It Could Happen Here: Grenada with Andrew, Pt. 2

Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts – December 18, 2025
Host: Andrew Sage
Guest: James Stout

Episode Overview

Main Theme:
This episode examines the rise and fall of Grenada’s People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) from 1979-1983, focusing on their policies, internal conflicts, the societal impact, and ultimately the U.S. invasion and its aftermath. Hosts Andrew Sage (Trinidadian) and James Stout (British-American) provide historical context, critique the movement’s trajectory, and draw lessons about revolutionary organization and legacies for future activists.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Stage: Grenada’s Revolutionary Moment

[02:21]

• Andrew provides a quick recap: After gaining independence in 1974, Grenada was led by Eric Gairy's oppressive regime, which was overthrown in a bloodless 1979 coup by the New Jewel Movement (NJM) led by Maurice Bishop.
• NJM formed the People's Revolutionary Government, remaining in power until 1983.

“You have the ideologues in every camp... but at least at this point in time, there was an ambivalence towards the how... They just needed to see the results.” (Andrew Sage, 03:56)

Early Reforms: Achievements and Limitations

[05:54]–[09:08]

• The PRG implemented wide-ranging social reforms:
  • Center for Popular Education
  • Teacher training, broader access to secondary/college education
  • Maternity leave introduced (though with significant caveats for women party members)
  • Steps toward pay equity, efforts to address gender inequalities.
  • Agricultural diversification away from colonial-era nutmeg dependence
  • Public budget meetings, creation of mass organizations (women’s, youth, farmers)
  • Cooperative and state enterprises alongside mixed economic approaches
• Notable shortcomings:
  • Persistent gender inequalities and the “double burden” faced by women.
  • Retention of hierarchical leadership models, with Bishop maintaining tight control.
  • Suppression of opposition press and lack of press freedom, prejudice against marginalized groups, including Rastafarians.
  • Limited democratization; shift towards a one-party system.

“Although notably, party members who were women were pressured to come back to work immediately after having children.” (Andrew Sage, 06:11)

“For the most part, they left people's private businesses alone...a mixed economy that can to varying extent be found throughout the Caribbean...” (Andrew Sage, 09:01)

The Turn to Militarization & Internal Paranoia

[10:31]–[14:26]

• By 1981, the PRG became increasingly militaristic:
  • Militias and armed groups created to prevent counter-coups and CIA meddling.
  • Police replaced by military.
  • Fear of counter-revolution justifies repression, imprisonment without trial.
  • Political atmosphere becomes dominated by suspicion and secrecy.
• This shift alienated ordinary Grenadians, most of whom sought pragmatic improvements rather than ideology.

“You overmilitarize and you steer the course of the project away from its original intentions to a point where it's not even recognizable...” (Andrew Sage, 11:24)

Intellectual Elitism, Disconnection From the People

[17:25]–[21:28]

• The PRG’s leadership, especially after reading Marxist-Leninist theory, became insular and arrogant, leading to cultural disconnect with the largely undereducated populace.
• Accusations emerge of replacing one elite (Gairy’s) with another, fueling distrust.

“They start walking around with this kind of inflated sense of self-importance... this new Jewel movement and some of its members are talking to you like you're stupid because you didn't get to go to primary school.” (Andrew Sage, 19:17)

“There can be too much theory... when it creates this idea that reading is what distinguishes one as a revolutionary, as opposed to doing or just knowing and caring.” (James, 19:53)

Descent Into Factionalism: Cord vs. Bishop

[24:04]–[26:29]

• Deepening power struggle within the NJM:
  • Bernard Coard (party theoretician) is seen as more intellectual; Bishop is accused of egotism.
  • Co-leadership fails; Bishop is placed under house arrest (October 1983), shocking the populace.

“You can't see James right now, but he just did this shocked facial expression.” (Andrew Sage, 27:29)

• The population, loyal to Bishop, frees him and marches to Fort Rupert.

The Fort Rupert Massacre & Collapse

[28:52]–[34:42]

• Armed forces loyal to Coard fire upon the crowd, resulting in mass casualties.
• Bishop and several ministers are executed (“lined them up against the wall and shot them”).
• Military curfew imposed; US invasion announced days later.

“This event is a trauma for Grenadians even to this day…” (Andrew Sage, 29:34)

• The US claims to be rescuing American students, but Andrew notes this was a pretext; students weren’t threatened.
• US and allied Caribbean forces invade; the PRG is crushed, leaders imprisoned, and an interim government installed.

