GRENADA: A LOVE AFFALR TURNED SOUR: THE 1983 US INVASION OF GRENADA AM) ITS AFTERMATH BEVERLEY A, SPENCER A thesis submitted to the Department of Political Studies m conformity with the requirements for the degree of Maaer of Arts Queen' s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada January, 1998 copyright Q Beverley A. Spencer, 1998 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 191 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaON K1AON4 Ottawa ON KIA ON4 Canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence aliowing the exclusive permettant à la National Librv of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in rnicrofoq vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/fïlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'aiiteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fi-om it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othemise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Canada ABSTRAC'I' October 25, 1983, the day that armed forces led by the United States invaded Grenada, signalled the end of four anà a half years of revolution. Grenadians commonly feel that October 19, 1983, the day ~henPrime hlinister Maurice Bishop aied alongside some parliamentarians, union officials and other supporters, really marked the end of the revolution. President Ronald Reagan viewed the invasion as a victory for freedom. He irnmeciiatelq- offered the 6.S. business cummunitp an opportunity to turn the island into a free market aodei that would be the envy of the entire region. That plan never materialised. The period 1983 to 1995 has been crucial for the people of Grenada* Tt has been one of disappointment in many facets of their daily lives. The C;', S. Government's promise of increased ernployment as a result of L.S. investment proved an empty one. Various social programs initiated by the Peoples ' Revolut ionary Government ( PRG ) were disrnantled, among them the Primary tiealth Care system, the cornerstone of the PRG governrnent* This thesis offers an examination of the PRG government's activities, and of the impact that the U.S. invasion had on Grenada from 1983 to 1993. The zrgument, resting on primary and secondarv data, is that LS. promises have not been fulfilled because of the inappropriate economic policies, sponsoreà by the L.S. government for Grenada, and that government's lack of commitment to comprehensive development plans for the islanc. As a case study in CS failure to deliver the goods, the thesis seeks to measure Grenaaa's development from the period 1983 to 1993, using health care as a key indicator. Grenada's development is shown to be anything but positive. The standard of health care as it exists today leaves much to be desired. Lnless the government is committed to making health care a priority, the people of Grenada will continue to suffer because of the substandard level of health care they received since the revolut ion. In completing this thesis, 1 am especially indebted to mg supervisor, Professor Abigail Bakan, who read each chapter as the work progressed and raised critical questions, enabling me to better clarify my thinking as 1 progressed through the various stages. Her many editorial comrnents and suggestions guideci my approach. Spec ial thanks to professors Bruce Berman, Examiner, and George tovell, Internal/Esternal Examiner for their rneticulous editing and helpful comments which greatly improved the way in which 1 expressed vhat 1 wanted to Say. Special thanks to :ayant Lele, Head's Delegate, and the Chairperson, M. F. J. Prachowny for being members of tne Oral Thesis Board. Thanks also to professors Louise Ripley, Rudolph Grant and Peter Paolucci of University for encouragifig me to purstie the topic, and for also being a source of constant support. In addition, thanks to Sharon Xohamrned of Queen's Gniversitg, Geography Department, for her continuous involvement, and ta mu friend 9eredith Yathurin who generously contributed his time and books to help me. Finally, 1 am indebted to my parents, eleven brothers and sisters, and my nephews Philip and Joshüa. Most important, I am especially indebted to Clarence, whose companionship, patience and support were a constant and compelling source of inspiration. