The Charisma of Cheddi Jagan

by Dr. Frank C. S. Anthony

(A Tribute to Cheddi Jagan on the 7th Death Anniversary)

Time has slowly moved on, trying like a flood to drown the anguish and hurt that we felt seven years ago. Indeed the inevitable march of time does not mean the inevitable erasure of memory. But like the proverb that says " absence makes the heart grows fonder", so it is with us that we are fonder of Cheddi. Jagan, and we often reflect on how he would have done this or that.

I have asked several persons, especially young people what it is that they like about Cheddi Jagan. And they all said he had a multitude of excellent qualities and virtues that made him a charismatic leader.

It is ironic that the word Charisma is used to describe him. Because this word evolved from religion and has a modified meaning. In ancient times to how some people believed in gods and spirits but few have ever seen a miracle, a tangible display of divine power. During that time persons seemed possessed by a divine spirit, speaking in tongues, articulating visions – these men stood out as one whom the gods have singled out. Charisma in those early times was a sign of god’s favor.

In present day leaders hold power not by divine authority but by votes and competence and lots of hard work and sacrifice. But despite these well-labored principles some leaders just stood out, by the sheer radiance of their personality and character. Cheddi Jagan was a man who commanded attention when he spoke. He had to many of us a larger than life presence and many attributed that to Jagan’s Charisma.

So what made Cheddi Jagan a charismatic leader? Max Weber explained, "Charisma shall be understood to refer to an extraordinary quality of a person, regardless of whether this quality is actual, alleged or presumed." In fact Weber has written volumes on the subject of charisma. More recently Anton Allahar wrote a book called " Caribbean Charisma – Reflections on Leadership, Legitimacy and Populist Politics" and in that book a whole chapter is dedicated to the charismatic leadership of Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

I have tried to dissect the anatomy of his charisma, and confect the ingredients that made him charismatic. And I have succeeded in compiling a partial list of qualities and characteristics. Throughout tonight’s proceeding many others would add many, more, but such was the man’s of inexhaustible potential ready to be discovered.

Cheddi was - VISIONARY – he had the art of seeing things invisible. He was able to create, embody and communicate a vision. This is what inspired people to mobilize, to act and to move as a united organization and ultimately to a united country. His vision is the fabric that clothe us with our common identity.

"The four cornerstones of our present needs - racial harmony, national unity, national Independence and peace and progress. Without racial harmony there can be no national unity, and without racial unity there can be no national Independence and without Independence there can be no progress."

In the nineties as the cold war thawed, and inequalities and injustices prevailed he started an advocacy for a New Global Human Order as a solution to relive the poor countries from this plight.

"I don’t think I have reached the pinnacle of my life, for the Presidency is only a means to an end, to attain the end is to attain a sane and safe world, to bring an end to exploitation, suffering and misery, to construct a New Global Human Order. The struggle will continue."

Dr. Jagan had

- sense of purposefulness. He did not falter to take action, when action was needed. And there is decisiveness, a self-assurance, a force of his character that made generations of supporters comfortable and secure in the knowledge that once Cheddi was at the helm we will prevail.

In the difficult times in the sixities he wrote in the " West on Trial ":

"Those who say that we are irrelevant, that we are finished, should be reminded that the same tune was sung after the dark days following the rape of our constitution in 1953 and the breakaway by the right and left opportunists in 1955 and 1956. But we won in 1957 and 1961.

Today, though defrauded and cheated, we remain the strongest force in the country. Difficulties there will be; the battle will be long and hard. But win again we will. History and time are on our side!"

His strength of purpose was to prove decisive as he guided the party through many challenges, obstacles and sacrifices to victory on 5th October, 1992.

Cheddi Jagan had some

Saintly quality – he was a man of integrity. Most mortals are vulnerable to compromise saints are not compromised. Jagan stood up for his principles, and suffered for his believes but was nevertheless prepared to endure these hardships. In the end many still marvel at the injustices done to him, yet it did not deter him or compromise him. It made him stronger, and created a system of values and principles for which people were willing to fight and die for.

"I believe that my first charge is to raise my people from the mire of poverty in which, for too long, they have suffered. I have never made any secret of my views. I have been thrown out of office. I have been subjected to violence, indignity and jail. I am willing to face these things again, and gladly, in the fight to free my people and aid them. Here I stand. Here I will stand until I die."

Cheddi Jagan was an

Eloquent man – he knew words had power, and he used them to educate, to mobilize, to agitate and to bring change. He helped to inspire hope in the complex realities in which we live.

"Democracy can only prosper in an environment of economic, social and ecological development. Poverty atrophies the vigor and initiative of the individual and deprives the society of incalculable human resources. If left unattended, the expansion of poverty with hunger and the hopelessness it engenders will undermine the fabric of our civilization and the security of the democratic state, thus threatening world peace."

