The PNM HAS a Plan

The PNM HAS a Plan

Ever since September 7 last year, and even before, a position has been presented that the PNM has "no plan".

During the general election campaign and since the PNM's assumption of office, this point of view has been championed largely by the other "major" political party - the UNC as a way of criticising the PNM and the Rowley administration as 'unfit' to govern.

Is this slogan - the PNM Has No Plan - correct?

Or, is it serving to mask the reality of the PNM's Plan and disarming the population in the face of the dangers of the direction of the PNM's reconvened move of anti-people, anti-democratic and anti-social agenda that was disrupted by the defeat of the Manning regime in 2010?

It would be dangerous to assume that anyone, particularly a collective of persons organised into a political party, would operate without a plan.

Everyone has an agenda! It is impossible for an individual to get up every day and do whatever they do - go to school, to work, etc- and they do that without an AIM, without a GOAL and without a PLAN on how to achieve their goals. Everyone has a plan.

Political parties represent INTERESTS. They represent economic and social forces within the society.

Political parties in the current electoral and governance system enter into competition to represent essentially the same interest as the PARTY-IN-POWER should they emerge victorious in the contest of elections. That interest is the interest of those within the society who exercise ECONOMIC POWER over resources of the society and the majority of the population and who also exercise POLITICAL POWER over the majority of the body politic.

The Party-in-Power is really in office and is required to act on behalf of the real holders of political power, those who exercise ownership and control over the economic and financial power.

So, just as these powerful interests have aims and objectives and they plan on how to achieve them, so too, those who seek to be their political representatives in Government also have their PLANS on how to advance the interest of the very powerful interests over the people.

But, there are other interests in the society - the interests of the majority of the body politic. The interests of those who are the victims of recession or single parents or the poor or the landless or others - the INTERESTS of the workers, farmers, fishermen, intellectuals, women, youth and so on.

There is a constant major conflict of the interests of the minority who hold economic and political power and the interests of the majority whom the minority seek to deprive of such power.

This conflict is expressed in the conflict of PRIVATE RIGHT v PUBLIC RIGHT.

There are those among the most powerful in the economic and political sense who seek ABSOLUTE POWER in the form of MONOPOLY in ECONOMICS and in POLITICS.

The conflict between the interests of this very small minority (Bernie Sanders calls them the top 1%) and the interests of the rest of the society and body politic is expressed in the conflict of MONOPOLY RIGHT v SOCIAL RIGHT.

Certain political parties seek political office on behalf of those who desire MONOPOLY RIGHT.

Their PLAN is to seek the interest of the most powerful sections of those who control economic and political power in the society to the detriment of the interests of the vast majority and of the society itself.

This IS the PNM'S PLAN. Their entire programme is to secure the interests of the powerful MONOPOLIES.

For example, the banks had a MONOPOLY on the sale of Foreign Exchange. The Governor of the Central Bank interfered with their monopoly. So, the PNM came to office, fired the Governor  and restored to the monopoly of the banks.

The BIG MERCHANTS were using up hundreds of millions in foreign exchange to buy-and-sell goods in the country. They were upset that the CB Governor exposed how much forex they were getting and spending, so, again he had to go.

They wanted to maintain their MONOPOLY over the commercial trade against the small and medium businesses and even against the individual citizens who now buy directly through online shopping. So, the PNM is now imposing a 7% tax on online shopping to protect the MONOPOLY  of the Big Merchants.

The owner of the MONOPOLY steel plant was facing difficulties in the global market. So, he closed down the plant and fired all the workers. The PNM did NOTHING to stop this claim of MONOPOLY RIGHT.

The PNM in the THA (just like those whose interest they represent) have a MONOPOLY in that governance structure. The Chief Secretary told the PNM members contesting internal elections in Tobago to not forget that their aim is to maintain their MONOPOLY in the THA.

Manning was creating a Constitution in 2010 to ensure a MONOPOLY on power of an all-powerful maximum leader in the office of President before his anti-democratic plan was halted by the people when his regime was voted out.

Now, Rowley and the PNM are back. They are continuing the SAME PLAN that the PNM under Manning was pursuing.

The political expression of MONOPOLY POWER is FASCISM - anti-democratic, anti-worker, anti-people, racist and anti-social in CONTENT.

If we make the mistake of thinking the PNM has no plan. If we do not expose that the PNM HAS a Plan - a plan to:

• further the interests of the monopolies against the people
• suppress the rights of the citizens through legislation like the SSA Amendment or the deployment of the army in the communities
• impose the entire burden of the economic crisis on the backs of the workers, the farmers, small business people and the poor to guarantee the profits of the monopolies
• decrease social spending - gas subsidy, GATE, etc.
• deplete the national savings in the Foreign Reserves and Heritage and Stabilisation Fund to pay the debts they are incurring to the Banks and big Lenders.

There are other specifics, but, to say there is NO Plan or to not expose the real nature of the PNM's Plan will be most dangerous for the interests of the people and for the society.

At the same time, there is need to develop and pursue ANOTHER PLAN - a plan to advance SOCIAL RIGHT and the interests of the majority.