Guyana at 55: Reflections on Republicanism, Mash 2025, and the Promise of One Guyana
April 13, 2025
Guyana Tapestry family, greetings!
On the occasion of Guyana’s 55th Republic anniversary, happy Mash. Yes, just a few short weeks ago on Feb 23rd Guyana celebrated 55 years since becoming “The Cooperative Republic of Guyana” in 1970, some four years after the country gained independence from Great Britain in 1966. We were fortunate to be in the homeland to participate in the festivities. A big thank you is extended to all the stakeholders, planners, performers, corporate sponsors, and revelers. A special thank you to the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, and just about every fellow Guyanese for the warm and lively experience that was Mash 2025.
What Does It Mean to Be a Republic?
Naturally, the responsibility is with us then to highlight for the diaspora the meaning of these important celebrations to the country’s history and provide context for how these events are remembered, understood, and retold to future generations of Guyanese. But before we even talk about celebrating five and a half decades of republican government in Guyana, what does it mean to be a republic? According to Dr. Paul R. DeHart, professor of Political Science at Texas State University, in a 2023 article entitled “What Is a Republic?” the term republic originates from the Latin phrase res publica meaning “public thing.” It refers to a state or nation where political power rests with the public through their representatives. It is a political order whose head of state — in modern times — is a president and where the power lies with citizens who are entitled to vote for officers that represent their interests and are responsible to them, according to Dr. DeHart. And while some may argue whether the United States is purely a republic or a democracy, it’s the most visible and arguably the most illustrative an example of what a contemporary republic should look like.
With respect to Guyana, we did not merely become a republic, but instead the Cooperative Republic of Guyana grounded in a vision for the collective development of all Guyanese. “The Co-operative Republic” is supposed to be an expression of the historical and psychological makeup of the of Guyana.” The shift to republican government was not supposed to be a mere change on paper. It represented a continuation of the “struggle” and of efforts by Guyanese to forge ahead with national development through collective work. The “Cooperative Republic” was supposed to concretize working together in the socio-economic organization of Guyanese people. The understanding was that enormous economic and social advantages could accrue from uniting Guyanese labor and other resources; that through such cooperation, the possibilities exist for little people, the dispossessed, the poor, and the underprivileged to achieve real economic power and a just place in the society. That was the vision of the 1970’s, when in Brindley Benn’s words, “one people, one nation, one destiny” was the motto.
Fast forward to 2025, and we have the “One Guyana” initiative. Fair enough, the President is allowed to implement his initiatives as articulated during the campaigns. More importantly, the “One Guyana” initiative at its conceptual core seems to promote bridging traditional differences and ensuring that every citizen achieves prosperity.” According to Guyana’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, the One Guyana initiative is the birthplace of several of the social and economic policies and programs being implemented now that target inequalities by extending opportunities to the most vulnerable in the society through investments across various segments of the economy.
Now you might be asking “wuh all of dis gah do wid Mash?” Well, these themes go to the heart of the historical significance of Guyana becoming the “Cooperative Republic” and, the substantive basis on which we can still celebrate republicanism as the prevailing form of governance.
The Spirit of Mashramani
Furthermore, over the years mash day has come to mean a few things for Guyanese. We grew up learning that Mashramani is a word with Amerindian origin that when translated in English means “celebration after hard work.” If nothing else, we does look forward to the cultural events, the week long program of musical performances and costume competitions that culminate with the calypso monarch, the flag raising, and the mash day parade when yuh does dash yuh bady out with di revelers in a nice float or two, or three, like me.
One Guyana vs Political Reality
This year, true to form, the Mash Committee comprising of personnel from the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport put together an impressive lineup of events under the theme “Expressing our Culture and Creativity as One Guyana.” … Ever since I was a child growing up in Guyana, one of my favorite things about the Republic celebrations was always the flag raising, when the golden arrowhead is raised at midnight. So, you would imagine the disappointment of scores of Guyanese like me who when after missing the Splashramani at the National Stadium and braving the rain to show up at Parliament Building for the flag raising only to discover a police barricade blocking Brickdam from High Street by the Magistrate’s Court and extending all the way to Demico on the other side of Brickdam to block entrants from the Stabroek Market side. Onlookers were made to endure the entire production from an inaudible and barely legible big screen while official invitees enjoyed the event from the comfortable seating inside the Parliament Building compound. And if that didn’t seem exclusionary enough, later that evening, Saturday 22th February, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport apologized for not inviting the entire opposition political party to the raising of the flag at the country’s 55th Republic celebrations.
For context, the opposition currently comprises about 32 of the 65-member national assembly. That represents some 49% of the electorate not invited and not represented at that national and symbolic event. The backlash to this gesture was swift. Bear in mind that in a few short months, there is to be a presidential election in Guyana. Now standing clear of placing blame, as the debate continues about whether it was deliberate or not, apology considered, several serious inferences can be drawn.
- On a spectrum, it comes across as either a woeful and troubling incompetence on the part of planners or complete apathy and disrespect for a significant constituency of the electorate.
- Given President Ali’s One Guyana initiative which even forms part of the theme for Mash 2025, such a gesture undermines the credibility of that message by insulting a significant segment of the citizenry at home and abroad.
- The country’s republic celebrations should promote national unity and pride through inclusivity, while this gesture desecrates the sanctity and significance of the event, it also insults patriotism and national pride.
- The principles and logic of good democratic governance would suggest that the occasion of the county’s 55th Republic anniversary would be an ideal time to engage the broader citizenry, and in particular the younger demographic within the electorate on issues of national interest and importance leveraging the mood a patriotism felt by most Guyanese. Quite the contrary, thousands of young people assembled at the National Stadium for Splashramani, while a handful of the political directorate barricaded themselves inside the Parliament Building compound to engage in the serious business of raising the national emblem to commemorate 55 years of republican governance. The irony couldn’t be more menacing. Quite a departure from the conceptual “cooperative republic.”
- One week after Mash, On March 1, a Venezuelan warship entered Guyana’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), close to an ExxonMobil oil facility. Yet another breach of Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and another terrifying reminder of Guyana’s gross ability to defend herself even as she registers growing national wealth. This provoked another escalation in the dispute over Guyana’ border with Venezuela. The perception of internal disunity appears as a weakness to an external enemy.
But as we would seh, teeth and tongue must bite… Suh we put feelings aside and dash we bady pun de road mash day same way.
Indeed, t’was mash in Guyana and so we did get a little crazy…
But even wid di rum in we hand and we friend dem next to we, at no point have we lose sight of the fact that we are at a critical point in Guyana’s history. Over the last few years, we’ve made significant strides towards healing and growth. The country has far greater visibility regionally and globally, and leadership has received high praise on several policy actions that suggest the state’s interest in improving transparency and accountability as pillars of good democratic governance. It is difficult to see the incentive for constantly bringing the credibility of the President’s signature policy initiative in question in the name of insulting the opposition. Presumably, it does more harm than good. But more importantly, what does it say to and of Guyana and Guyanese?