Progressive Suriname People’s Party

The Progressive Suriname People's Party (PSV) was a political party in Suriname organized to represent working-class Creoles. It emerged after World War II, a period of significant political mobilization in Suriname, particularly around the issue of universal suffrage. The PSV was one of several ethnically organized parties that formed during this era, alongside the Suriname National Party (NPS) for the light-skinned Creole elite, the United Reform Party (later Progressive Reform Party, VHP) for South Asians, and the Indonesian Peasants' Party (later Party of National Unity and Solidarity, KTPI) for Indonesians. Universal suffrage was eventually instituted in 1948. The PSV was part of a coalition government that won the 1973 election, which ultimately led to Suriname's independence in 1975.12