Cambridge Analytics July 1
Abu Bakr literally managed a national coup in 1990 with one television station. Now it apparently only takes Facebook.
Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie is a Canadian who has come to know the underbelly of Trini politics. And, thanks to The Great Hack on Netflix, Trini politicians have recently come to know Christopher Wylie. He is suddenly as notorious as Anthony Bourdain on the island. His pale skin and pink hair would certainly stand out in a crowd here, which is never good news for an unwilling target.
Wylie has been summoned to deliver damning testimony against Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the UNC, the country's first female Prime Minister. In 2010, Persad-Bissessar’s Indo-Trini coalition won 27 of 41 seats, defeating PNM Prime Minister Patrick Manning. The problem for Christopher Wylie is that Kamla Persad-Bissessar is still the opposition party leader. Indeed, she may be the UNC candidate in next year’s general election. There is a lot of money riding on her election—and on keeping the country’s dirty secrets hidden.
"Mr. Wylie's greatest concern in his discussions via his attorneys was for his safety," says Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi. “He expressly stated that if he attended in Trinidad and Tobago on this issue then he could very well be the subject of violence if not worse and he has asked the state in the event that that is coordinated, make sure his safety is catered for. Those were his direct statements that he fears for his life in coming to Trinidad and Tobago. Because in his work according to what I am directly aware of, he saw a level of criminality and breach of the law which is not equal in other countries.“
The Indo-Trini UNC has won only once, and in 2010 it happened because young Afro-Trini’s did not exercise their slim electoral majority. In Orwellian fashion, the “Do So“ campaign encouraged young voters expressly NOT to cast a ballot, invoking some twisted and cool rationale for disenfranchisement. “If you want real change, then Do So,“ everyone sang. Cambridge Analytica accomplished the feat by exploiting native organizing principles via targeted facebook messages and coordinated Soca soundtracks. The youth vote is large because older Trini’s tend to leave the island. Young Afro-Trini’s may be equally open to ideas of both political rebellion and musical bacchanal; whereas, Indo-Trini’s may “play mas’“ and dance against a rotten system that never changes, but in the end they will vote as their parents tell them, according to Wylie.
The Canadian did not discover this cultural nuance. Someone here taught him. At present, Kamla Persad Bissessar has denied using Cambridge Analytica in the campaign. Meanwhile, AG Al-Rawi wants to ask her some pointed questions, under oath, but first he needs to talk to Christopher Wylie. Until then, the conspirator will hide out in Canada. In Trinidad, no one can be kept safe. This is the lesson from Abu Bakr, a free man, who once addressed an entire nation on TV after he shot the Prime Minister in his own Red House.