This election is turning out to be the most divisive since 1992 in terms of racial mobilization. Apan jaat and “Black fuh Black” go back a long time. It took a hiatus for the unified PPP of 1953, but came back into full swing in 1961. Since 1997 it was always implied or subtle, but not explicit as I have seen during this campaign. For example, the votes Mr Hamilton Green received in the local election of 1994 evaporated overnight after Mr Hoyte announced at a 1997 rally in South Ruimveldt that Green’s GGG received $7 million campaign financing from PPP. Before that rally Green was pulling some large crowds in Georgetown. For the 2001 election, Mrs Jagan announced to her largely East Indian crowd at the Kitty rally: “don’t split the votes.”
These examples of ethnic mobilization are mild compared with what we heard leading up to the 2011 election and are witnessing this election following the annual Babu Jaan cuss down. Why would a column focusing on economic and financial issues be concerned with ethno-political mobilization? A running theme of this series is pro-ethnic mobilization
