One active election campaign colleague of mine said to me "I didn't think the Blacks were so bribeable. Dem bais (at Freedom House) was right."
Not surprised. Blacks have long ago assigned themselves in the role of slaves to an Indian elite and think that their only hope is to get a few crumbs. They have no vision of a Guyana where this will no longer occur.
All the bright bais advising the PPP are actually quite astonished that the mudheads' strategy of bribing Black people when Blacks are this close to capturing power would not work. They were obviously wrong.
I confess that even I thought that appeasement and bribes can only work for so long and certainly not under this election's unique circumstances. Also, I confess I thought Blacks would just want the chest and the chest key instead of waiting for a few shillings from Uncle Persaud.
The 2014 LAPOP poll and previous ones show the patronage has not been successful among Blacks. It is much more so among the mixed population, 20% of whom vote for PPP. The mixed population saves the PPP more than Amerindians.