Aftermath: Societal Trauma and Political Legacy

[36:46]–[43:05]

• The invasion:
  • Split and nearly destroyed CARICOM; fractured the Caribbean left.
  • Sparked distrust, infighting, political disengagement.
  • Created lasting wounds in the social fabric; families and communities divided, still unresolved.
  • Attempts at a Truth and Reconciliation process in Grenada failed.

“Very little has been done in Grenada to deal with the traumas of the invasion, besides an attempted Truth and Reconciliation Commission which failed miserably...” (Andrew Sage, 41:02)

• Compounded by successive natural disasters (hurricanes Ivan 2004, Emily 2005, Beryl 2024), which deepened the country's challenges.

Critical Reflections and Lessons for Movements Today

[43:05]–[50:53]

• Andrew and James reflect on the pitfalls of personality-based, hierarchical politics, which can echo colonial patterns and breed distrust.
• Emphasis on need for genuine, decentralized self-management, avoiding charisma cults and rigid structures.
• Critique of nostalgia/hagiography (saintly mythmaking) in left histories; importance of learning from past failures.

“A genuine revolution depends on people taking direct responsibility... being empowered themselves. That sort of tired Leninist gradualism and bureaucratic control gets regular people no closer to actually having a sense of autonomy.”
(Andrew Sage, 45:46)

• Fundy’s (Joseph Edwards) critique: Grenada’s revolution was doomed by its move away from collective self-management toward hierarchy and secrecy.

“In closing, Fundee suggested that Grenada's revolution failed because it moved away from this principle of immediate collective self-management...led to its downfall.” (Andrew Sage, 48:57)

Final Appeal / Broader Lessons

• Andrew urges radicals to build anti-authoritarian, participatory organizations, to learn from history and avoid repeating mistakes.
• James adds: “If we are people who are interested in making the world better, then we have to learn from all the other people all over the world who tried to make the world better, and especially from the ones who didn't succeed.” (James, 51:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On gender and revolution:

  • “I didn't join the military to die with a dishcloth in my hand.” — Spanish communist militant quoted by James, [07:47].

• On suspicion and repression:

  • “That famous buzzword, that famous catchphrase, that famous justification for any and every response.” — Andrew, on use of ‘counter-revolutionary’ accusations, [14:26].

• On tragic outcomes:

  • “Summary execution. Others, including trade unionists, businessmen and high schoolers, were also killed at Fort Rupert.” — Andrew, [29:35].

• On the weight of history:

  • “It's very easy to breeze over the deaths of people in historical events as just numbers. That's just statistics. You know, it doesn't even click, you know, because I don't think our brains can fully handle that much trauma at once.” — Andrew, [39:19].

• On how to build better futures:

  • “It is critical in times when the means of intervention and the means of disruption and division and co-optation are more powerful than ever, that you engage in the sort of dissipation of leadership, grassroots and dispersed empowerment, and anti-authoritarian ethos...” — Andrew, [49:46].

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:21] – Recap: Grenada’s road to revolution and the PRG’s rise
• [06:11] – Contradictions in gender policy
• [10:31] – PRG militarization and public unease
• [14:26] – 1981 bombings and the spread of paranoia
• [19:17] – Growing arrogance/elitism among party leaders
• [24:04] – Tensions between Bishop and Coard
• [27:28] – Bishop put under house arrest
• [29:34] – Fort Rupert massacre and executions
• [33:09] – U.S. invasion
• [36:46] – Regional and national aftermath
• [41:02] – Failed truth and reconciliation efforts
• [45:46] – Reflections on hierarchy and movement-building
• [49:46] – Direct appeal for anti-authoritarian organizing
• [51:01] – Final thoughts on historical empathy and learning

Tone & Style

• Analytical but accessible; reflective, occasionally humorous, rooted in Caribbean perspectives.
• Balances critique with empathy and recognition of complexity.
• Bridges scholarly insight and practical activist lessons.

Summary

This episode provides a comprehensive and candid examination of Grenada’s short-lived revolutionary experiment, highlighting its social reforms, missteps, and the tragic spiral into infighting and foreign intervention. Andrew and James argue the importance of building movements grounded in collective empowerment and transparency, warning against the perennial dangers of hierarchy and personality cults.

For listeners and activists, the cautionary tale of Grenada underscores the need to learn, remember, and build better—not only for the Caribbean, but for would-be revolutionaries everywhere.

“All power to all the people. Peace.”
(Andrew Sage, 52:27)