Cheddi was theatrical

I think it was difficult to imagine Cheddi giving a speech without moving his arms. He had the ability to use body language and hand gestures to aid the audience in conjuring a mental picture of the complex topic that was being explained.

Cheddi had passion

He was so passionate about the cause, that he lived and breathed that cause. It was part of his being and he did not mind taking his beliefs to the people, big or small. And at those meetings whether at bottom houses or rallies, he became alive, animate with gestures and literally lightening up as he explained his ideas to people.

Cheddi was a humble, selfless man

He was not extravagant or arrogant. He was humble and always willing to listen and originate solutions to people’s problems. This was the Jagan that we grew up to know, always practical, always pragmatic and always willing to give of himself so that other may be better.

He said of himself:

" I first wanted to be a doctor. Didn't want to be merely a specialist and craftsman and cure individual aches and ills. I wanted to cure the ills of society.   I want to know that I have served humanity as a human being. All of us want recognition - I am not interested in recognition conferred on the basis of my bankroll. When I would have passed away, I would like it to be recorded that Jagan did his bit in the service of humanity."

Cheddi was an educator

Dr Jagan was indeed an educator; he was able to break-down the complexities of the modern world to simple language for the grassroots supporters to understand. In the early days it was not unusual for him to make charts and graphs to graphically represent some complicated problem that were contained in the budget. The charts were then used as teaching aids to explain the concepts. No bottom house or street corner was exempted, if there were a few comrades to meet and to discuss these issues.

Cheddi had support

His life partner was always there to share in the joys and to help in the difficult moments. This is what he said of Janet;

"My wife, Janet influenced me with a deep and abiding faith and caring for the poor, the disadvantaged and the handicapped, the oppressed and the marglinized, and she has a very deep commitment to honesty in politics. As a result I do not worry about anything. I work together with her very closely, we debate soundly without anything to worry about or anything to hide. She has given me peace of mind."

When Cheddi died the day was black with mourning; the Guyana diversity was unified in their loss. People sought each other, to comfort and console and the colors became blurred not by tears, but because deep down in our hearts we somehow felt a personal loss.

That personal loss, that despair felt was because this charismatic leader has touched each of us with his greatness.

Today, we can look back with a little less grief, a little less emotion to this great champion and try to heal the pain that we feel with ideas that he gave. The legacy of ideas is what Cheddi bequeathed to this generation and generations to come.

We have the grave responsibility to become acquainted with and to adopt them to suit our particular challenging circumstances.

If we don’t we run the risk of been accused of treason by the next generation because we would have squandered the wonderful treasure of wisdom that can help us out of this ideological and economic drought that is engulfing us.

So as we remember our charismatic leader who restored that luxury to hope, that luxury to dream of a better life in our country. The democratic freedoms that we all now cherish all came because Cheddi Jagan played his part to make Guyana better.

We in the PYO, WPO, PPP and indeed all Guyana are proud heirs of Cheddi’s legacy

Let there be no doubt, that disciples of Jagan armed with his indomitable ideas, are always ready to light a path through the world’s confusion to relieve the human conditions from suffering.

Let there be no doubt that our charismatic Cheddi will forever be remembered by all Guyana.

Guyana: Remembering Dr. Cheddi Jagan

Kevin Edmonds
The Other Side of Paradise
March 29, 2012 Source - NACLA

Cheddi Jagan. Photo Credit: Betty Millard

March 6 marked the 15thanniversary of the death of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the former President of Guyana—and the hemisphere’s first democratically elected Marxist leader. While that distinction is often mistakenly associated with the election of Chilean President Salvador Allende, Guyana was not only the site of this historic election, but Jagan (not Jacobo Arbenz) was also the first leader in the Americas to fall victim to Cold War military intervention—as Iran’s Mosaddegh was overthrown several months earlier on August 19, 1953.

In the wake of widespread labour unrest throughout the Caribbean between 1935-38, the West India Royal Commission was established in order to investigate the socio-economic conditions of the British colonial territories in the Caribbean, and propose reforms to minimize the potential of future unrest.

In a response to the Commission’s findings, during 1950-51, the British government agreed to the implementation of political reforms that would allow for universal suffrage and the formation of political parties, essentially allowing for self government in then British Guiana, but not formal independence. The arrangement was similar in most West Indian colonial territories, with power remaining in the hands of the British appointed governor.

