Grenada's New Jewel Movement
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INTERNATIONAL Lessons of losing power Grenada's New Jewel Movement In October 1983 a US force of 80 000 marines invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada bringing to an abrupt end the five year revolutionary experiment of the New Jewel Movement (NJM) led by Maurice Bishop. Although condemned by anti-imperialist and progressive forces world-wide, the American invasion was apparently welcomed by wide sections of the Grenadan population. DIDACUS JULES, Deputy Secretary for Education in the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) of Grenada, 1979-83, spoke to Barbara Creecy* about the lessons of losing power in Grenada. _ For 25 years prior to 1979, l/T .Yr|Vl|YriYitV^[V questioning who were the ::::;:::::::;::; ••:::;:::::>;::;::: Grenada was governed by li.. ..•;;; black faces in office and Eric Gairy who assumed whether they were serving leadership of the 1951 revol the interests of the black •jT\ d£»i_ ution when the masses rose North masses. against the bad working con ^ America There were a number of in ditions they faced. Although dependent community-based he was initially popularly Grenada militant youth organisations. elected, Gairy degenerated One such was the Movement into a despot using re ^t for the Assemblies of the pression and superstition to People which had a black- remain in power. Caribbean &-} power-cum-socialist In the early 1970s, the Ca orientation, partly influenced ribbean, influenced by the by Tanzania's Ujamaa social upheavals in the United States, ism. There was also an organ was swept by a wave of Black South isation called the JEWEL Power. To many young Carib America I/" (Joint Movement for Educa bean intellectuals. Black tion Welfare and Liberation). Power meant more than just Grenada in the Caribbean These were pressure putting black faces in office. in relation to the USA groups raising critical ques r • ------ -• - —- - •:: •:••"" For them, it had a class con r T T iT r T . \ .?*.? t"r ' t"T" i"'""" T"""""0 "~0""""T~""""~ &$?& SvJK'A'SKv tions about the path of :-:•: •:-x-x-:*:->:-"-^:*x->:-: VK-I-K-K-M^M :•:•:•:•: : £x& :*: vX OK* tent which involved ^^^X':•>^^•^^^:-^^:-^^^:•>^^:^':•^^X':•^:•:•:':•^^:•>•:•:^':^'^:•^:•>:•:':-^:•:-:'•^ development in the country. Barbara Creecy works for the Human Awareness Programme (HAP), in Johannesburg, coordinating a project which trains education officers in trade unions, community and political groups. June 1991 64 LESSONS OF LOSING POWER: GRENADA and looking for answers based on a nationalist pro- black majority perspective. Disturbed about foreign con GRENADA trol of the Caribbean economies, they were also anti- imperialist These organisations finally merged, in 1970, and called themselves the New Jewel Movement (NJM). The NJM took a more overtly political role by begin ning to oppose the Gairy Jamaica regime. Rise of the New Jewel Movement The Caribbean The movement articulated the need for a broader democracy, the widespread demand for so cial services, and an economy Country profile that was in the hands of the masses. ITie NJM rapidly gained a great following in the Grenada is a small country, 200 sq miles in area, with a popula country. It also had a fearless tion of about 110 000 people. A further 300 000 live outside Gre leadership which was prepared nada, seeking employment in other Caribbean Islands [see map], to oppose the repressive forces the United States, Canada and Britain. The economy of the country is based on agricultural produc of the regime. tion, with three main crops for export - bananas, nutmeg and In 1973 the New Jewel cocoa. It is thus vulnerable to changes in international com Movement won a number of modity prices at any given point in time. It is also very seats in parliament and vulnerable to natural disasters, such as hurricanes. Maurice Bishop became the Grenada has the largest peasantry in the English-speaking Ca leader of the official par ribbean. There is almost no industrialisation (except a few liamentary opposition. The assembly-type factories) and the largest plantations are foreign- Gairy regime reacted by fur owned. Nonetheless, foreign penetration of Grenada has not been ther eroding parliament as a as deep as in other parts of the Caribbean. • forum for democratic ex pression. When parliament was arbitrarily suspended, m unities, arrest agents of the revolutionary government the NJM prepared to carry on regime and ensure the surren that immediately put into ef the struggle on all fronts, in der of police and military fect certain decrees. It cluding an armed seizure of posts in their communities. promised the speedy return power, if necessary. The people responded, and of the country to democratic In the early hours of 13 that led to the consolidation elections and guaranteed the March 1973, the NJM at of the revolution. protection of human rights. tacked the army headquarters Particular attention was paid and the radio station. It is Achievements to the rights of women sued a call for the masses to of the revolution workers and to women's come out into the streets, to The New Jewel Movement democratic participation in take control of their com- established a broad-based the affairs of the country. 