PM Browne Warns of ‘Economic Recolonization’ in Emancipation Day Address

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has accused powerful nations of using economic and political pressure to restrict the policy choices of small developing states, warning that such practices risk becoming modern instruments of “economic recolonization.”

In his Emancipation Day address, Browne said Black-led nations, particularly small developing states, continue to face systemic barriers within the international economic system.

“Too often, asymmetries of political and economic power are deployed to constrain sovereign policy choices, to restrict innovation and limit development pathways,” Browne said.

He argued that the global economic disparities confronting developing countries are rooted partly in slavery and colonialism. Nations enriched by enslaved African labour entered the modern era with substantial accumulated wealth, he said, while former colonies gained independence at a structural disadvantage.

Against that background, Browne renewed his call for reparatory justice, stressing that reparations should not be viewed as charity or an attempt to assign blame to present generations.

He said reparations should address the enduring consequences of slavery and colonialism through investment in education, healthcare, technology, climate resilience and institutional development. He also called for debt reform and fairer access to international financing and markets.

“Repair is not about revisiting the past. It’s about creating a more just and equitable future,” Browne said.

The prime minister traced Antigua and Barbuda’s development from emancipation in 1834 through the rise of the trade union movement, universal suffrage, associated statehood in 1967 and independence in 1981.

He said emancipation abolished slavery as a legal institution but did not immediately end exploitation, pointing to discriminatory labour and electoral laws that preserved economic and political power among a privileged minority.

Browne said the “unfinished work of emancipation” requires ensuring that political freedom is accompanied by economic opportunity, social justice and respect for human dignity.

He pledged that Antigua and Barbuda would continue defending its sovereignty, strengthening democracy and advocating for an international system in which countries receive equal treatment regardless of their size.

“Stand firm against the evil, discriminatory and bullying practices of the powerful,” Browne said as he urged citizens to remain optimistic despite the challenges facing the country.

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