THERE IS AN OPEN CONSPIRACY IN BARBADOS!

Whenever there is a serious crisis in a country, and a major economic adjustment is required, the central issue that comes to the fore is--'Which class or grouping of the population will be made to bear the brunt of the cost or burden of the adjustment?"

Well, Barbados is at the stage where we are on the verge of making fundamental decisions about a major economic and fiscal adjustment for the country, and all the signs are there that a massive right wing, big business, elitist conspiracy is underway to ensure that the working class and lower middle class sectors of Barbados bear the brunt of the adjustment!

If we want to understand how such a conspiracy works in Barbados, then we have to go back to the last serious crisis that the country faced--- the crisis of 1990 to 1992.

At that time--- in March 1990 to be precise--- under the coordination of Mr. Peter Boos, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry joined forces with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, in a so-called National Resource Mobilisation Conference, to develop a plan to steer Barbados along a big business, private sector oriented path of economic adjustment.

Those Barbadians who were fortunate enough to get their hands on a copy of the "Post Conference" document discovered that the agreed upon modus operandi was as follows:-

* "Massive public education programme to explain the benefits of market forces....and that the country is living beyond its means"
* "Establish a task force to construct a private sector agenda"
* "Prepare and publish alternative Estimates"
* "Encourage opposition parties to present pro-business Bills in the House"
* "Establish a "Call In" programme"
* "Reduce scope of welfare services including health"
* "Eliminate free tertiary education"
* "Reduce scope of government regulation"
* "Targets for privatisation should include both profitable and unprofitable enterprises and be extended to central government services....including...CBC, IDC factories, revenue collection, Port Authority..."

Those of us who have been following recent developments in Barbados closely would have noted the outlines of a very similar agenda in the following events :-
1. The recent establishment of the Peter Boos led "Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation" ;

2. The recent effort made by the Chairman of government's Council of Economic Advisors to float the idea that Barbados can no longer afford free secondary and tertiary education;

3. Sir Courtney Blackman's highly publicised prescription of a public sector wage freeze, and his violent rejection of price controls on the private sector;

4. The termination of Marilyn Rice- Bowen, who, as Chairperson of the National Housing Corporation, publicly complained about the Minister steering virtually all major contracts to one or two big, elite,construction companies;

5. The recent enhanced power of right wing elements within the Democratic Labour Party, leading to the installation of the pliable Chris Sinckler in the Ministry of Finance, and efforts to subvert the position and strength of the ideologically strong Freundel Stuart;and

6. The recent similar efforts within the Barbados Labour Party aimed at ressurecting the political fortunes of Owen Arthur--- a veritable front man for big, elite, business interests--- at the expense of the more intrinsically nationalist Mia Mottley.

What is taking shape here is a major push by the traditional local big business elite and their foreign allies to impose an adjustment on Barbados that will leave them virtually unscathed, but that--- similar to 1991--- will see the masses of working class people hit with terrible blows of wage stagnation, lay offs, and welfare and social service cuts.

It is now becoming more and more clear that the real political divide in Barbados is not between the various political parties, but between persons and organisations that line up on opposite sides of a central ideological divide.

The Peoples Empowerment Party (PEP) stands on the side of the Social Democratic consensus that has been at the heart of whatever social progress Barbados has made over the years, with ambitions to shift that Consensus further to the left, in a gradual and organic manner.

There is no need for a harsh right wing response to the crisis in Barbados! There are many alternative Social Democracy and Democratic Socialist solutions that will preserve principles of fairness, justice and human dignity!