Racism and Communism in British Guiana

Abstract

With an area of 83,000 square miles and a population of 600,000, British Guiana is one of the smallest countries on the South American continent. Its political importance is out of all proportion to its size or economic performance for the single reason that the People's Progressive Party (PPP), which won a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly elections of 1961, is completely dominated by a group of Communists.British Guiana is still a colony under a governor who is a British civil servant nominated by the Colonial Office in London and who controls law and order, defense, and external affairs—the effective levers of command. The local government can thus be said to be in office but not in power, its range of action being extremely limited.