#BTColumn – Political victories

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Marsha Hinds

The fact that Caribbean people are celebrating Joe Biden’s win in the United States of America while at the same time celebrating Dr. Ralph Gonsalves’ win in St. Vincent and the Grenadines is further testimony of the complicated way in which we consume our politics in the Caribbean.

It is a classic case of what my grandmother used to refer to as “who the cat like, he lick and who he hate, he kicks”.

About halfway into the presidency of the current US President, people started to call for a change in voting that would see the President removed in the upcoming election.

The value of a preset election was touted.

Although many were unhappy with the President, the veracity of the election process made it possible to devise a way to deal with what was perceived on many levels to be a problematic presidency.

So it seems that we understand the importance of term limits and we support their use in political systems. However, we also support unchecked power.

All over the world, there have been moves to reign in unchecked political power because of its association with corruption and mismanagement. However, the Caribbean has largely left their first past the post system with no term limit restrictions in place.

One of the major reasons the American presidency was seen as problematic was the inability of the office holder to steer the country with the dignity and good grace that many perceive as important qualities for the office.

Because of the accountability mechanisms that are built into the American system, despite the best efforts of the sitting president, reports will be independently investigated and treated to.

In other territories, whistle blowers and individuals who make reports against powerful leaders are suppressed and their claims treated as nonsense.

Where we understand the inappropriateness of a president who thinks grabbing women by body parts is an ideal, we explain similar behavior away in other countries.

This way of consuming politics and setting different bars for different politicians is a part of the development stunting that we experience in the Caribbean.

Principle is not a premium in Caribbean politics. We shift the goal post according to who wants to score.This has implications for our economic well being as well as the perception of us as a people and a region.

The measure of whether a government has brought sound governance to a country cannot be hinged on how much time one person has been able to secure power.

The question has to be asked at some point what has been the sacrifice of the personal feat.St. Vincent and the Grenadines has one of the highest rape per capita rates in the world – not the region, the world.

A poverty assessment was carried out in St. Vincent and the Grenadines by the Government and I saw a precis document of the highlights of the report.

The precis showed measures, including the vulnerability index and the poverty headcount.

Poverty by headcount in St. Vincent has increased from 30.2 in 2008 to 36.1 in 2018.

More households are also reporting fewer resources to buy meals on a daily basis. Women were also more affected by poverty.

Although the poverty ratios are pointing in unsatisfactory directions, there was a small expansion in the Vincentian economy.

Researchers asserted that the disparity between growth and the poverty indicators could have been because gains made were unequally distributed. This seems to square with the popular view of what is happening on the ground among Vincentians.

So based on these measures, should the people of St. Vincent feel happy that despite not capturing the popular vote Ralph Gonsalves has held onto power? Who really won and who lost? I think it is only some kind of severe intellectual spasm that can make a people celebrate a Joe Biden victory and a Ralph Gonsalves victory simultaneously.

Marsha Hinds is the President of the National Organisation of Women.