Pointe Michel (Dominica), 1919 – Fort-de-France (Martinique), 2005
By Rafael Affonso de Miranda Alonso
Also known as “Mamo,” Mary Eugenia Charles was the Prime Minister of Dominica from 1980 to 1995. The granddaughter of slaves, she was the daughter of John Baptiste and Josephine Delauney. Her father became a prosperous farmer, fruit exporter, land speculator, and politician, as well as the founder of a bank—Penny Bank—focused particularly on impoverished farmers.
Mary Eugenia studied in Toronto, Canada, where she graduated in law, and continued her postgraduate studies in London at the London School of Economics. In 1949, she returned to her homeland and became the first woman to practice law in Dominica.
She entered politics in the late 1960s when the government was dominated by the Labor Party of Dominica (PTD). Dissatisfied with a 1968 law that restricted freedom of expression, she led opposition protests. She was one of the founders and the main leader of the Dominica Freedom Party (PLD). In 1970, she was elected to the Assembly, and five years later, she began to lead the opposition in Parliament.
Throughout the 1970s, she used her legal expertise to challenge the labor governments and question their actions and laws. At the independence celebrations of Dominica, proclaimed on November 3, 1978, Eugenia Charles expressed great concern about political freedom in the country. Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Patrick John’s involvement in illegal operations was revealed. Despite her relentless work as opposition leader, Eugenia Charles never allowed her actions to go beyond the constitutional mechanisms provided by law.
Even with attempts to suppress the accusations by the defense forces created by Patrick John, in 1980, the PLD won the elections, and Mary Eugenia Charles became the first woman to assume the leadership of a Caribbean government. She initiated an economic reform program based on traditional principles of liberalism. In March and December 1981, her government faced attempted coups, which were swiftly quashed. She dissolved the Dominica Defense Forces, seeing them as a focus for coup attempts, causing instability and being disloyal to the government.
Due to her determination and conservative political stance, she became known as the Iron Lady of the Caribbean, in parody of her contemporary Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister. She was one of the main proponents of the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983, justifying this action as a means of preventing “Cuban communist infiltration” on the neighboring island and throughout the region. On this occasion, she gained international fame by appearing on television alongside President Ronald Reagan to support and legitimize the invasion, as president of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Eugenia Charles dominated the political life of the country throughout the 1980s, simultaneously holding the positions of Prime Minister and several ministries, including Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Defense. She was a leading advocate for privileged access for Caribbean-produced bananas to the European market. She argued that the collapse of the banana industry would encourage farmers to switch from growing the fruit to cultivating drugs such as marijuana. Controversial and moralistic, she banned casinos, nightclubs, and duty-free shops in the country, which she deemed harmful.
In 1990, she was appointed Prime Minister for the third time. Gradually, she lost popularity during a politically less conflictual decade. She began to be seen as arrogant by an increasing number of people. Despite being Afro-descendant and a woman, she did not significantly address the specific demands of intellectuals and the poor. She left office in June 1995 and announced her retirement from public life. She returned to practicing law in the capital, Roseau, and was invited to teach courses at a university in the United States. She never married or had children. In 2003, she received the Order of the Caribbean Community. She passed away at the age of 86.
