Interview by The Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training with WADE MATTHEWS Deputy Chief of Mission Georgetown (1974-1976)
The issue of democracy was brought up and where Guyana should be in the political spectrum. Burnham looked at it, a very intelligent man, he looked at it pragmatically and said, "Look, in a real democracy, this is allegedly. I cannot say this conversation took place. It is logical and I think it probably did. "Look, I can go one of three routes. I can be a real honest to God western liberal democrat. If I do that, the United States will be pleased and approve, but I won't last long at all because voting in Guyana is ethnically based. I'm black; the majority race is the East Indians.
Their traditional leader, not their leader but their leader since politics had developed was a man that I and the American CIA and the British helped me maneuver out of power, Cheddi Jagan who was a Moscow line communist and will always be a Moscow line communist. That's gonna take place and once that takes place there won't be democracy anyway,and even if there were, he could stay in power. He will just have the support of the East Indians against it.
The other route I could go would be to try to maneuver Cheddi Jagan off as the communist leader, but the Russians will never really trust me. Therefore I will be under their thumb in any event and the United States won't like me either. The other way is to be a radical socialist authoritarian. That way I can maneuver elections, I can stuff the ballot box, I can make sure that I stay in power. The United States won't like me, but the Russians because the United States will dislike me so strongly, they will not even push their man to take over. They will keep him alive as in case I go in a direction they don't like, and I will have credentials in the third world. I will be a respected independent third world leader."