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 THE BI SHOP YEARS ACTION PtAN FOR GRENADA 15 PROTECTION FOR WORKERS AND UNION RIGHTS 19 NATIONAL IMPORTING BOARD 21 DEMOCRACY 22 STANDARD OF LIVING (YOUTH AND THE UNEMPLOYED) 25 INFRASTRUCTURE 27 AGRICULTURE 29 EDUCATION 33 HEALTH CARE 41 PRG FOREIGN RELATIONS 43 CUBA'S PRESENCE IN GRENADA 45 CONCLUSION 50 CHAPTER S WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO THE COUP? CIRCWSTANCES LEXDING Tû THE CONFLICT 53 WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE? 75 AFTER EFFECT 79 CONCLUSION 85 CHAPTER 3 FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE INVASION AND THE POST-INVASION IMPACT ON GRENADA'S ECONOMX AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE HOU THE INVASION WAS CARRIED OUT 101 THE POST-INVASION IMPACT ON GRENADA'S ECûNW AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 105 DISMANTLING THE STATE-RUB SECTOR 107 UNEMPLOYMENT 111 TAXATION 113 HOUSING 120 FISHING 122 TOURISM 124 EDUCATION 126 CONCLUS ION 128 CHAPTER 4 HEALTH CARE AS A MEASURE OF DEVELOPMENT RESPûNSIBILITY 130 THE STATE OF HEALTH CARE AFTER BLSHOP 139 MORALE 142 CONDITION OF HOSPITALS 143 MALNUTRITION 144 ANAEMIA 146 MORTALITY 147 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 149 INFORMATION AND TRAINING 150 CURRENT REFORMS 15 1 CONCLUSION 153 CHAPTER 5 OVERVIEW OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES IN THE CARIBBEAN & LATIN AMER 1 CA CONCLUSION 169 APPENDIX 176 BI BL 10Ç)RAPHY 7 INTRODUCTION Until 1650, when the French colonized Grenada, the island was occupied by Carib Indians. The Caribs of Grenada were unsuccessful in resisting French settlement, and for the most part perished in 1631, though some of them may have joined their island neighbours on Dominica and St. Vincent, where Carib resistance was maintained into the eighteenth century and beyond. The French at first concentrated on indigo production, but soon changed to cane, processing sugar under mercantilist agreements for the home market with slave labour imported frorn Africa. Thereafter Grenada remained mult iracial, its people sharply divided by culture and language, with marked inequalities of status among its ethnic groups. The island's prosperity made it a desirable prize of war and in 1762 the British under Lord Rodney seized Grenada. In 1778 it was recaptured by the French; but by the Peace of 1783 the island was returned to the British. Tt has since remained in British hands. In 1875 the Grenada legislature was persuaded to accept a limited change in its powers, and two years later, to vote for its own abolition. From that time the British Crown was to assume full responsibility for the government of the island. Grenada is the smallest, most densely populated of the Windward Islands, with a population of 100,000. Like the remainder of the Caribbean Islands, it was a plantation society. Evident in its large African population was the massive importation of African slaves brought into the island by the British colonisers to labour on the sugar estates in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As early as 1870 sugar ceased to be the mainstay of Grenada's economy, and cocoa, banana, and nutmeg emerged as Grenada's preferred crops. These diverse crops allowed the island to develop a broader economic base than many of the neighbouring islands.' When the Crown Colony system was introduced in Grenada in 1877 it not only terminated the local assembly, but eliminated the basis of farmers' political control. The Colonial Office in London issued orders directly to the governor. The landlords did not challenge the administration; moreover, Crown Colony administration weakened further in 1915,2 with little or no opposition. In the meantime T. Albert Marryshow, and a group of his associates founded the Representative Government Association ( RGA ) , to exert pressure upon the British for local representation in the affairs of GrenadaS3 l Jorge Heine, A Revolution Aborted: The Lessons of Grenada. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990) pp.6-8. * The Crown Colony Administration weakened when T.A. Marryshow, a journalist, and C.F.P. Renwick, a lawyer, founded the West Indian newspaper. The West Indian moulded the opinion of Grenadian middle class and succeeded in regulating that section behind the cal1 for reforms in the system of government, and the creation of a federation of the West Indies. Fitzroy Ambursley and James Dunkerley Grenada: Whose Freedom (London: Sphere Books Lîmited, 1984) p. 19. There was a landmark report in the British West Indies in 1921, when Britain sent E.F.L. Wood in response to meetings, and petitions, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. The report recommended that the elective principle should be advanced in stages in the colonial legislatures: at the same time official members continued to be a majority , nominated unof ficials should be reduced to accommodate elected members , next , unof f icial members both elected and norninated should be placed in a majority over the official members. Isaac Dookan, A Post Emancipation History of the West Indies. (Great Britain: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1975) p. 117. 9 The end of World War II saw large numbers of Grenadians leaving their homeland for oilf ields in the neighbouring islands. In 1949, Eric Matthew Gairy returned to Grenada from Aruba and organised the Grenada Manual and Mental ~orkers'Union (GCLMWU).