The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics

"Every man is his own leader and we are leaderless" this was the organizational principle voiced by the Afro-Guyanese bauxite mine workers in the democratic councils and mass assemblies that characterized the bauxite strike of April 1970. Originally published in 1972, Eusi Kwayana's The Bauxite Strike and the Old Politics examines the struggle for workers' control in what was Guyana's soon-to-be-nationalized bauxite industry. Kwayana's account of these events underscores the workers' conviction that "nationalization without workers' control and workers' self-management is a fraud." This revised second edition includes a biographical sketch of Eusi Kwayana, an introduction by Matthew Quest, and an appendix of rare documents published by ASCRIA (African Society for Cultural Relations with Independent Africa). Over thirty leaflets, pamphlets, essays, editorials, and newspaper articles have been reprinted in this volume, documenting the struggle for workers' self-emancipation in Guyana from the bauxite strike of 1970 to the sugar workers' rebellion of 1974.