The Jamaican scene

The following letter has been received from a sympathiser in Jamaica and we think it will be of interest to our readers.

The Jamaica Labour Party has won the recent election with 26 of the 45 seats, thus replacing the Peoples National Party. In 1944 after the new constitution for adult suffrage was granted, the J.L.P. came, into power with an overwhelming majority. Their leader Bustamente had led strikes of portworkers, and farm labourers throughout the island. This, of course, made him very popular with the workers. On assuming power, however, his militancy for wage increase disappeared. He soon showed his true colours by breaking up strikes by force. Cost of living had by then overtaken wages, and by the next election in 1949 his popularity had decreased tremendously, particularly in the urban areas. He was returned, but with a reduced majority.

The P.N.P. by this time had been making good use of the opportunities offered it by the J.L.P. and went: around preaching the need for “Socialism.” Here is an excerpt from one of its pamphlets:

“The aims of Socialism are the same in Jamaica as they are everywhere. There are two great principles. To give to, and secure, that the people in a democratic way shall really own and control the things which are used to produce what people need, that is to say, the land of their country and money for its development.” Another section of this documents says, “Socialism condemns capitalism, because Capitalism has had a long innings and it does not work. In the struggle for profit for the few, the many starve.”

One can just imagine the impact this had on the workers. This must be the party to end our misery and inequalities the people thought. The electorate expressed their confidence in this party by voting them into power in January, 1955. Like the Labour Party of England the P.N.P. turned out to have a lot to say about Socialism out of office, but very little to do when it was in power. They first made friends with the civil service with substantial pay increase, which causes this section of the working class to reach a high social status, thus identifying their interests with that of their rulers, and consequently rejecting other workers of a lower income. Social prejudice now replaced colour prejudice as a dominant evil in society. The terrible housing problem was left to private capital, so only those workers who were in a reasonably good job could afford to sign their life away on some financial company’s document, for a house.

In education only those who are advanced get any chance, classrooms are overcrowded and many children leave school before they are fifteen. The government had promised to end unemployment, but the problem is as obvious as ever. They claim to have provided 30,000 jobs in seven years, but there is still well over 100,000 unemployed (without the help of emigration it would be much more). Instead of curbing inequality the P.N.P. helped it to increase. Hooliganism flourished, the Rasta cut themselves off from society, and frustration and disillusion was expressed in various other forms. The P.N.P. had now lost all its “left wing” vigour. They had failed like so many before them in trying to run Capitalism in the interest of the rich and poor. The poor had long been forsaken. While the government was making a muddle of things, the J.L.P. took its chances and used the high cost of living and the unemployment problem to regain its lost popularity. They promised to solve everything and the workers, not knowing any better, believed them. Many reasons have been given for the P.N.P.’s defeat. The press (there is only one daily) claim that they treated the people as schoolmaster and students. Others say that the party’s slogan “Follow the man with the plan,” laid too much emphasis on one man, their leader Manley. On one thing they are all agreed, that nothing will basically change.

There are only two unions and they are both party controlled. The B.I.T.U. (Bustamante Industrial Trade Union) affiliated to the J.L.P. and the N.W.U. (National Workers’ Union) associated to the P.N.P. Both unions have continually joined forces in crushing the formation of any other union. When the union’s party is out of office they are very conscious of the workers’ problems. When they have changed position, however, they become completely docile to it.

Society in Jamaica is just as sick as anywhere else where Capitalism exists. Young men turn to rum drinking, others to the doctrine of the rasta; and the disgust and emptiness of peoples’ lives increase daily. It is the job of Socialists to expand their bounds and give them a new purpose for living, the purpose of understanding Socialism. They can then help in establishing a society where the satisfaction of man is our only goal.
D.