That year, Jagan and his associates formed the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), and he was elected as the first Chief Minister in April, 1953. The PPP had been elected upon a pro-independence platform, stressing economic development and the creation of a socialist society. The new government, led by Jagan immediately set out to implement the numerous socio-economic reforms laid out in its popular election manifesto, ranging from the improvement of social services, to the implementation of workers’ rights and land reform. Such reforms were immensely popular amongst the Guyanese people, but stirred unease within more conservative circles, including the British colonial office.

Despite the fact that the British intelligence agency, MI5 concluded that the Jagan and the PPP were "not receiving any financial support from any communist organisation outside the country," the British government remained determined to squash the political movement, seeing it as a foothold for the Soviet Union in the region. 

Despite his popularity, Jagan’s first political victory would be short lived, as 133 days later on October 5, the British government grew tired of Jagan’s “disruptive antics,” and were directed by Winston Churchill to go ahead with Operation Windsor. The operation called for the dispatching the HMS Superb and the landing a military force in Guyana, where they suspended the constitution and overthrew the democratically elected Government.

The aftermath of the coup would see the fracturing of the party along ethnic lines, with the PPP and the Indo-Guyanese aligning with Jagan, and the Afro-Guyanese population siding with former PPP Chairman, Forbes Burnham and his People’s National Congress in 1955. This split along racial lines has politically divided Guyana to this very day – and remains a prominent, polarizing feature of national politics.

Despite his arrest and placement under house arrest, Jagan remained the country’s most popular politician, and was re-elected in 1961. The democratic return of Jagan to power drew concern this time from the Kennedy administration, who implemented a covert program to reduce the popularity of Jagan and the PPP. At the time, Burnham was the president of the Guyana Labour Union, which would be used as one of the primary tools in the destabilization of Jagan’s government. The CIA began a destabilization campaign which instigated labor unrest, funding the striking workers, engaging in the dissemination of widespread disinformation and triggered race riots that left 170 people dead and thousands more injured. The head of the CIA operations in Guyana was Agent Frank Wisner, a veteran of the previously mentioned covert actions that overthrew Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz and Mohammed Mossedegh of Iran.

In the midst of the struggle, Jagan defended his course of action, remarking that “I believe that my first charge is to raise my people from the mire of poverty in which, for too long, they have suffered. I have never made any secret of my views. I have been thrown out of office. I have been subjected to violence, indignity and jail. I am willing to face these things again, and gladly, in the fight to free my people and aid them. Here I stand. Here I will stand until I die.”

Despite the numerous covert actions against Jagan, he remained in power until 1964, when he was finally defeated by Burnham (in a rigged election), despite winning the plurality of the vote. Once in power, Burnham went on to lead a 20 year dictatorship in which he intensified the racial divide amongst the Indo and Afro-Guyanese populations.

In 1966, while in opposition, Jagan reflected on the period of destabilization and it’s unfortunate outcomes, stating “The violence and disturbances of 1962 and 1963 did not succeed in their immediate objective of bringing about the fall of the government or the suspension of the constitution. But they did result, as we shall see, in the delay of independence and the imposition of a constitutional and electoral formula designed to bring the opposition to power. It was a major tragedy for Guyana that a section of the working class was deluded into forging its own chains by directing its attack not, as previously, against the capitalists and landlords but against a national, pro-working class, socialist-oriented government.”

It was later declassified that in the run up to the 1964 elections, Burnham and the PNC had received significant funding from the U.S. State Department, upwards of $2 million. After spending a total of 28 years in the government opposition, Jagan and the PPP won the 1992 election, finally becoming President of a politically independent Guyana. Once in power, Jagan remained committed to policies of environmental sustainability and human development—but like all previous times it would be cut short, this time with his tragic passing due to a heart attack in March, 1997.

The misconceptions about Allende’s role as the first elected Marxist leader reveals the unfortunate fact that Jagan is often overlooked in many of the discussions of progressive leadership and their contribution to independence, anti-imperialism and genuine development in the hemisphere. Often, the progressive contribution of Dr. Jagan—with his intense commitment to both democracy and socialism, and the immense obstacles faced by him are often lost and overshadowed in contemporary times by the previously mentioned figures like Allende or Arbenz, or his counterparts Michael Manley, Maurice Bishop, and Jean Bertrand Aristide in the Caribbean. The reality is that with the exception of Haiti—Guyana has been the site of some of the most significant military intervention in the Caribbean, with consequences which have impacted the nation’s efforts to break the cycle of dependency and foster cooperation amongst its population. Dr. Jagan should be remembered for both his efforts to make Guyana a truly independent and more equal society, and as a symbol of what could have been and how far the (neo) colonial powers—the United States and the United Kingdom will go to undermine the possibility of democracy in the Caribbean.

Kevin Edmonds is a NACLA blogger focusing on the Caribbean.

