In 2001, the ULP was elected by the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to conduct the policies and affairs of the State—in other words, to govern, not to rule. The party was swept into office based on a manufactured crisis, the Roadblock Revolution, orchestrated by a power-hungry Marxist, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who has held on to power with an iron fist up to today. It would not be extreme to say that the book Animal Farm is an apt analogy for the past twenty-five years of ULP rulership.
Dr. Ralph Gonsalves entered politics in 1979 after returning to St. Vincent from his position at Cave Hill University. He contested the NCW constituency and was soundly defeated at the polls, even losing his deposit on one or more occasions, if memory serves correctly. After languishing in the political wilderness for more than two decades, his insatiable thirst for power drove him to use skill and cunning to outmaneuver Vincent Beache and secure leadership of the SVLP in a merger with his MNU to form what is now the ULP.
From 1979 to 1984, Vincentians were warned by the late R.M. Cato, Sir James Mitchell, and other senior politicians that Dr. Gonsalves was a wolf in sheep’s clothing and should never be entrusted with the halls of government in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Unfortunately, those warnings were ignored, and Vincentians elected the ULP in 2001.
With his lifelong goal finally achieved, he moved on to another: entrenching himself as the maximum ruler over the State and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. To accomplish this, he stacked his government with family members and trusted loyalists. To guarantee victory at the polls, he deliberately and systematically cultivated a subservient electorate—one manipulated into believing that their survival and well-being depended entirely on the maximum ruler, Ralph Gonsalves.
The past ten years have been marked by blatant corruption and unethical practices by this regime, using state resources, judicial mechanisms, and administrative systems to punish dissenters and reward loyalists. Meanwhile, the unsuspecting electorate has been fed scraps in the form of poor relief, day jobs, building materials, food vouchers, home appliances, open bribery, and even threats—desperate attempts to secure loyalty and cling to power.
The people of St. Vincent do not want someone to rule over them. They want someone to govern on their behalf. A ruler dominates through superiority and exercises ultimate power over a country and its people—something Ralph Gonsalves and the ULP have done for the past twenty-five years.
On November 27th, 2025, the people will go to the polls to elect the NDP and a true leader who will govern—conducting the policies, actions, and affairs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the interest of all Vincentians, regardless of colour, class, creed, or political affiliation.
The following is an opinion piece submitted by an editorial contributor. The views expressed are entirely those of the author.
