We are currently sitting in our guesthouse in Treasure Beach
listening to election night celebrations (at least things sound
celebratory so far, and I hope it stays that way!). Elections happen
every five years in the winter-time, and we happened to be around for
this one. It’s been fascinating to see the campaigning/election process
unfold. Jamaica has a two-party system, like the United States. The two
parties, the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party
(JLP) seem to duke it out via progressively more annoying radio ads that
get stuck in your head for days (the JLP’s are worse since they seem to
be a little more melodic; the PNP’s have less of a chorus but I can
still hear someone screaming “People Power!” in the back of my brain
every once in a while). Norman Manley (husband of Edna Manley, famous
Jamaican artist who created multiple icons for post-Independence
Jamaica) started the PNP with a socialist vision. Michael Manley,
Norman’s son, took over after his father and established a minimum wage,
made secondary education free and available, and started literacy
programs, but violence in the country also escalated during his time as
Prime Minister. The JLP was started by Norman Manley’s cousin, Alexander
Bustamante, who was responsible for passing universal suffrage in
Jamaica.
The PNP is also more progressive in terms of civil rights — particularly gay rights. They have promised to “review” the “Buggery Law”
(which frankly doesn’t seem to be that much of a promise; Jamaica is
one of the most anti-gay nations in the world) and because of this there
have been some very offensive articles and political cartoons floating
around. Currently, you can spend up to 10 years in jail for private or
public homosexual acts. Gays are routinely harassed, attacked, and even
killed. The anti-gay rhetoric verges on complete paranoia. JLP leader
Andrew Holness said tonight that he was sure “gays” from overseas had
donated money to the PNP to help them win. ??!
While the PNP’s stance on gay rights is more appealing to me, I
think, frankly, that both sides are quite corrupt. People complain that
neither party cares about anything but getting more money for
themselves. Our cab driver said today that the government doesn’t take
care of Jamaicans, so Jamaicans have to look after themselves or die.
Both parties seem to cater to special interests and make personal funds
acquisitions their top priority, no matter the source. Gangs in Kingston
and Spanish Town often have party affiliations, and they receive
government kickbacks for the neighborhoods they preside over in return
for their allegiance. People are currently very interested in the names
recently extradited gang leader/drug don Christopher “Dudus” Coke will spill in exchange for a lighter punishment, and several politicians are expected to go down with him (see this political cartoon,
for example). The elections themselves can stir up violent tendencies.
In the lead-up to and aftermath of the 1980 elections, 800 people were
murdered. Elections since then have been relatively violence-free, but
it’s clear people still get very heated over politics. I’m glad not to
be in Kingston tonight.
We’ve been here for a while, and we’ve really gotten to see exactly
how enthusiastic people get over politics. It’s easy to tell which party
people support most of the time, because the most die-hard folks wear
the party colors (orange or green). After 18 years in power, the PNP was
defeated by the JLP in the 2007 elections. Tonight, the PNP is back in
power, with Portia Simpson Miller at the helm. People don’t really seem to like Portia, but they don’t seem to like Andrew, either!