For more from his blog, "The Other Side of Paradise," visit nacla.org/blog/other-side-paradise.

Edmonds is a former NACLA research associate and a current PhD student at the University of Toronto, where he is studying the impact of neoliberalism on the St. Lucian banana trade.

Cheddi Jagan: Man of Ideas

By Hydar Ally -March 20, 2014

THE late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, whose life and works are being celebrated this month, was known for many things: As a radical politician, a revolutionary, a Statesman, a visionary, a prolific writer and a man of ideas.

His ideas and visionary leadership are as relevant today as they were decades ago when he first entered the political stage. I propose, in this article, to focus on Dr. Jagan’s ideas, his vision and his dialectical mind in which he was able to make predictions and draw conclusions based on a scientific intrepretation of the socio-economic and political situation which existed not only in Guyana but at the international situation.

Few men were gifted with that ability to correctly and scientifically define the course of history and politics in Guyana and the world at large, based on an objective analysis of prevailing reality. The following are some of his ideas and thoughts:

Firstly, at an early stage in his political career, he came to the realisation that for development to take place, people at all levels and from all strata of society must be meaningfully involved in the political life of their country. When he came back from his studies in the United States in the early 1940s, he found that the majority of people were not allowed to vote because they were too poor, and because they were illiterate.

In those days, children, especially girls, were taken out of school at an early age to help out at home, so that their parents could work in the cane-fields. Because of that, many of them were unable to read and write, and so they were not allowed to vote.

In those days, only the rich people, people with income or property, were allowed to vote. He realised that without democracy, development could not take place, and he and his Party — the PPP, which he founded in January 1950 — led the struggle for the right to vote for all Guyanese in what is known as Universal Adult Suffrage.

The PPP contested the elections of 1953, which, for the first time, was held under Universal Adult Suffrage. The Party won a landslide victory, winning 18 out of 24 seats. The PPP was removed from office a mere three months later, due mainly to its working-class orientation.

Secondly, Dr. Jagan realised that unless people are free, they cannot participate in the development of their country. So he led the fight for political independence from Great Britain. In those days, the country was ruled by the British Government through the Queen’s representative, the Governor.

Dr. Jagan and the PPP fought for national independence, which was finally won on May 26, 1966. In those days, the entire sugar industry was owned by foreigners, who owned not only the sugar estates but all the major companies. The country was dubbed “Bookers Guyana” because of the stranglehold which Bookers had on the local economy.

Thirdly, Dr. Jagan realised that no country can develop unless there is development of its human resources. So he began to build more schools and training institutions when he won the seat of power, including the University of Guyana, which was his brainchild. The opposition was critical of his idea to set up the University, which they mockingly referred to as, “Jagan Night School”.

Fourthly, he realised that no country can develop and prosper unless there is racial unity. He did his best to involve all the people in nation-building, at one time offering the PNC half of the government in the 1960s, when there was racial tension, engineered by the United States and other reactionary forces to remove the PPP from office.

Fifthly, Dr. Jagan realised that there could be no development when the country is saddled with huge foreign debt. He was a strong advocate for the cancellation of foreign debt, which at one time was eating up nealy 90% of the country’s revenue. Thanks to his strong advocacy, Guyana and many other heavily-indebted countries have had large portions of their debts either cancelled or rescheduled. Today, our debt burden has been significanly reduced to just around five per cent or so of revenues.

Sixthly, Dr. Jagan realised that for development to take place, there must be peace. For him, too much money was spent on wars and on the military, and he showed in his book, “A New Global Human Order”, how a small reduction in military spending could send every child to school, and provide enough for every man, woman and child to eat.

Seventhly, he realised that for development to take place, there must be a fairer system of trade and aid. The rich countries continue to exploit the poor countries by buying our raw materials cheap and selling manufactured goods cheaply. In addition, they are ruining the livelihoods of local farmers by way of subsidies to their farmers.

Eightly, he realised that we must protect and preserve our environment, but in doing so, we must be compensated for preserving our forests. Today, Guyana is a major beneficiary of financial assistance from Norway in its Low- Carbon Development Initiative.

Ninthly, Dr. Jagan realised that we have to mobilise all sections of the society for development. This is why he came up with the idea of the National Democratic State, in which there is a balance between labour and capital, in addition to clean, inclusive and participatory governance.

Tenthly, he called for a new paradigm of development in which there will be prosperity for all, based on a new development model, which is not exploitative, but where the fruits of labour will be equitably distributed. He realised that existing models, based on market principles, are inadequate to provide a good life for everyone. The neo-liberal model of demand and supply must be replaced by a more humane order. It is to the credit of Dr. Jagan that his New Global Human Order, sponsored by Guyana, had been adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.