[The following article is based on a visit by French Trotskyist leader Alain Krivine to the Caribbean island of Grenada in late December.
[In his introduction, Krivine points to the wave of demonstrations, general strikes, and popular uprisings that are sweeping the entire Caribbean. "But it is in Grenada where the most radical changes have taken place," he says. "On March 13, 1979, the dictator Eric Gairy was overthrown by an insurrection that was led by a Castroist party, the New Jewel Movement. Since this victory, the colonialists as well as the national bourgeoisies are afraid that Grenada will become another Cuba, and that this 'bad example' will spread throughout the Caribbean.
[Krivine also points out that as a direct result of U.S., French, British, and Spanish colonialism, each of the islands in the Caribbean has very little contact with the others. Languages vary from one island to another, so news is not easily exchanged. In addition, he says, "With the changing of planes and the long waits, it takes almost as much time to go from Martinique to Grenada (a distance of only 300 kilometers) as from Paris."
[Krivine concludes that the dramatic rise of struggles in the region paves the way for concretizing the idea of a socialist United States of the Caribbean.
(The article appeared in the February 7- 13 issue of the French Trotskyist weekly Rouge. The translation is by Intercontinental Press/Inprecor.]
The small Pearl's airport already gives you an idea of what has taken place in Grenada. Posters of the New Jewel Movement cover the walls of the room where a rigorous check of new arrivals is carried out.
The official slogan of the revolution, "Let those who labour hold the reins," forms the border of a poster announcing a Grenadian women's conference.
In civilian dress and in uniform, soldiers of the People's Revolutionary Army (PRA) are present. The olive-green army fatigues they wear today were sent by Pinochet to the dictator [Sir Eric Gairy] several months before his overthrow.
We have to cross the island to reach the capital city of St. George's. For forty kilometers, on both sides of the bumpy road, you see one plantation after another of cocoa, nutmeg, and bananas-the island's three main crops.
Most of the agricultural workers live in small, wood-frame houses, sometimes without electricity or running water. In several towns, brigades of volunteers have taken on the task of building new houses.
The land is very fertile, but the dictatorship left the population in deep poverty. Three quarters of the food must be imported, on this island of 100,000 inhabitants.
Forty percent of the people are functionally illiterate and the unemployment rate approaches 50 percent. Today the factories have practically disappeared. In 1969, 2,473 workers were employed in industry. Today, not more than 350 remain.
Now, all political power is in the hands of the l
New Jewel Movement (NJM). We asked George Louison, minister of national education and social affairs, to tell us more about this situation:
We have never hidden that we are struggling for socialism. This is in our program and we consider our party to be a vanguard socialist party. Because of the anticommunist campaign carried out by the dictatorship against our party, a minority is still opposed to socialism. But the workers have confidence in us. Our relations with the bourgeois parties are nonexistent. In the past when we entered an alliance with them, for instance against fascism, we always preserved our independence as a party.
Formally there still exist two bourgeois formations. One, of the extreme right, completely disintegrated after the revolution. The other, the Grenada National Party, did not take part in the revolution, but after March 13 tried to resurface, attempting to hold public meetings. To this day, these meetings have not been able to take place because the workers have not allowed it and have chased them away.
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They are attempting to campaign around the release of political prisoners and the holding of "democratic" elections. But the workers have already voted for us—on March 13.
There are two businessmen in the government, politically men of the left-center, but they are no obstacle to the revolutionary measures. On the other hand, we were forced to close down the offices of the one bourgeois newspaper, Torchlight, which spent its time spreading counterrevolutionary slanders and lies.
Today only one newspaper exists, the Free West Indian. This weekly defends the government's positions and sells about 6,000 copies. In addition, the NJM puts out a mimeographed news sheet.
A New Army
The new army, such as it is, is composed solely of activists and sympathizers chosen from among volunteers. Faced with the possibility of an invasion by Gairy's mercenaries, the leaders do not hide that they are engaged in a race against time in the army's training, consolidation, and political education.
How many men and women are there in the army? The answer is vague, but it seems likely that it is close to 1,000, making it the strongest army on the Englishspeaking islands.
