Word: manley
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...promising the redirection of Jamaica's economy along lines favorable to foreign investment, especially American, and the revitalization of the private sector on the troubled island. What pleased Washington even more than the JLP's repentant capitalist slogans was that --temporarily at least--the election did away with Michael Manley and his People's National Party...
...Manley, scion of the father of Jamaican independence, served as prime minister from 1972 to 1980. His tenure proved a continual source of irritation to the State Department and leaders of the business community, as he tried to lead his tiny nation along independent lines that often conflicted openly with American policy and interests. He pledged his country to the principles of democratic socialism, established a controversial friendship with Fidel Castro, and raised the taxes on the foreign aluminum companies which had substantial investments in the country. With Cuba enough of a thorn in its side, Washington was wary...
Jamaica: Struggle in the Periphery is Manley's account of those eight years in office. It details from the driver's seat the difficulties in governing a nation in the aftermath of colonialism--the attempt to construct a viable society out of an island of former plantations and fit it into an international community characterized by superpower domination and an economic order designed to keep the little guy down. What emerges is a disturbing image of the United States and a valuable insight into the plight or the Third World...
While in office, Manley experimented with what he calls a "third path" in the Caribbean. The political setup of the region gives a government two basic choices: the "Puerto Rican" model with virtually complete economic dependence on the United States and the Cuban example of reliance on Soviet support. Manley sought to place Jamaica somewhere between these two poles. He and the PNP set out to develop a mixed economy with an emphasis on socialist techniques within the framework of Jamaica's democratic political system Meanwhile, he pursued a vigorous foreign policy in concert with the burgeoning non alignment movement...
Formidable obstacles faced Manley's economic plans. Primary among them was the need to make Jamaica's colonial economy--structured on the mining of bauxite for the aluminum industry and the export of sugar and bananas--more responsive to the needs of its own two million people. Manley sought to increase domestic production and foster popular participation in economic planning, thus wresting it from foreign control. He incurred the wrath of the business world by raising the taxes the foreign companies had to pay Jamaica, an attempt to bring more revenue to the island. This taxation and other measures. Manley...