s population and are making every effort to take political control,” he stated.
Jeffrey concluded by referencing the Cold War policy of “containment” against Soviet communism and its global implications, including its impact on Guyana’s political history.
He noted that PPP founder Dr. Cheddi Jagan was affected by the doctrine during the Cold War era.
“Cheddi Jagan and the PPP were part of this, and we now know that in 1951, unbeknownst to his party, he wrote to the Stalinist Communist international asking for aid to take ‘Guyana and the Caribbean’ into the communist fold,” Jeffrey wrote.
