The Politics of Sugar and Oil
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 September 2026
The postscript shifts to the end of sugar and the rise of oil in today’s Guyana. In 2018, Guyana became – according to paternalistic international news coverage – the “unlikely setting for the world’s next big oil boom.” This drastic change took place against the backdrop of two significant national developments: (1) the demise of the sugar industry, from which thousands of jobs were lost; and (2) a significant increase in ethnic polarization between the leading political parties and in the country more broadly, some of which led to fatal violence. As Guyana moves from the margins of global circuits of capital, racial tensions in the country have limited the possibility of a robust movement to either ensure that “oil money” benefits the entire country, or take the path less traveled, a more sustainable route that will benefit everyone – globally. The stakes indeed are high. Building on Caribbean feminist epistemologies, this section theorizes a solidarity that gains power from recognizing and understanding difference. I argue that just as racial capitalism remakes itself, solidarity must always be remade, and that history can help us imagine different futures.
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