Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has launched a sharp critique of the former People’s National Movement (PNM) administration, calling for the complete elimination of what she terms the long-entrenched “swine culture” fostered by the party as a critical step to unlock prosperity for the nation’s working and middle classes.
In a statement shared to social media over the weekend, Persad-Bissessar drew on the late political commentator Dr Morgan Job’s popularized phrase “swine culture” – a term originally coined to describe a broad decline in social, political and moral standards across the twin-island nation. She outlined a damning portrait of the PNM’s time in office, accusing the previous government of nurturing a toxic system marked by widespread dependency, public dishonesty, routine lawlessness and pervasive mediocrity. Under this system, she claims, well-connected political insiders and wealthy elites exploited public resources through rigged welfare schemes, opaque government contracts and patronage-based public sector hiring, leaving ordinary citizens locked out of economic opportunity.
This exclusion has created a widespread sentiment among working- and middle-class Trinbagonians that access to advancement is reserved only for those with money, political connections, or the right personal networks, Persad-Bissessar said. “They are the backbone of this country, carrying its weight every day, yet they have been repeatedly sidelined in national conversations about the economic hardship so many of them face,” she added. “That long-standing imbalance must be corrected to put power and opportunity back in the hands of everyday people who contribute to our nation.”
The Prime Minister laid out her administration’s policy path to address this inequality, confirming that her government will continue rolling out cuts to wasteful welfare programs, corrupt patronage-driven employment schemes and underperforming state agencies. These cuts, she explained, will free up critical national revenue that can be redirected to support hardworking, law-abiding citizens who contribute positively to national life. “My government will channel public funds toward citizens who work honestly, pay their taxes, follow the law, take responsibility for themselves and their families, and treat their communities with respect,” she said.
Addressing the core demands of her base, Persad-Bissessar emphasized that working- and middle-class Trinbagonians are not seeking handouts or special treatment – they are asking for a fair shot at success. “They do not need miracles. They need a level playing field that stops rewarding the laziness, graft, negative attitudes and dishonesty that define the PNM’s swine culture,” she noted.
She doubled down on her criticism of the former administration’s cultural impact, arguing that the PNM normalized lawlessness, eroded public discipline, and fostered antisocial attitudes that devalued honest labor and personal accountability. According to Persad-Bissessar, the previous government went beyond mismanaging public funds: it actively cultivated a culture that celebrated non-productive socializing and mediocrity, rejected independent critical thinking, and disregarded personal responsibility, while eroding respect for long-held community standards and discouraging the hard work that drives national progress.
Looking ahead, the Prime Minister confirmed that further restructuring and cuts are on the agenda. “Wasteful welfare schemes, corrupt employment programs, and non-performing state agencies and their employees will continue to face targeted cuts under my administration,” she said, cementing her government’s commitment to reshaping national policy and public culture to advance the interests of Trinidad and Tobago’s majority working and middle classes.