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MARVIN GONZALES, 46, is the Opposition Whip, the Arouca/Lopinot MP and the chairman of the PNM. He is a former minister of national security, a former minister of public utilities and a former acting attorney general. These are serious posts. Yet, Mr Gonzales on July 16 showed the country a decidedly unserious side when, in an uncouth critique of the composition of newly reconstituted state boards, he remarked: “I wonder if we are living in Bangladesh or Delhi.”
It was a dramatic transformation. On May 23, speaking in Parliament in his new role as whip, Mr Gonzales had waxed lyrical ahead of Indian Arrival Day.
“Ours is a tapestry woven from strands of the greatest cultures and constructs from around the world,” he said back then. “Today, we honour a valuable component of our being, the East Indian community: the people, the culture, the religions, the stories, the traditions.” Such lofty language this week made way for pure rhetorical ineptitude and crassness.
Mr Gonzales’s seeming insensitivity to the fact that his Bangladesh statement would offend is as bad as the bogeyman of race he was crudely attempting to raise. It is unnervingly reminiscent of Stuart Young’s infamous hot mic gaff in Parliament. But Mr Young’s “zamie” remarks were captured inadvertently. Mr Gonzales, in contrast, stood at a podium at an opposition media conference and looked directly at the cameras.
Not that the bar is high these days when it comes to the standards expected of politicians. Social media and Donald Trump’s hold on politics have allowed all manner of dog whistles to take flight globally. Yet, even before Mr Trump, local politicians had become expert in demonstrating a propensity to affront. The “Calcutta ship” remark haunts the PNM; the “Oreo” jibe the UNC.
However, diluted as standards may have become, we are still entitled to better.
Creating a fresh headache for PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles, who has been abroad, is Mr Gonzales’s unforced error, which has already damaged his credibility but threatens to undermine his party’s as well.
Ms Beckles only recently embraced Trinidad and Tobago’s multicultural heritage by donning traditional Indian garb during Narendra Modi’s visit. That kind of sartorial gesture is unique to our politics and is part of a practice we are accustomed to and even expect. Yet she followed this up by oddly pronouncing Mr Modi’s name on a political platform.
If Mr Gonzales does not change course in his use of language, tactical or not, he will expose himself and the PNM to paying an even heavier political price. He won his seat by under 300 votes, receiving just 7,961. He may have already alienated 7,699 constituents who voted for the UNC. He has certainly lost many looking on nationally.
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