Along with the army, there exists in the villages the People's Militia. It is an allvolunteer force that receives weekly training from the soldiers of the PRA, which keeps the arms.
There is a major threat of intervention by mercenaries recruited in the United States by Gairy. In November a counterre-
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In all their propaganda and speeches, the government leaders ask the population to be vigilant, to patrol the coastline and look out for those who spread false rumors. Such people must be immediately reported to the PRA, the police, the militia, or to telephone number 2265.
A Bourgeoisie That Is Still Powerful
On the economic level, in contrast, the bourgeoisie still maintains a strong position. They control a key industry-tourism, despite the fact that two governmentowned hotels were built. They are still powerful in the import export business. In this area the government has taken some measures to exert a certain control, creat ing a national office [the National Importing Board].
This body has taken over three decisive imports: rice, sugar, and cement. As a result the price of rice fell by 8 percent and sugar and cement prices fell by about 15 percent. For other imports, the government issues licenses.
In agriculture, the lands of the dictatorship have been nationalized, representing 40 percent of the arable land. Thirty-five percent of the other arable land is farmed by small farmers.
The nationalized sector has been transformed into state-owned farms. The farmers who work this land for a wage can own a small plot of private land.
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The pressure of foreign capitalists is also very strong. The government is in the process of paying off the national debt left by Gairy, which amounts to EC$57 million (one East Caribbean dollar is equivalent to US$.38).
Within this framework, the government intends to diversify agriculture in order to be able to feed the entire population and the tourists and, in this way, Louison explained, "begin to integrate the tourist industry into the national economy for the benefit of the people of Grenada."
A fishing industry is being developed as well. And it is especially here that aid from the Cuban revolution has been provided.
Cuban Aid
This aid is relatively considerable and is apparent in every sector. Cuba has donated a small fleet of fishing trawlers, one of which serves as a school for one hundred youths. Two thousand people were present at the port of St. George's to welcome the arrival of the trawler.
Twelve Cuban doctors have arrived on the island and have already provided medical care for 7,000 people. Cuba has also financed half the cost of an airport that can accommodate large jets and "thus guarantee the island's independence." Several dozen Cuban workers are already on site. A vast national fund-raising campaign for the airport is being organized on the island.
In nine months the new government has accomplished some very important measures that can serve as a model for the entire region. Thousands of jobs have been created, roads and houses have been built.
In education, 900 students are taking courses abroad at the University of the West Indies (nearly one student per 1,000 inhabitants). Under the former regime fees were required for all schools. Now, secondary school fees have been cut by a third and the curriculum has changed. A sizable proportion of the country's children [those under five years old] receive a free glass of milk and some receive a hot meal.
However, a number of problems remain to be solved before this island becomes a workers state.
On the economic level, the government must tackle the problem of still very real positions held by the bourgeoisie in agriculture, domestic and international trade, and tourism.
In addition, the NJM still controls the entire political scene. Even though the NJM is encouraging the formation of unions, especially among the agricultural workers, to this day no committees exist allowing all the workers to participate fully in the management of the country.
Certainly, the party and its leadership enjoy an immense popularity in the coun try, but its relationship with the masses essentially takes place through meetings, the newspapers, radio, and television.
The party and the state are still fused into one, even though the leaders who we met recognize the necessity of separating the two functions. "But we don't have enough cadres," they say, "to truly organize the party."
Today, the revolutionary leadership is very much counting on international solidarity. But it also has many illusions about "the internationalist politics of the Soviet Union."
What is certain is that the counterrevolution will come essentially from the outside. The United States has just created a military task force for the Caribbean. French imperialism is strengthening its military apparatus in the region. The capitalist countries of the Caribbean, with the island of Barbados at the head, are beginning to envisage measures to "avoid the contagion."
In the Antilles, the comrades of the Socialist Revolution Group (GRS) have begun a campaign of solidarity with Grenada. After the victory in Nicaragua, imperialism has been losing ground in the Caribbean. We must be ready to paralyze its counteroffensive.