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Guyana GOVERNMENT POLICY
When he took office in 1985, President Desmond Hoyte said he
would accelerate "the pursuit of socialist construction." One year
later, however, his government began taking the first steps toward
dismantling Guyana's statist economy. Faced with a deep economic
crisis--declining production levels and an acute balance of
payments shortfall--the government began cutting public spending
and encouraging foreign investment. At first it was not clear
whether this economic reversal was simply a short-term response to
the crisis or a long-term change in political philosophy. But after
1986 the Hoyte government continued to move toward a free-market
economy under the guidance of the IMF, despite considerable
opposition in the country. By 1990 the nation appeared ready to end
its disastrous twenty-year experiment with a closed, governmentcontrolled economy.
Data as of January 1992
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