The underground economy has rivaled the formal economy way back when I lived in Guyana. The underground economy found fertile ground and sprouted deep roots when the PNC banned basic commodities and the economy went south. Remittances and "off-book" business, contra-ban, etc became the mainstay of many in Guyana. The artificial USD/GYD rate held by the PNC added fuel to the fire as illegal Cambios flourished. The huckster trade was one such spin-off, and this was big!
So, in a nut-shell you PNCites, the underground was likely larger proportionally than what we see under the PPP!