<P> Burnham learned an important lesson from the 1957 elections . He could not win if supported only by the lower - class, urban Afro - Guyanese . He needed middle - class allies, especially those Afro - Guyanese who backed the moderate United Democratic Party . From 1957 onward, Burnham worked to create a balance between maintaining the backing of the more radical Afro - Guyanese lower classes and gaining the support of the more capitalist middle class . Clearly, Burnham's stated preference for socialism would not bind those two groups together against Jagan, an avowed Marxist . The answer was something more basic: race . Burnham's appeals to race proved highly successful in bridging the schism that divided the Afro - Guyanese along class lines . This strategy convinced the powerful Afro - Guyanese middle class to accept a leader who was more of a radical than they would have preferred to support . At the same time, it neutralized the objections of the black working class to entering an alliance with those representing the more moderate interests of the middle classes . Burnham's move toward the right was accomplished with the merger of his PPP faction and the United Democratic Party into a new organization, the People's National Congress (PNC). </P> <P> Following the 1957 elections, Jagan rapidly consolidated his hold on the Indo - Guyanese community . Though candid in expressing his admiration for Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and, later, Fidel Castro Ruz, Jagan in power asserted that the PPP's Marxist - Leninist principles must be adapted to Guyana's own particular circumstances . Jagan advocated nationalization of foreign holdings, especially in the sugar industry . British fears of a communist takeover, however, caused the British governor to hold Jagan's more radical policy initiatives in check . </P> <P> The 1961 elections were a bitter contest between the PPP, the PNC, and the United Force (UF), a conservative party representing big business, the Roman Catholic Church, and Amerindian, Chinese, and Portuguese voters . These elections were held under yet another new constitution that marked a return to the degree of self - government that existed briefly in 1953 . It introduced a bicameral system boasting a wholly elected thirty - five - member Legislative Assembly and a thirteen - member Senate to be appointed by the governor . The post of prime minister was created and was to be filled by the majority party in the Legislative Assembly . With the strong support of the Indo - Guyanese population, the PPP again won by a substantial margin, gaining twenty seats in the Legislative Assembly, compared to eleven seats for the PNC and four for the UF . Jagan was named prime minister . </P> <P> Jagan's administration became increasingly friendly with communist and leftist regimes; for instance, Jagan refused to observe the United States embargo on communist Cuba . After discussions between Jagan and Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1960 and 1961, Cuba offered British Guiana loans and equipment . In addition, the Jagan administration signed trade agreements with Hungary and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). </P>

Changes that took place after independence in guyana