65 SALBVQI15NO8 INTERNATIONAL The Provisional Revolution Democratic consultation this level thus had the same ary Government also on economic planning opportunity to hear about the immediately repealed the most Following the inherited Brit condition of the national repressive laws that had been ish tradition, the budget was economy and what the gov passed by the Gairy regime. a national secret until ernment was considering for The effect of the post-rev presented in parliament. One the coming year. The people olutionary decrees was to of the big changes made by had the opportunity for feed create a certain amount of the Grenada revolution was back on these options, and to democratic space. People felt to completely change that make further recommenda free to organise and to ex procedure. tions and suggestions. press themselves. These Firstly, the Ministry of There was then a National initiatives were encouraged. Planning prepared a review Conference of Delegates on A number of spontaneous in of the national economy the Economy where every itiatives were taken by the based on information they sector was represented - people. For example, people had collected. That review , women, youth, and other got together in a collective together with certain gui mass organisations - as well way to clean up their com delines, was sent to the as community representation. munities, and to repair public cabinet for its consideration In the third year of the revol facilities and roads. so that it could follow up ution, there was even Democracy was an import some of the different options. representation by age with ant promise of the The review was then dis specific representation of sen government. The policy of cussed in a number of ior citizens. NJM was that the British par workshops, using the village At the National Con liamentary system should be and zonal councils. People at ference of Delegates on the transformed into a more par ticipatory system of government. They believed that the people should have a Economic strategy of the more active say in the formu lation of policy. New Jewel Movement The New Jewel Move ment began setting up 'zonal* councils in the re I he economic policy of the NJM was constrained by the reality it inherited. The Provisional Revolutionary government declared gions where the people could the economy to be a mixed economy with the state sector domi discuss problems of their nant. It was felt that this was the only realistic way die country communities as well as na could go because it needed foreign expertise and investment. tional problems, and hold Three hundred years of colonial capitalism had not produced an dialogue with the leadership. answer to underdevelopment. There were three aspects to the NJM policy. The first was the In the councils, the people creation of a strong state sector, reserving for the stale national expressed many needs which transportation, utilities, and the banking sector. later became concrete pro The second aspect was the promotion of the private sector grammes of the revolution. within certain limits and within a published investment code. There was a strong call for This gave priority to local investors over foreign investors and transformation in education provided concessions for labour-intensive projects which made (especially the upgrading of extensive use of local investment. teacher training and the or The third was the encouragement of a co-operative sector es ganisation of a national pecially in agriculture. To make this a reality, the government literacy campaign) and the created the National Agency for Co-operative Development which provided finance and training for young people wanting to creation of a national trans go into agriculture or into the formation of co-operatives. • port service. June 1991 66 LESSONS OF LOSING POWER: GRENADA Economy, a draft budget was presented based on the zonal Land and discussions. The national conference delegates dis aaricultural oolic cussed and make further recommendations, so that by the time the national budget During the 60s and 70s, the Gairy regime had seized large es tates claiming lhat it was going to give land to the landless. was finalised, a very large This did not happen. The land was kept by the regime or given cross-section of the country to its supporters. After the revolution, all the land that had been had had a chance to make an seized by the Gairy regime was taken over. There was no need input into that debate. All the to appropriate further land because the slate had enough land. recommendations were then The revolutionary government established a land reform compiled by the ministry and commission whose task was to go around all the communities submitted to the cabinet for in the country, looking into the availability of land and its final consideration.