In Chapter Fifteen of my work in progress, I speak about the rise of the autocratic government in Guyana in 1974. In my adopted country, we now face the possibility of re-electing a former President who promises to be a dictator only on Day One. He’s got lots of judicial protection in his favor. On July 1, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority. And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”

Without push-back from Britain and the United States, Guyana Prime Minister Forbes Burnham (1964-1980) consolidated his power through rigged general elections. For the American government, during the Cold War Era, the alternative leftist communist government was a definite no-no. Then, on December 14, 1974, as we the people prepared for the Christmas and year-end festivities, Comrade Leader Burnham declared his political party to be paramount above the State and all its institutions. That included the Courts and all pending cases against activists of the opposition parties. Burnham’s ruling political party and the State became interchangeable.

For those of us outside the corridors of power, our lives changed in unexpected ways. Churches that didn’t support the government’s agenda were viewed as enemies of the State. Any privileges the Catholic Church once held in the field of education were lost. Within three years following the declaration of the “paramountcy of the party,” my life was turned inside out.

Who knows what lies ahead for me and my sons should the framers of Mandate/Project 2025 have their way?