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Guyanese sugar workers strike 135 days for economic justice, 1977

Country
Guyana
Time period
20 August, 1977 to 5 January, 1978
Classification
Change
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Total points
4 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Max Rennebohm 31/01/2011

In 1977, Guyana was in the midst of a long power struggle between the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which had ruled the country until 1964, and the People’s National Congress (PNC) led by Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, who had ruled since before the country’s independence from Great Britain in 1966.  Since 1966 the PPP had been trying to regain governmental power from the PNC.  Trade unions in Guyana were often at the forefront of this struggle, and would begin strikes for both political and economic reasons.