Veteran statesman Hamilton Green delivered a fiery and emotionally charged warning this week that Guyana risks surrendering the meaning of independence through political subservience, economic exploitation, and historical amnesia.
Speaking before a gathering of supporters and political activists, Green argued that the country is entering what he described as a new era of “recolonization,” where wealth, political influence, and foreign interests are once again shaping the destiny of ordinary Guyanese.
“The struggle has now begun,” Green declared. “We are being subtly re-enslaved.”
Drawing heavily on the imagery of slavery, independence, and anti-colonial resistance, the former Prime Minister said Guyanese must not treat the country’s current economic boom as evidence of genuine freedom if ordinary citizens remain economically marginalized.
Green lamented that many of the dreams envisioned at independence had been “eroding,” warning that powerful forces, aided by local collaborators, were undermining the sacrifices of previous generations. He repeatedly invoked the memory of enslaved Africans, indentured laborers, and independence leaders who struggled to create a sovereign nation.
In one of the speech’s most striking passages, Green compared modern political and economic dependency to the betrayals that weakened slave uprisings throughout Guyanese history.
“History is repeating itself,” he warned, arguing that local actors were once again enabling outside domination for personal gain.
Green also criticized what he described as growing inequality within Guyana’s oil economy, arguing that while wealth is visibly increasing, many working-class families remain trapped in hardship.
Referencing teachers leaving the country and families surviving on one meal per day, Green questioned whether Guyana’s rapid economic growth was translating into dignity and security for ordinary citizens.
“They people have no bread! Let them eat cake,” he said, borrowing from the famous phrase associated with the French Revolution to accuse political elites of becoming disconnected from the realities facing citizens.
The former Prime Minister also criticized the government’s failure to convene Parliament for more than 100 days, arguing that democratic institutions were being weakened.
“That’s not democracy,” Green declared. “That’s demon gone crazy.”
Throughout the address, Green repeatedly called on older Guyanese to educate younger generations about the country’s history, warning that wealth and propaganda could blind citizens to the erosion of national sovereignty.
“We’re not avaricious people,” he said. “But we’re not stupid people.”
The speech closed with a call for national awakening, resistance to political subservience, and renewed civic courage in the face of what Green portrayed as mounting economic and political pressures.
