 He needed middle-class allies, especially those Afro-Guyanese who backed the moderate United Democratic Party.From 1957 onward, Burnham worked to create a balance between maintaining the backing of the more radical Afro-Guyanese lower classes and gaining the support of the more capitalist middle class.Clearly, Burnham's stated preference for socialism would not bind those two groups together against Jagan, an avowed Marxist.