Grenadian tragedy

“Marxist Regimes” is a series of books analyzing and/or describing various left-wing regimes (or purported such), most of which were established in the Third World during the Cold War.

This volume, published in 1985, deals with the tiny Caribbean island-nation of Grenada. In 1979, a revolution on the island toppled its weird, corrupted and brutal strongman Eric Gairy (most known for his belief in UFOs and his attempts to get the UN to research the matter). Planned and carried out by the leftist and crypto-Communist New Jewel Movement (NJM), the revolution initially had almost universal support among the population. Support soon turned into opposition or mixed feelings, however. Many people liked the social programs of the NJM and its “People's Revolutionary Government”, but many also resented the new government's refusal to call elections or its anti-religious measures. The NJM, for their part, feared destabilization and possible invasion from Ronald Reagan's United States. While the Grenadian economy remained a mixed one throughout the NJM's short tenure, the revolutionary regime was clearly oriented towards the Soviet Union, Cuba and North Korea.

In 1983, the Grenadian revolution beheaded itself as a power struggle between Maurice Bishop and Bernard Coard ended in the arrest and execution of Bishop and a massacre of his supporters. Bishop was the charismatic “Comrade Leader” and still commanded a certain amount of popular support. Grenada's allies abroad, most notably Cuba, generally also favored Bishop. Coard was a more orthodox Marxist-Leninist and based his power on the bureaucratic apparatus and the military. He turned out to have the tacit support of the Soviet Union, which led to uncharacteristically bad feelings between Havana and Moscow until the Soviets changed their line. By that time, however, it was already too late. Whatever sympathy the leftist revolution still had evaporated with the death of Bishop.

The United States took advantage of the NJM's self-implosion and invaded the island only a few days later. In the US-organized elections, a centrist party got two-thirds of the votes, while Gairy's party somewhat sensationally polled second (the old dictator had been allowed to return). The NJM's successor, the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement, hardly got any votes at all.

“Marxist Regimes: Grenada” covers both the Gairy years, the NJM's initial struggle against his authoritarian rule, the revolutionary years and the aftermath of the US invasion. It seems to be based on extensive research in both archival material released by the CIA after the invasion, and on interviews with both supporters and opponents of the People's Revolutionary Government. Those interested in Grenada might also consult another book, the volume “Maurice Bishop Speaks”, which contains the speeches of the murdered NJM leader.