The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics
By Eusi Kwayana
Published by On Our Own Authority! Publishing, 2014
162 pages, paperback
“Every man is his own leader and we are leaderless”—this was the organizational principle voiced by the Afro-Guyanese bauxite mine workers in their workers’ councils, committees, and mass assemblies that characterized the militant strike of April 1970. Originally published in 1972, Eusi Kwayana’s The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics examines the self-organized struggle for workers’ control in what was the soon-to-be-nationalized bauxite industry. For Kwayana, the struggle of the bauxite workers in Guyana serves as a reminder that “nationalization without workers’ control and workers’ self-management is a fraud.”
The revised second edition of The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics includes an introduction by Matthew Quest and an appendix of additional writings by Eusi Kwayana and rare documents published by ASCRIA (African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa). This new material documents the struggle for workers’ self-emancipation in Guyana from 1972 to 1974.
Praise for The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics
"Eusi Kwayana's The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics is a classic document of the Caribbean... Very nicely re-introduced by Matthew Quest, the work makes clear the strong claims these movements made regarding the self-organizing capabilities of workers. Further, it sheds great light on the roots of the post-colonial crisis of governance in the region, which has only gotten worse since the time during which Kwayana wrote this penetrating text. A must read for all who are thinking about the rebuilding of a global Left movement." -Paget Henry, Sociology and Africana Studies, Brown University
"The republication of Eusi Kwayana's Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics ... could not be more welcome forty years after its first introduction and impact. In a state of affairs in Guyana today where the 'old politics' is very much alive, Kwayana's [work]... is as relevant as ever." -Nigel Westmaas, Africana Studies Department, Hamilton College
"The new edition of Eudi Kwayana's Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics ... is a well-written account of struggles against injustice, oppression, and corruption in Guyana's post-independence era." -Jerome Teelucksingh, University of the West Indies, Trinidad & Tobago
