Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves is fiercely pushing back against statements made by Prime Minister Godwin Friday, who recently claimed that St. Vincent and the Grenadines was a “near failed state” when his administration took office.
Gonsalves categorically dismissed the characterization as “complete rubbish,” “utter total rubbish,” and “completely and absolutely divorced from reality”. He observed that Friday made the remark on state media just two days after Donald Trump similarly labeled Iran a failed state, suggesting Friday’s terminology was merely echoing foreign political rhetoric rather than reflecting domestic realities.
Gonsalves argued that the current government fundamentally does not understand what a failed state actually is. He explained what is a true failed state, pointing to historical examples like Somalia or South Sudan—is defined by a total collapse of societal pillars: the court system falls down, the army splinters into factions, the police force disappears, and both the legal and political systems completely collapse.
Conversely, Gonsalves noted that during his administration’s 25 years in office, the country’s democratic and administrative institutions were significantly strengthened, not dismantled.
Addressing the suggestion that elevated debt placed the country in a “debt distress” that justified the failed state label, Gonsalves turned directly to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Article 4 consultation report from July 2024. The report explicitly contradicts the failing narrative, praising the country’s “robust recovery from recent compounded shocks” and highlighting the previous administration’s “decisive policy responses”.
While the IMF acknowledged challenges like the historic impacts of volcanic eruptions, climate change, and high public debt, it confirmed that the nation’s financial system “remains sound”. The report also commended the country’s “robust growth in tourism” and its execution of large-scale investment projects. Gonsalves was emphatic in his conclusion: elevated public debt is not a defining condition of a failed state.
Far from being on the brink of collapse, Gonsalves outlined a series of major socioeconomic victories achieved under his leadership to prove the nation’s vitality:
Economic Growth: The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) more than doubled in real terms.
Employment and Poverty: Unemployment plummeted from 21% to under 9%, while overall poverty and indigence were significantly reduced.
Institutional Turnarounds: The Bank of St. Vincent was transformed from a failing institution into one of the biggest and most successful indigenous banks in the OECS, while the National Insurance Services (NIS) recorded its highest profits.
The United Nations Human Development Index ranks St. Vincent and the Grenadines 76th out of 193 countries, placing it at the very top tier of “high human development”.
Gonsalves warned that Friday’s “illusions and delusions” are incredibly dangerous for the future of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He cautioned that a government that hallucinates a failed state will prescribe the wrong economic medicines such as unnecessary austerity measures or a heavy reliance on Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs.
He compared the current administration’s misdiagnosis to severe medical malpractice, warning: “If you misdiagnose what is happening in the country, you’ll be like a doctor who chop off a man foot from his knee when nothing was required other than injection”. Rather than saving the patient, Gonsalves fears the government’s false narratives will only accelerate the country’s economic demise.