Working People's Vanguard Party (WPVP) was a small,

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. It was formed in 1969 through a split in the People's Progressive Party (PPP) in the 1960s. The party was led by

Brindley Benn Brindley Horatio Benn, CCH (24 January 1923 – 11 December 2009) was a teacher, choirmaster, politician, and one of the key leaders of the History of Guyana, Guyanese independence movement. He was put under restriction when the constitution was ...

and Victor Downer. Initially the party advocated a violent overthrow of the People's National Congress government, but later shifted to the right and entered into an alliance with pro-capitalist groups.

Council of Landless People

In 1973, the WPVP supported the Council of Landless People who had attempted to retake ancestral lands that were being encroached upon by the state and the sugar industry. Two thousand people had occupied 200 acres of land. The police evicted them and burned their shacks, triggering a large protest movement. This campaign, backed by a coalition that included the People's Progressive Party, later won a partial victory when the Sugar Producer's Association returned some of the land to the original residents.

Alliances

WPVP took part in the formation of the

Working People's Alliance The Working People's Alliance is a Democratic socialism, democratic socialist List of political parties in Guyana, political party in Guyana. It was a consultative member of Socialist International until 2005. History The WPA was established in ...

in 1974. In 1976, withdrew from the Working People's Alliance in 1977. In 1980 WPVP joined forces with the "rightist" Liberator Party led by Ganraj Kumar and the

People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994. He was later repla ...

to form the Vanguard for Liberation and Democracy.Canterbury, Dennis C.. ''Neoliberal democratization and new authoritarianism''.

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

: Ashgate, cop. 2005. p. 117

People's Temple exposés

On 25 December 1977, a WPVP newspaper called ''The Beacon'' and edited by Brindley Benn published an exposé of the

People's Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978. Founded in Indianapolis, In ...

group which had established a compound called

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

in Guyana. The article repeated allegations by disaffected former members of the People's Temple which had been published in an American magazine called ''New West''. A few days later, public relations people working for People's Temple founder

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...

visited Benn and insisted that he retract his criticism, saying "they were surprised by an attack coming from a comrade in socialism." Benn refused, and wrote another story published on 22 January 1978 in another WPVP publication ''The Hammer'', demanding that the police commissioner investigate the People's Temple. "Vanguard Publications believes that all is not above board with the People's Temple, although Rev. Jones appeared photographed with the Prime Minister. Vanguard is determined to secure every information, local and foreign, on the sect." On 17 November 1978, security staff of the People's Temple murdered American Congressman

Leo Ryan Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (May 5, 1925 – November 18, 1978) was an American teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until his assassinati ...

on the airstrip at

Port Kaituma Port Kaituma is a small village within the Barima-Waini administrative region of Guyana. It became known internationally as a gateway village to the Peoples Temple settlement in nearby Jonestown. It has long been a hub for mining in the area. ...

. The following day, Jim Jones and his followers committed mass suicide. In all, 918 people died at Jonestown.

References

{{Guyanese political parties Communism in Guyana Communist parties in South America Defunct Maoist parties Defunct political parties in Guyana 1969 establishments in Guyana Political parties established in 1969 Maoism in South America