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Caribbean Islands Consolidation and Economic Hardship, 1962-69
At the time of independence, politics in Trinidad and Tobago
was conducted by the middle class; both the PNM and the DLP were
nationalistic, largely pro-capitalist parties that were controlled
by the middle class and supported by the working class. Earlier,
more radical labor movements had been defeated or sidelined. Race
was an important component of party loyalty, and the dominant PNM
drew its support largely from black voters. Blacks controlled most
PNM leadership positions; Williams's cabinet in 1961 had only two
East Indians--Winston Mahabir, a Christian, and Kamaluddin
Mohammed, a Muslim. East Indians generally supported the DLP.
After his election in 1961, Williams reached an understanding
with R.N. Capildeo, the Hindu DLP leader, under which the DLP was
consulted in some national decisions and DLP members were sent
abroad on diplomatic missions. Capildeo was allowed a special leave
of absence from Parliament to spend the greater part of the year in
London. Although the understanding appeared, on the surface, to be
a magnanimous gesture on Williams's part, it was a skillful
political move because it left the opposition party without a
leader in Trinidad and Tobago. Capildeo's high-handed absentee
management alienated many within the DLP, especially blacks. In
1964 many non-East Indians defected from the DLP and founded the
Liberal Party of Trinidad, reducing the DLP representation in the
House from ten to seven.
Serious problems in the Trinidadian economy between 1962 and
1965 caused by the falling prices of its main exports generated
strikes in the sugar and oil industries, and the black-dominated
Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) became increasingly
radicalized. The new leader of the OWTU, George Weekes, charged
that the PNM had sold out to big business. Despite an increasing
sense of dissatisfaction with the PNM, the DLP was unable to
capitalize on this opportunity to assume the role of champion of
the working class because of intraparty squabbles and black loyalty
to the PNM. Instead, the DLP provided crucial support to a PNM bill
in March 1965 curbing strikes and lockouts. As the 1966 elections
approached, the DLP continued to fragment, whereas the PNM closed
ranks and campaigned hard. The PNM won 24 of the 36 seats in the
House of Representatives and received 52 percent of the vote. The
other 12 seats were won by the DLP with 34 percent of the vote.
Several new smaller parties, such as the Liberal Party of Trinidad,
failed to win any seats. In response, Capildeo claimed that the
election was rigged because of the use of voting machines, and he
pledged that the DLP would not contest any elections if voting
machines were used. This strategy only succeeded in further
reducing DLP influence, because many PNM candidates ran unopposed
in the 1968 municipal elections and Capildeo himself was defeated.
The PNM was able to increase its seats significantly on a very low
turnout, but observers believed that this represented
disillusionment rather than endorsement on the part of the voters.
Since there was little political opposition, the PNM was able
to concentrate on economic matters. The population was expanding,
but the oil industry needed fewer workers because of retrenchment
and automation, so unemployment had increased, reaching about 15 to
17 percent by 1967. In response to the many strikes in 1967 and
1968, the government announced a development plan that attempted to
increase employment. It also increased its participation in the
economy by buying out the British Petroleum Company (see Role of
Government, this ch.). Government companies were inefficient, and
the PNM did not solve the economic problems but in the process of
trying became more rigid and bureaucratic.
Data as of November 1987
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