Editing History of Guyana (section)

===Burnham's last years===
Although the bloody memory of Jonestown faded, Guyanese politics experienced a violent year in 1979. Some of this violence was directed against the WPA, which had emerged as a vocal critic of the state and of Burnham in particular. One of the party's leaders, [[Walter Rodney]], and several professors at the [[University of Guyana]] were arrested on [[arson]] charges. The professors were soon released, and Rodney was granted bail. WPA leaders then organized the alliance into Guyana's most vocal opposition party.<ref name="bahgai2015" /> The events in Jonestown were also said to increase opposition to the government, with the "authoritarian nature" of the government said to cause "loss of both foreign and domestic supporters."<ref>{{cite book |last=Merrill |first=Tim |editor-last1=Merrill |editor-first1=Tim |date=1993 |edition=second |title=Guyana and Belize: country studies |chapter=Introduction |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/frd/frdcstdy/gu/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0.pdf |page=xx |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] Federal Research Division  }} [https://www.loc.gov/item/93010956/ ALT URL]</ref> Even so, the Guyanese government would begin an extended fund faculty with the [[International Monetary Fund]], which would continue until July 1980. That aid would then be replaced by a similar financial instrument, which lasted to July 1982.<ref name="imfguyana" />

As 1979 wore on, the level of violence continued to escalate. In October Minister of Education [[Vincent Teekah]] was mysteriously shot to death. The following year, Rodney was killed by a car bomb. The PNC government quickly accused Rodney of being a terrorist who had died at the hands of his own bomb and charged his brother [[Donald]] with being an accomplice. Later investigation implicated the Guyanese government, however. Rodney was a well-known leftist, and the circumstances of his death damaged Burnham's image with many leaders and intellectuals in less-developed countries who earlier had been willing to overlook the authoritarian nature of his government.<ref>{{cite report |date=2014 |title=Report of the Commission of Inquiry Appointed to Enquire and Report on the Circumstances Surrounding the Death in an Explosion of the Late Dr. Walter Rodnsey on the Thirteenth Day of Jone, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Eighty in Georgetown |url=https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/coi%3Arodney_report |website=Atlanta University Center |publisher=Commission of Inquiry |access-date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713001617/https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/coi:rodney_report |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> Although Burham's government was backed by the United States, privately, diplomats were skeptical, and believed that the Guyanese authorities had "covered up evidence" in Rodney's assassination. Even so, the United States continued to support the country's economy as part of U.S. "Cold War policy in the Caribbean and Central and South America."<ref name="curry2022">{{cite news|last1=Curry|first1=Mary E.|date=February 3, 2022|title=The Walter Rodney Murder Mystery in Guyana 40 Years Later|language=en|publisher=[[National Security Archive]]|url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/human-rights/2020-06-13/the-walter-rodney-murder-mystery-in-guyana-40-years-later|url-status=live|access-date=July 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421221226/https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/human-rights/2020-06-13/the-walter-rodney-murder-mystery-in-guyana-40-years-later|archive-date=April 21, 2023|series=[[National Security Archive#Publications|Briefing Book]] # 784}}</ref> A commission on his death was later convened by the PPP government in 2014.<ref name="bahgai2015" />

A new constitution was promulgated in 1980. The old ceremonial post of president was abolished, and the [[head of government]] became the [[executive president]], chosen, as the former position of prime minister had been, by the majority party in the [[National Assembly of Guyana|National Assembly]].<ref name="bulkan2021" /> Burnham automatically became Guyana's first executive president and promised elections later in the year. In elections held on December 15, 1980, the PNC claimed 77 percent of the vote and forty-one seats of the popularly elected seats, plus the ten chosen by the regional councils. The PPP and UF won ten and two seats, respectively. The WPA refused to participate in an electoral contest it regarded as fraudulent. Opposition claims of electoral fraud were upheld by a team of international observers headed by Britain's [[Lord Avebury]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Florimonte|first=Charles De|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/12/15/Amid-charges-of-fraud-Guyanese-voted-Monday-in-an/8388345704400/|title=Amid charges of fraud, Guyanese voted Monday in an...|website=[[UPI]]|date=December 15, 1980|access-date=July 12, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230712235815/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/12/15/Amid-charges-of-fraud-Guyanese-voted-Monday-in-an/8388345704400/|archive-date=July 12, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

The economic crisis facing Guyana in the early 1980s deepened considerably, accompanied by the rapid deterioration of public services, infrastructure, and overall quality of life. The country became "one of the poorest" in the region.{{sfn|Blum|2000|pp=133}} Blackouts occurred almost daily, and water services were increasingly unsatisfactory. The litany of Guyana's decline included shortages of rice and sugar (both produced in the country), cooking oil, and kerosene. While the formal economy sank, the black market economy in Guyana thrived.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hayword|first=Susanna|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-28-mn-1383-story.html|title=Guyana Has Gold, Diamonds and Poverty: Despite Rich Natural Resources, Country's Economy Is in Shambles|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 28, 1989|access-date=July 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713000112/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-05-28-mn-1383-story.html|archive-date=July 13, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Richard Dwyer, [[deputy chief of mission]] in Guyana described the country as "riddled by corruption" and said the Burnham government had politics which had become "increasingly unsavory." Later, George B. Roberts Jr., then the [[List of ambassadors of the United States to Guyana|U.S. ambassador to Guyana]], found Burham distasteful, but called [[Cheddi Jagan]] "still unacceptable" to the U.S.<ref name="curry2022" />

In the 1980s, the "largely untouched forests" of Guyana were logged after the Burnham government implemented a [[structural adjustment]] programme following an agreement with the [[International Monetary Fund]]. In later years, the country would parcel out the country's rivers and forests to Brazilian and Asian logging and mining companies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Green |first=Duncan |author-link=Duncan Green (aid expert) |date=2006 |title=Faces of Latin America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2tqAAAAMAAJ |location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]] |publisher=[[Monthly Review Press]] |edition=third |page=128 |isbn=978-1-58367-151-1}}</ref> Guyana historically has had environmental issues relating to [[tropical forests]] and forests under medium-to-high threat from deforestation.{{sfn|Black|2005|pp=153}}

In 1983, Burnham urged [[Ronald Reagan]] to limit operations in Grenada to [[Emergency evacuation|evacuation]] of American civilians, rather than a [[Invasion of Grenada|full-scale invasion]].{{sfn|Kinzer|2006|pp=223}} In the midst of this turbulent period, Burnham underwent surgery for a throat ailment. On August 6, 1985, while in the care of Cuban doctors, Guyana's first and only leader since independence unexpectedly died of [[heart failure]].<ref name="long1985">{{cite web|last=Long|first=William R.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-07-mn-3760-story.html|title=Guyana's President Burnham Dies at 62|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 7, 1985|access-date=July 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331172906/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-07-mn-3760-story.html|archive-date=March 31, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=J.Y.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/08/07/forbes-burnham-president-of-guyana-dies-at-age-62/2c3731f0-0503-4cd1-acc8-ec6f0caa3097/|title=Forbes Burnham, President Of Guyana, Dies at Age 62|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|date=August 7, 1985|access-date=July 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230711173121/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1985/08/07/forbes-burnham-president-of-guyana-dies-at-age-62/2c3731f0-0503-4cd1-acc8-ec6f0caa3097/|archive-date=July 11, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, [[National Security Archive]] experts John Prados and Arturo Jimenez-Bacardi argued that Burnham, who had been put in place thanks to a CIA covert operation, was "corrupt, arbitrary, and self-dealing".<ref name="pradosjimenez" />