…political campaign
Over in the US – where many of our present political practises originated – “whistle stops” meetings were a standard feature of political campaigning. The “whistle stops” referred to the trains that “whistled” to alert residents as they entered stations on the railways that criss-crossed the country. Politicians would stand on the back of a carriage they’d hired and deliver their spiel – some would say “harangues” – to those who gathered at the “whistle stops”. It was a quite efficient and effective way to get political messages across.
Our railways, of course, have been long gone – thanks to the PNC that ripped them out! – but the concept of “whistle stops” meetings have remained as part of our political repertoire. So, while the PPP’s General Secty just said their political campaign’s gonna be kicked off at the beginning of July – next week – we just witnessed Pres Ali deliver a classic Guyanese adaptation of performance of the practice last Thursday in his native Region 3!! With no trains, he simply follow our single public road in that neck of the woods!!
Starting from the west around midday – down the Essequibo River – Pressie set the tone when he delivered an address tailored to the concerns of the riverain farming community of Lanaballi He then took questions from them -followed by good-naturedly posing for pics with the mixed, generally red-clad attendees!! This was later repeated a few miles downriver at Hubu, after which he swung east and effortlessly switched gears as he addressed the totally different concerns of the community of Meten Meer Zorg – which still depends on the Uitvlugt sugar estate for their livelihood.
He then segued to the village of Uitvlugt itself and stayed there until dusk fell. It was then onto Anna Catherina and Cornelia Ida followed by Crane at the end of the West Demerara Road before swinging into the West Bank communities of Bella Dam/Coglan Dam late into the night. The president’s stamina was in full display – as was the patience of the crowds that thronged to the meetings. The other notable feature was the President’s extemporaneous expositions on the concerns of such diverse villages.
And imagine the campaign hasn’t really started!! While one may be tempted to feel some sympathy for the Opposition – especially the PNC – at this blitz, they can only blame themselves!! They’re facing an incumbent government – which therefore presents a very large target for criticisms in every community. It’s a given in politics that no matter what governments do, there’s always gonna be a good number who’ll look askance at their performance!!
They should’ve been in those communities even before Pressie – and if nothing else, provide tough questions that the residents could then pose to him!!
…autarchy?
“Autarchy is an economic and political concept where a nation or community aims to achieve self-sufficiency in satisfying all its needs.” It bucks the old folk wisdom that insists “everybody needs somebody” and that also applies to countries!! Back in the day, Hitler tried for Germany to be autarchic – but while he was successful to a large degree, he still had to import oil!! The converse to autarchy is ‘free trade”: you produce things where you have a comparative advantage and can export them competitively and use the funds obtained to buy missing goods from other countries!
Well, when your Eyewitness heard we’re attempting to cultivate wheat, onions and potatoes, he wondered whether we’re pursuing an autarchic economic policy. After all we’re gonna have to provide all sorts inputs to for those crops. The question is whether it’s worth it to produce them expensively – and therefore at higher prices than we can buy it from countries with the comparative advantage to do so cheaply??
The example of Jamaica and potatoes is instructive.
…BRICS security
While BRICS isn’t supposed to be a defense grouping, you’d think they would’ve responded a tad more strongly to Iran being unilaterally attacked by Israel and the US. Isn’t economic freedom to be defended?
Texas’ wide-brimmed hats or Arab keffiyehs?
