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Caribbean Islands Political Dynamics
Antigua and Barbuda's political system emerged from British
political tradition and the development of trade union activism.
The ATLU, established in 1940, found that its activism was not
completely effective without a political voice. Seeking to gain a
foothold in politics, the ATLU established a political arm, the
ALP, in 1946. The ALP was structurally subordinate to the ATLU and
was staffed by union personnel.
When Antigua and Barbuda achieved associated statehood in 1967,
the union executives became political officials, consolidating
their power. The political elites retained the political system
that had developed from merging colonial politics with trade
unionism, a system in which they had attained prominence. As the
party gained importance, the labor union became subordinate to it.
From the start, both the ATLU and the ALP were dominated by
Vere Bird, Sr., considered the "father of the country" by many
because of his early efforts to promote labor unionism and
independence. Although the labor union and the political party that
stemmed from it were considered to be democratic, power was
concentrated in the president, the general secretary, the
treasurer, and the eight-member executive council elected at each
annual convention. The faction led by Bird normally was able to
influence the outcome of these union council elections and,
subsequently, rankings within the party. Conflicts that arose
within the union and the party were not resolved by compromise but
by purging the opposition. Factionalism became a key characteristic
of union and party dynamics.
Antigua shifted from a one-party to a two-party system after
1967. Establishment of the second party resulted from the
personalistic factionalism that split the ALP and the ATLU. George
Walter, leader of the dissenting faction, was dismissed from the
ATLU because of his outspoken objection to the close tie between
the labor union and the political party. In an attempt to regain
power, Walter formed both a rival union, the AWU, and an affiliated
political party, the PLM. The ATLU/ALP and the AWU/PLM became
competitors for power. Although the PLM initially had factions that
opposed the ALP on specific issues, the differences between the two
groups were more personalistic than ideological. Both the ALP and
the PLM competed intensely for the increasingly important political
positions, as power became concentrated in the hands of the
majority party and the attitude toward elections increasingly
became "winner take all."
The two nonpersonalistic groups within the PLM were the Antigua
Progressive Movement (APM) and an unnamed left-wing faction. The
APM opposed the ALP on the basis of its close ties with the ATLU,
believing that the labor union and the party should be completely
independent. When the AWU/PLM proved to behave in the same way as
the ATLU/ALP, the APM faction left the PLM in 1969 to form a purely
political party, the Antigua People's Party (APP). The APP could
not remain viable as an independent party, however, and soon merged
with the ALP. The left-wing faction, led by Tim Hector, also left
the PLM, forming the Afro-Caribbean Movement, which later became
the Antigua-Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM). Hector had been
a supporter of the Black Power movement (see Glossary) as a force
in the Caribbean region (see Regional Security Threats, 1970-81,
ch. 7). Despite its alleged pro-Cuban, pro-Libyan stance, the ACLM
was regarded by the ALP government as a legitimate opposition
party. The ACLM claimed to be a permanent voice of the opposition,
never attempting to achieve a majority or to form a government, as
that supposedly would compromise its principles.
In 1971 the PLM won the majority of the seats in the House of
Representatives in the general election, ending the ALP's
continuous dominance in national politics. During the PLM
administration, however, the party instituted repressive social
measures, such as limitations on freedom of the press, and
ineffective economic policies that contributed to a recession. As
a result, the ALP again won control of the government in the 1976
general election. Some PLM party leaders, including Walter, were
tried on corruption charges stemming from their mismanagement while
in office. Although Walter was released on appeal, he was barred
from the 1980 elections and was replaced as PLM party leader by
Robert Hall. Walter again sought a way to political power by
creating the United People's Movement (UPM) with some of his
supporters from the PLM.
During 1976-80, the ALP implemented policies that revitalized
the economy and reopened society. These measures enabled the ALP to
consolidate power at the expense of the PLM and UPM. The ALP easily
won the 1980 election, campaigning on the basis of improved
economic and social conditions. Using the same platform in the 1984
election, the ALP won a complete victory, capturing all seats in
the House except for one taken by a pro-ALP independent from
Barbuda.
As the conservative opposition parties--PLM and UPM--became
defunct, a new opposition party, the United National Democratic
Party (UNDP), was established by Ivor Heath in late 1984. The UNDP
was formed partly in response to the growing dissatisfaction with
the effective monopoly the ALP seemed to have on political power
and the subsequent potential for abuse. The UNDP was composed first
of remnants of the PLM and later of the UPM and envisioned itself
as the voice of middle-class elements pressing for greater support
of private enterprise and stronger action against corruption.
Although he lacked specific goals when he established the UNDP,
Heath later elaborated the issues of limited tenure for the prime
minister and the security of the secret ballot. The leader of the
UNDP also vowed to decentralize the government if his party were to
come to power. Specifically, he proposed a system of village
councils to give communities a form of local government and more
control of their own affairs. In the late 1980s, only Barbuda had
local self-government; the other localities fell under the
authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The ALP faced corruption charges in the late 1980s. The
Outlet, the newspaper affiliated with Hector and the ACLM,
accused the Bird administration of having insufficient control over
casino operations, peddling passports to non-Antiguans, mismanaging
foreign loans, and using Antigua and Barbuda to launder arms
shipments to South Africa. The most potentially damaging scandal,
however, was the 1986 corruption case involving Minister of Public
Works and Communications Vere Cornwall Bird, Jr., the first son and
namesake of the prime minister. The minister was accused of fraud
in the negotiation and subsequent misappropriation of a French loan
of US$11 million for the rehabilitation of the V.C. Bird
International Airport. Sir Archibald Nedd, a retired Grenadian
judge, was appointed to lead an investigation into the matter.
During the course of the inquiry, the scandal spread to touch Bird,
Sr., who appeared to be attempting to cover up evidence and
influence the course of the investigation. Others inside the party,
such as Minister of Education, Culture, and Youth Affairs Reuben
Harris, provided evidence and testimony that could be seen as
harmful to the case of Bird, Jr. The situation appeared to
exacerbate previously existing dissension within the party and the
cabinet and contributed to a crisis in ALP leadership. The previous
conflict seemed to have been based on use of favoritism by Bird,
Jr., in the distribution of cabinet positions and on personality
clashes and power struggles within the cabinet. Sir Archibald
concluded in his report that although Bird, Jr., was innocent of
criminal wrongdoing, he had behaved in a manner unbecoming a
minister of government. Members of the cabinet, Parliament, and
opposition forces demanded that Bird, Jr., be forced to resign.
Bird, Sr., however, decided to keep his son as a member of his
cabinet.
Because the PLM and UPM were still weak, the only viable rival
for the 1989 election seemed to be the new UNDP. In the opinion of
most observers, however, its chances were slight, despite the ALP
scandal, unless the new party were to widen its organizational
basis beyond its original middle-class sources of support. The ACLM
was not expected to win a significant number of seats in
Parliament.
Data as of November 1987
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