A creeping dictatorship since August 2020: The political nouveau lumpen

May 17, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

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Kaieteur News – I think ethnic forces and class strata have crystallized since the end of the election rigging in 2020. It is imperative that academics use class analysis to explain to the world what societal and sociological shape Guyana has taken since the election victory of the PPP.
In this column, I will leave out any mention of the PNC because the PNC choreographically has no presence in the class crystallization mentioned above. The PNC’s deportment after 2020 was traditional and routine. The PNC, contrary to what those who do not like it think, has an overall working class orientation and does not have a historical hatred of the PPP and Indian people.
In 2020, the PNC acted the way it has always done – confront the PPP with violence to acquire state power. Raw, Machiavellian determinism drives the PNC not class hatred or ethnic passion, though in both major parties you have individuals who display ethnic emotions. The shape of post-2020 Guyana has not created new class forces. It simply removed opaqueness that confused both the citizenry and scholars since the 1950s.
However, the post-2020 period has introduced a new stratum. The name I give to this new school of anti-PPP players is “political nouveau lumpen” (PNL), a combination of the French appellation, “nouveau riche” and Marx’s description of the lumpen proletariat.
The PPP leadership is going to waste psychological energy on the PNC which has the usual repertoire of antics and actions. The PPP government has far more dangerous detractors to contend with. Even the lunatic fringe (TLF) is not as dangerous for the simple reason TLF comes across as comically wild, is not persuasive and does not have the contacts and resources as the usual suspects (TUS), the Creole middle class (CMC) and PNL.
I have done several pieces of the consistent anti-PPP frenetic outpourings of the CMC and TUS. I will now look at the evolution of PNL. The Ralph Ramkarran admission of getting cuss down by PNL because he penned a few paragraphs of mild criticism of PNL (Ramkarran did not name names or identify organisations but his abusers make up the PNL) is a new dangerous turn.
What has happened is that the five months of election rigging has allowed some individuals and organisations to lay claim to having the PPP government adopt their agenda. PNL has seen the PPP in less respectful ways since August 2020. PNL has two anatomies. One section feels the PPP is a weakened body because of the election attrition. This section of PNL feels the saga was so tsunamic that the PPP should bring in non-PPP actors in policy formulation as a partnership.
The other section has made up its mind. It cannot accept more years of PPP power. By PPP, take that to mean, Indians. This anatomical section of PNL is part of CMC and is very distraught and continues to be distraught at the loss of power by Mr. Granger himself and the AFC.
PNL consist of pompous, arrogant people who arrogate to themselves the right to demand things from the government. They want to see confidential papers and confidential contracts from government. When turn down, they painted the government as authoritarian. No recognition is given to the jurisdiction of elected power.
They have shown dictatorial tendencies since Dr. Ali was sworn in and are an intolerant bunch of people who do not take lightly to criticism. This creeping dictatorship has crept up on us and is now fully grown with the attack on Mr. Ramkarran. I think the Ralph Ramkarran statement is an important guide to assess the current nature of Guyanese society and the headaches the PPP leadership will face from PNL, TUS and CMC (not so much TLF)
Here now is the crucial meaning in the context of Guyanese politics of the Ramkarran admission that he got a good cussing out from PNL. First, the gentleman is not a government supporter, on the contrary, he is a critic of the present government and he heads an opposition party, ANUG. Secondly, Mr. Ramkarran’s few lines of criticism in his column about civil society were extremely mild.
We must emphasise the adverb, extremely. Thirdly, previous to the column, Mr. Ramkarran and PNL did not have an adverse relation. On the contrary, people who make up PNL were on friendly terms with him. Here now is the frightening indication of what is to come.
Dr. Clive Thomas’ take on the oil industry is dismissed as nonsense. Think of how dictatorial these people are to target two persons who are not their enemy. Imagine the wrath governmental leaders will receive. I was a victim of this creeping dictatorship two months ago. More on that later.
(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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