RE ET URE ATT PEIN oO ON Tribune talks with Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan aS By TOM MORRIS TORONTO — ‘‘Despite the fact that the’ People’s Progressive Party would win over 50 per cent of a free and fair vote,’’ Cheddi Jagan told a news conference here July 27, ‘‘We are saying the winner should not take all. What our Party calls for is National Patriotic Front, a broadly-based government. which is democratic, anti- imperialist and socialist oriented.” Cheddi Jagan, Opposition leader in Guyana’s parlia- ment and leader of the People’s Progressive Party, ac- cused the present government of Prime Minister Forbes Burnhanrof holding power despite a drastic loss of sup- port. He pointed to the rigging of three successive elec- tions by the Burnham regime and said, **Our fight is for a free and fair vote. We want to institute a new govern- ment for badly needed economic and political change. ° ‘‘Guyana is staggering under a huge foreign debt, a bloated military and civilian apparatus and is suffering from declining living standards,”’ Jagan charged. He pointed out that 92 per cent of the country’s cur- rent revenues are eaten up by debt and compensation payments. ‘Since Guyana accepted the harsh terms of the International Monetary Fund in 1978,’ he con- tinued, ‘‘the country has suffered wage freeze, decrease ~ in social services, mass firings and a devaluation of cur- rency. And the IMF is pressing for a 66 to 100 per cent devaluation, despite a 25 per cent devaluation earlier this year.” Jagan, whose PPP was in government until 1964 said that 45.5 per cent of the country’s budget was then spent on social services; today this figure has dropped to 22 per cent. ‘‘There is little left for real social needs, for people’s needs,”’ he said. ; ‘The money earned in the mid-seventies from high world sugar prices has all been squandered,” Jagan charged. ‘‘Today, with the state sector of the economy employing 80 per cent of the workforce, all workers have a common employer and common interests. ‘“‘The class struggle is sharpening and working class" unity developing,”’ said Jagan. ‘In this situation, the United States is searching for a ‘third option’. Washington is pressing the Burnham re- gime to denationalize the main sectors of the economy and return to ‘free enterprise’ capitalism. It is dissatisfied with the Burnham government but do not want a PPP or National Patriotic Front government,”’ Jagan said. In a recent article, Jagan outlined the PPP approach both to what the ruling party calls ‘‘socialism’’ and pres- ent U.S. aims: ‘Imperialism is fully aware of the fact that there is no socialist construction in Guyana. But it does not object to the PNC bandying the term socialism. Actually, it is glad, as it served, and is serving the interest of im- perialism to have the socio-economic-political order called socialism. In this way, socialism gets a bad name. ‘Economic pressure is being applied to the PNC re- gime not because it is socialist, but because it is practis-. ing a particular brand of capitalism — state, bureau- cratic co-operative and parasitic. “The United States is unhappy about the present situation, and wants a change in policy, not necessarily a - change in leadership for the following reasons: e Guyana does not provide the political stability and investment climate for the foreign investors; . , e the United Force, politically/ideologically linked to Washington, was removed from the government and the comprador bourgeoisie associated with it was displaced by state and party (PNC); e the PNC is tottering and there is no outright rightist alternative. ‘The Reagan administration wants a change from the existing PNC type of capitalism to another — dependent, distorted capitalism as in‘Latin America. But what the United States wants for Guyana is not the answer. ‘One has only to look around in Central and South America to see what is the situation under U.S. im- perialist domination. Even the most ‘developed’ coun- tries like Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Chile and Brazil are, like Guyana, up to their necks in trouble and are facing colossal debt payment problems. This is due to the fact that they have a dependent, distorted economy which breeds under-development and worsening living conditions for the working people. “We intend to force the government to move forward or move out...” 6 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, AUGUST 8, 1984 4 “Guyana is staggering under a huge foreign debt, a bloated military and civilian apparatus .. social needs, for people’s needs.” : ‘ : there is little left for real ‘We’d win a free and fair vote’| TRIBUNE PHOTO — MIKE PHILLIPS _ reaching 12 per cent per annum. What was deemed “the economy and hurting the working people. That's - Nicaragua’s revolution,”’ he said. > interest of the masses of the people of Guyana.” “The PPP calls for unity, but not simply unity to throw out the Burnham government, but lasting unity to rebuild our country.” : 4 ‘*Venezuela is a classic example of dependency and distorted economy: 85 per cent of its national incom comes from oil, but oil employs only one per cent of the: population. Food has to be imported, and a large perce” tage of the people live below the poverty line... 4 “Like Venezuela, other dependent-capitalist Lat!” American countries have distorted economies: reliance on one or two products. That’s why some are calle ‘coffee republics’ or ‘banana republics’. Chile * economy was hinged on copper and nitrates. Brazil is? good example of ‘developed under-development’. A few years ago, it was lauded to the skies with growth rate" Brazilian miracle’ has disappeared. This is now an ec” nomic impasse with the world’s biggest debt problem and an inflation rate of 211 per cent. A few months ago rioting and looting occurred in the streets of the largest industrial city, Sao Paulo. Another dependent capitalist state, Argentina, has a 400 per cent inflation rate. ‘‘Burnhamism — state, bureaucratic, Seine and parasitic capitalism — is not the answer. Neither © dependent, distorted capitalism under Reaganism. | ‘The way forward is socialist orientation. This me a democratic, anti-imperialist state which is serving ‘“‘Our party is working for unity at the top and bol tom,”’ Jagan said. ‘We intend to force the government a | move forward or move out — and only a united wor kine class can do that.”’ | Replying to a reporter's comment about “two im perialisms’, Jagan said: ‘‘That’s propaganda, not fact. _ He explained that when examining the reality of today > world, one sees who is helping and who is hurting ™ struggle for national and social liberation. ee “Who is fighting against the national liberation mov", ments?’’, Jagan asked. ‘‘Who is using both military ® economic means to stop the march toward liberatio®™ It’s imperialism, and in the first place, U.S. impe ism.” i He explained that 80 per cent of ‘‘aid’’ from weste® controlled organizations such as the IMF and. wor Bank are sunk into infrastructure and the military W¥ 80 per cent of aid from socialist states goes to the pro@™ tive and social sectors of the economies of develoP states. - Goes aro * ‘The IMF-imposed terms are destroying Guy? ans = ¥ perialism today, as is the U.S,-led attack ag@ Inconclusion, Jagan emphasized that the only way of the crisis faced by the people of Guyana is a b based, pro-working class, multi-racial government. — achieve this calls for unity, but not unity simply to t™, out the PNC, but lasting unity to rebuild our country — _he said.