Jamaica
Island in the Caribbean Sea, S of Cuba and W of Haiti.
Government
The 1962 constitution follows closely the unwritten British model,
with a resident constitutional head of state, the governor general,
representing the British monarch and appointing a prime minister and
cabinet, collectively responsible to the legislature. This consists
of two chambers, an appointed 21-member senate and a 60-member elected
house of representatives. Normally, 13 of the senators are appointed
on the advice of the prime minister and 8 on the advice of the leader
of the opposition. Members of the house are elected by universal suffrage
for a five-year term, but the house is subject to dissolution within
that period.
History
Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus 1494, the island was inhabited
by Arawak Indians. From 1509 to 1655 it was a Spanish colony, and after
this was in British hands until 1959, when it was granted internal self-government,
achieving full independence within the Commonwealth 1962. After independence
The two leading political figures in the early days of independence
were Alexander Bustamante, leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP),
and Norman Manley, leader of the People's National Party (PNP). The
JLP won the 1962 and 1967 elections, led by Bustamante's successor,
Hugh Shearer, but the PNP, under Norman Manley's son Michael, was successful
1972. He advocated social reform and economic independence from the
industrialized world. Despite high unemployment, Manley was returned
to power 1976 with an increased majority, but by 1980 the economy had
deteriorated, and, rejecting the conditions attached to a loan from
the International Monetary Fund, Manley sought support for his policies
of economic self-reliance.
The 1980 general election campaign was extremely violent, despite calls
by Manley and the leader of the JLP, Edward Seaga, for moderation.
The outcome was a decisive victory for the JLP, with 51 of the
60 seats in the house of representatives. Seaga thus received
a mandate for a return to a renewal of links with the USA and
an emphasis on free enterprise. He severed diplomatic links with
Cuba 1981. In 1983 Seaga called an early, snap election, with
the opposition claiming they had been given insufficient time
to nominate their candidates. The JLP won all 60 seats. There
were violent demonstrations when the new parliament was inaugurated,
and the PNP said it would continue its opposition outside the
parliamentary arena. In the 1989 elections Manley and the PNP
won a landslide victory. The new prime minister pledged to pursue
moderate economic policies and improve relations with the USA.
In 1992 Manley resigned the premiership on the grounds of ill
health. Percival Patterson, the former finance minister, was chosen
as Manley's successor and in a snap general election, 1993, he
increased his party's majority, winning 52 of the 60 seats in
the house of representatives. A new centrist party, the National
Democratic Movement, was formed 1995. The country's centre-left
People's National Party, led by the prime minister, PJ Patterson,
won an unprecedented third straight term, routing the conservative
Jamaica Labour Party in a general election held Dec 1997.
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