Guyana’s WIN party leader, Azruddin Mohamed at a polling station during the presidential election in Georgetown on September 1, 2025. =(Photo by LEON LEUNG/AFP via Getty Images)
Commentary By Ron Cheong
News Americas, TORONTO, Canada, Weds. Sept. 17, 2025: Populism with gold trim – that is what Azruddin Intiaz Mohamed of the WIN Party appears to offer Guyana. Winning 16 parliamentary seats and becoming opposition leader is no small feat. Yet, one cannot ignore the paradox: a man who promises to fight for the poor, arriving in billionaire style, designer shoes and tinted sunglasses. Can someone whose watch costs more than many families’ homes genuinely claim to feel their pain?
Guyana’s WIN party leader, Azruddin Mohamed at a polling station during the presidential election in Georgetown on September 1, 2025. =(Photo by LEON LEUNG/AFP via Getty Images)
Mohammed styles himself as “The Richest Man in Guyana” – quite a title in the world’s fastest -growing economy. He claims he is the voice of the downtrodden. Some hear this and see a savior; others see a luxury populist, a messiah of spectacle selling charisma as governance.
His political debut was not without drama. Just before launching his campaign, the U.S. had sanctioned him for alleged gold smuggling and unpaid taxes – charges he denies. Domestically, the Guyana Revenue Authority accused him of undervaluing a Lamborghini Aventador, listing it at US$75,300 rather than US$650,000.
Did politics emerge from a call to serve, or as a stage to fight scrutiny? That sanctions and charges became campaign narrative – evidence, he claimed, of persecution – is telling. It was less rebuttal than rebranding.
Philanthropy As Politics Or Performance?
Where does his aura come from? Born into wealth, Mohammed inherited a thriving family business and a tradition of philanthropy. His father gave quietly; the son gives loudly; all amplified through social media with carefully curated footage.
Generosity is valuable. But when every act is staged, captioned and hashtagged, one wonders: is this philanthropy or performance? His campaign mirrored this style – slogans, selfies, staged grassroots encounters. For many young voters, it felt fresh. But if leadership is built like an ad campaign, what happens when the cameras turn away?
Can ostentation coexist with empathy? For some, his wealth is aspirational. For others, it is hypocrisy. Can a man who lives in excess truly understand life without? Or is this entire persona a spectacle meant to impress, distract, and manipulate?
Traditional populists generally rise from hardship. Mohammed skipped that step. His platform is not the memory of hunger but the promise that wealth will be spread around – that others may also aspire.
When financial regulators and banks began closing his accounts over possible institutional money-laundering exposure, Mohammed cast himself as a persecuted outsider, punished not for financial improprieties but for standing with ordinary people.
His appeal is undeniable. By merging hero and victim, he cultivates loyalty. And he also tapped into something real; communities that felt ignored or ineffectively represented saw a bold alternative and embraced his promises. Young voters responded to his charisma and social media fluency. Dramatic displays of generosity – however motivated – spark real hope.
Yet, winning seats is not governing. Parliament is not TikTok. Rhetoric cannot replace budgets. Memes cannot substitute for policy.
Here, the performance frays. Mohammed has tossed out outlandish promises – a bauxite smelter for Linden, for example – with no feasibility studies, financing plans, or groundwork. They sound grand in speeches but carry the same weight as off-the-cuff social media posts: flashy, uncosted, untethered to reality. What is sold as governance acumen is branding masquerading as vision.
The Need for Authentic Leadership
A strong opposition sharpens democracy. It demands ideas, proposals, and discipline. Guyana desperately needs this. But an opposition built on spectacle risks being a prop: impressive from afar, hollow up close.
Communities deserve leaders who do the work when the cameras are not there – who understand hardship because they have lived it, or worked alongside it. Leadership is quiet, consistent, and rooted in results, not performance.
Mohammed now faces a test. He can either trade spectacle for substance, or spend the next five years as a luxury populist who mistakes image for leadership. His party has 15 other MPs. Together, they could shape debates on energy, education, housing, and inequality. If they choose slogans and photo-ops instead, Guyana will have not an opposition but a brand ambassador.
For Guyana’s sake, I hope he proves that he can. But until the bauxite smelter breaks ground and the hashtags turn into solid proposals for things like health and education, the risk is clear: we are being sold not governance, but a glossy brochure – a brand without the blueprint, a label in place of leadership.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ron Cheong frequently writes about Guyana. The views expressed are solely his and do not represent those of News Americas News Network or its parent company.