During yesterday’s parliamentary budget debate, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar launched a blistering verbal assault on Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, making explosive claims that Beckles only rose to lead the People’s National Movement (PNM) due to racial prejudice within the party against her predecessor, Stuart Young, who has mixed Chinese and Indian ancestry.
Persad-Bissessar, who leads the ruling United National Congress (UNC), went further to accuse Beckles and the entire PNM opposition of weaponizing racial identity to mobilize their political base, issuing a stark warning that any effort to incite civil unrest beyond the country’s western peninsula would be met with immediate and forceful government intervention.
“This is not the Kamla and UNC you all got accustomed to. I will call you all out! I will drag you out! I will beat you to a frazzle politically and then I will beat the frazzle,” the Prime Minister declared emphatically, reaffirming her administration’s zero-tolerance policy for any attempts to stoke racial division or public disorder.
Addressing the geographic scope of potential unrest, Persad-Bissessar drew a clear line in the sand: “Maybe they and the local drug mafia hope to encourage civil disorder. Maybe. That’s okay, you all can do what you want west of the lighthouse, you could mash up the place for all I care, but the day it crosses east of the lighthouse, you all will get a swift and brutal response from my Government. Remember that!” Her remarks drew loud support from ruling party MPs, who responded by thumping their desks in approval.
At the core of Persad-Bissessar’s attack was her claim that Beckles’ ascent to the PNM leadership was not earned through political skill or achievement, but instead was enabled by racial bias among hardline PNM members opposed to Young. “The only reason the Member for Arima is leader of the PNM is because the racist PNM base couldn’t stomach voting for that half-Chinese, half-Indian man there…the Member for Port of Spain North (St Ann’s West). True or not true? Let us be real,” she said. “If MP Young was of Afro-Trinidadian descent, she would never have seen leadership of the PNM. That is a fact.”
Persad-Bissessar elaborated that widespread anti-Young sentiment rooted in his mixed ancestry cleared the political path for Beckles, dismissing her as nothing more than a default placeholder leader who only got the top job after former hopeful Foster Cummings failed to retain his parliamentary seat. Going a step further, the Prime Minister derided Beckles’ entire political career, labeling her a “political ghost” with no tangible legacy to show for her time in public office. She openly challenged the opposition to name a single major speech, piece of impactful legislation, successful legal case, or pro-population achievement that Beckles has led over her career.
“All the Member for Arima had to do was keep my name out of her mouth and coast by…I was too nice to her. Nice done. Don’t call my name. I show her respect, I treat her well when I see her. But she couldn’t do that because she seems to have fooled herself into believing that she is deserving of her position as leader of the PNM and Leader of the Opposition,” Persad-Bissessar said.
The Prime Minister also accused the PNM opposition of consistently injecting racial rhetoric into the budget debate as a deliberate distraction from the current government’s policy agenda and a tactic to sow division among voters. “They are trying it all over with the help of their 1% friends’ media outlets and money, but it’s not catching on,” she claimed.
She repeated her allegation that elements within the PNM actively campaigned against Young during the most recent general election specifically because of his ancestry, noting: “Most of them on that bench forgot the campaign they were waging against the Member for Port of Spain North during the general election when they went all over the country telling the PNM base to never vote for a half-Chinese, half-Indian to be leader of the PNM.”
Looking beyond the personal and racial sparring, Persad-Bissessar argued that modern Trinidadian and Tobagonian voters have moved beyond racial politics, and what they actually want is tangible progress in their daily lives delivered through competent governance, transparent public institutions, and reliable essential services. She highlighted that her government’s parliamentary caucus reflects the multi-ethnic diversity of the nation, emphasizing that race should never be a factor that determines a citizen’s quality of life. Closing her remarks on a defiant note, she declared, “We are UNC and we are proud!”
In addition to her attacks on Beckles, Persad-Bissessar also criticized the previous PNM-led administration, accusing it of widespread incompetence and fostering what she termed a “swine culture” that has left ordinary citizens to deal with the negative consequences.