Port of Spain Protocol
On 18 June 1970 Burnham signed the Port of Spain Protocol with Venezuela. The protocol, in place for 12 years, promoted co-operation between the two countries on the Border Dispute in Guayana Esequiba. The protocol was not renewed after 12 years.
Membership of the Non-Aligned movement
Burnham, after attending the 1970 summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Lusaka, Zambia, paid official visits to several African countries—Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia—over the period 12–30 September 1970. The Guyanese government remained fully involved in the African liberation movement throughout the 1970s. In 2014 Joseph Hamilton, a former House of Israel priest, testified that the House of Israel committed "oppressive and terrorizing acts on behalf of the PNC."
1973 general election
In the 1973 general election, Burnham received 70% of the vote and 37 of the 53 seats in the National Assembly. It is generally accepted that Burnham had significant untoward influence on the results of the elections, making them fraudulent.
Declaration of Sophia
On 14 December 1974, Burnham issued the Declaration of Sophia, stating that "the Party should assume unapologetically its paramountcy over the Government which is merely one of its executive arms." The Declaration also called for a transition to a socialist state, and a nationalisation of its economy. The declaration also led to the founding of the Guyana National Service, a paramilitary organisation under the control of the party.
1978 referendum
The PNC government's five-year term was due to end in 1978, forcing a new election. On 1 April 1978, Burnham announced a referendum to allow the constitution to be changed by a 2/3 majority in parliament (which the PNC had) rather than a referendum. The opposition presented a united front against the referendum. During the campaign, the PNC terminated the contract of critical newspaper "the Catholic Standard" with a state-owned printing company, hampering their ability to distribute critical material. Advertisements for opposition parties were banned in state media, and violence was used to break up opposition meetings and gatherings. Public employees were forced to sign blank proxy forms allowing others to vote on their behalf. It was also noted that there were over 10% (65,000) more people on the electoral role than the United Nations estimate of the number of eligible voters. The opposition groups eventually urged the Guyanese population to boycott the referendum.
Burnham won the 1978 referendum. There are anecdotal claims from hundreds of Indo-Guyanese (and Afro-Guyanese who were PPP supporters) that PNC enforcers aggressively, often violently, denied PPP supporters the opportunity to vote. Official figures showed the referendum passing with an implausible 97.9 percent of the vote.
Involvement in Jonestown
On 18 November 1978, a total of 909 people of the Peoples Temple died in a mass suicide in Jonestown. Burnham had previously allowed the group, led by Jim Jones, to move to Guyana from San Francisco, US, for the deaths.
There are suggestions that Burnham's government participated in a cover-up of the affair. Burnham's wife Viola and his deputy prime minister Ptolemy Reid were among the first to the scene, and may have returned from the massacre site with nearly US$1 million in cash, gold and jewellery. One of Burnham's secretaries may also have visited Jonestown only hours before it occurred, a visit that was never explained.
1979 Fire, and murder of Bernard Darke
In 1979, a fire destroyed many of the official government records, including official communications with the Peoples Temple. There is some speculation that the fire was started deliberately by Burnham's government, and there are reports that men in Guyana Defence Force uniforms were seen running from the fire.
During civil unrest after the fire and arrest, Jesuit priest Bernard Darke was stabbed to death by members of the House of Israel. Darke was associated with the Catholic Standard, a newspaper described as being "extremely critical" of the PNC.
1980–1985: President of the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana
thumb|Heads of state at the [[North–South Summit|1981 Cancun Summit. Burnham is fifth from the left in the back row.]]
right|thumb|207x207px|Forbes Burnham presidential standard
thumb|Burnham at a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in [[New Delhi, 1983 (Fourth from left)]]
In 1980 the constitution was changed to make the presidency an executive post; until this time the post had been held by Arthur Chung in a ceremonial head-of-state role. Burnham won election as president that year, winning 76% of the vote to 20% for Jagan in the official results. International Observers protested that Indo-Guyanese voters were prevented from voting in several polling locations, and there were widespread accusations of electoral fraud.
Burnham introduced mass games to Guyana. They were first held in February 1980 to commemorate the founding of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Assassination of Walter Rodney
Walter Rodney died on 13 June 1980 in Georgetown at the age of 38 in a car bomb explosion. His brother Donald, who was injured in the explosion, said that a sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force and a member of the House of Israel, named Gregory Smith, had given Rodney the bomb that killed him.
In 2014, Donald Ramotar launched an inquiry into the murder of Rodney despite resistance from the PNC. In 2016, the Commission of Inquiry released findings that state that President Forbes Burnham, aided by the Guyana Defence Force and Guyana Police Force, was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Rodney, the leader of the Working People's Alliance (WPA), a group which posed a threat to Burnham. Rodney's WPA believed that different ethnic groups (including Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese) historically disenfranchised by colonialism should all have a part in the governance of Guyana, a position that challenged Burnham's hold on power.
In Burnham's state-controlled economy, Afro-Guyanese held most jobs and the news media were controlled by the government. Jagan claimed that there was also economic suppression, as people remained politically inactive due to fear of losing their jobs.
Rodney referred to Burnham's political philosophy as "pseudo-socialism".) and in the Commonwealth of Nations. Burnham also advocated regionalism.
Burnham was accused of corruption during his premiership by opposition parties.
Afrocentrist policies and accusations of racism
Burnham's administration has been accused of afrocentrist policies Burnham's administration was mostly Afro-Guyanese. and under the state-controlled economy Afro-Guyanese took up the majority of jobs Kissoon went on to criticise Burnham for his authoritarian policies regardless of intention, stating that "The reign of Forbes Burnham was frightening and demoralizing" and also stating that during Burnham's tenure "almost 99 percent of Indian Guyanese felt that Guyana had no place for them, and that its president and his party were treating them as second-class citizens," and that Indo-Guyanese "lived in fear of Burnham".
Walter Rodney wrote in an essay that a pamphlet by Jessie Burnham
Burnham's first marriage was to Trinidadian Sheila Bernice Lataste-Burnham, having met her in London when they were both students. Lataste was born in Woodbrook. They married in Tranquility Methodist Church, Port of Spain
In February 1967 who also became involved in politics, serving as Vice President of Guyana under Desmond Hoyte. Viola died in 2003 at the age of 72. Burnham had two daughters with Viola, Melanie and Ulele, and adopted a son, Kamana.
Burnham was a Methodist by religion. His hobbies included swimming and horse-riding, and he also played chess, billiards, patience,
Personality
After a meeting in 1962, Thomas J. Dodd described Burnham as "an intelligent, well-educated gentleman". Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., also in 1962, said that Burnham was regarded as "an unprincipled opportunist, racist and demagogue, only interested in personal power." Jessie Burnham described her brother as ambitious and manipulative. it was suggested he may have had a polyp,
Legacy
thumb|1763 monument, erected by Burnham's administration
Burnham is considered a controversial figure. Indira Gandhi named Burnham as one of the twentieth century's outstanding figures. In a review of Burnham's rise to power published in 2020, John Prados characterised Burnham as "corrupt, arbitrary, and self-dealing", and referred to him as "a dictatorial figure". Support for the two parties continues to follow the racial divide between Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese.
Guyana obtained massive debts during Burnham's tenure, and experienced relatively high inflation of around 10% per year in the same period.
Following Burnham's death, Desmond Hoyte became president. The 1985 Guyanese general election was also considered to be fraudulent; the next "free and fair" election would come in 1992, the first fair election since 1964, where Cheddi Jagan was elected president.
Awards
- Order of Excellence of Guyana (1973)
- Order of José Martí: Cuba (1975)
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile: Egypt
- Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul: Brazil (1983)
- Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo: South Africa (2013)
- Order of the National Flag First Class: Democratic People's Republic of Korea