(The former prime minister of Jamaica discusses U.S. invol...)
The former prime minister of Jamaica discusses U.S. involvement in South American affairs, the history and problems of Jamaica, and argues that U.S. worked to destabilize his government
Michael Norman Manley was one of the most important Caribbean politicians and leaders of the second half of the twentieth century. A visionary leader, popularly known as "Joshua" (like the biblical prophet), he was instrumental in defining the political, social, and economic landscape of Jamaica after it gained independence from Great Britain in 1962.
Background
Manley was born in St. Andrews, Jamaica, on December 10, 1924, to an affluent, upper-middle-class Jamaican family. He was one of two children of Norman Washington Manley and Edna Manley. His father was a politician and lawyer and his mother was a noted artist and sculptor.
Education
Manley finished his primary schooling in Jamaica and attended the prestigious Jamaica College for his secondary education, where he excelled as a student leader and as an athlete. While at Jamaica College he challenged the headmaster over a change in policy. Abandoning the school after a confrontation with the headmaster, he triggered a massive student protest over his departure. After graduating from high school, Manley enrolled at McGill University in Montreal but only attended for a year.
Later Manley moved to London and enrolled in the prestigious London School of Economics in late 1945. While there, he was influenced by the economic and political doctrines of Harold Laski, the leading thinker behind the social democratic ideas that Manley later adopted in Jamaica (Levi 1989). During his years in London, Manley was involved with the West Indian Student Union and co-founded the Caribbean Labor Congress of London. He led these organizations in their efforts for Jamaica's independence from Great Britain. He graduated from the London School of Economics in 1949.
Manley worked briefly as a book reviewer and freelance journalist for the BBC and for the London Observer. In 1951 he returned to Jamaica, where he immediately became involved in public affairs. He was an editor for the Jamaica weekly Public Opinion and joined the People's National Party (PNP), founded by his father, and became a member of its National Executive Council. Nevertheless, his most important work on his return to Jamaica was as a labor leader. He became a negotiator and a leader of the of the National Worker's Union, and in 1959 led a major strike against the sugar companies in Jamaica. The strike and Manley's criticism of the sugar barons triggered discoveries of fraud and brought major reforms to the sugar industry.
Because of his involvement in both the PNP and the labor movement, Manley gained substantial recognition from the Jamaican people island-wide, paving the way for his incursion into politics when he entered the Jamaican Senate in 1962 and became a member of the Parliament in 1967. Manley was a vocal and articulate spokesperson on behalf of his party. He developed a platform to press for more liberal social and economic reforms that could benefit those Jamaicans who were disenfranchised from society. After his father's death in 1969, he succeeded him as the leader of the PNP and was elected prime minister of the island in 1972. He held this post until 1980.
Manley served as vice-president of the Socialist International for Latin America and the Caribbean in 1978.
Throughout the campaign to become prime minister, Manley compared himself to the biblical prophet Joshua. Trying to win the vote of the Rastafarians, he appeared wearing native African costumes and carried an ivory and ebony baton, given to him by Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie during a visit to Jamaica in 1966. Baptized by Manley as Joshua's Rod of Correction, the baton symbolized his promise to break the yoke of capitalism that had oppressed the Jamaican people for so long. Manley was elected by an overwhelming majority and immediately instituted a series of radical social and economic reforms that were consistent with his socio-democratic ideals.
He was Leader of the Opposition from November 1, 1980 to February 10, 1989.
During his first two terms as prime minister of Jamaica Manley imposed strong regulation over businesses and positioned the government, rather than the private sector, as the key agent to promote economic growth. He forced private businesses to partner with government in different enterprises and nationalized many of them. His sponsorship of agrarian reform led to a major exodus of the British and American economic elite from Jamaica. Following his socialist ideologies, Manley also promoted a major redistribution of wealth in Jamaica, raised taxes for the wealthy, and instituted progressive social programs to help the poor. At the same time, he became close friends with Fidel Castro of Cuba and was perceived by the U.S. government and by other capitalist and industrial powers as a major threat to the economic stability of Jamaica and the Caribbean. Manley worked hard forging partnerships with socialist regimes and became a leader of the organization of Non-Aligned Nations and the Group 77.
From his position of leadership as prime minister and as a leader of these groups, Manley launched strong attacks against the International Monetary Fund, whose policies he thought were strangling the economic and social well being of developing nations. Moreover, he advocated for a new world economic order that would benefit the underdeveloped nations of the Third World. Manley's economic policies and changes threw the country into desperation and chaos. The rich power elite perceived him as a socialist who was crippling the island's economy by attacking industries and business owners. However, his popularity among the poor and underclass, who were positively impacted by his policies, was so great that he managed to be reelected in 1976. He was successful in building strong alliances with the Rastafarian movement in Jamaica, whose members revered him as a humane reformer who wanted to empower blacks and poor people.
Although his policies were well intentioned, the island's economy deteriorated and the island turned to violence and chaos.
By 1980 the economic situation and the political pressure from the International Monetary Fund and the United States was so great that when Edward Seaga, leader of the Jamaican Labor Party, challenged him in the elections, Manley lost. Manley spent nine years in retirement rethinking his political ideas and writing books. A passionate follower of boxing and cricket, he wrote A History of West Indies Cricket (1988) and a political and economic interpretation of Jamaica's society, Jamaica: Struggle in the Periphery (1982). During this time, he reconsidered his political and economic philosophies and transformed himself into a social liberal, believing that working with industries and the private sector would better lead to economic growth. The London Independent said that during this time: "Manley rebuilt his strength, and his nerve and took stock of changing ideas about economic development". In 1988, he ran again for prime minister with a new platform and won by landslide.
During his second term as prime minister, Manley sponsored private investing and basically shifted his socialist economic views to give power to business. He followed the principles of trickle-down economics and sought to assist businesses that, in turn, would help the lower classes. As a result of his new policies, there was a quick increase in the economic vitality and prosperity for Jamaica's society. Unfortunately, in 1992 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was forced to resign. He died on March 6, 1997.
Personality
A review of the obituaries that were published after his death reveals that he was thought of as the quintessential statesman. He was commended for his superb oratory, political presence, negotiating skills, and for his unbending love for Jamaican arts and culture. He was one of the key architects of modern Jamaican society and became one of the national heroes of Jamaica after his death. Rex Nettleford, chancellor of the University of the West Indies, described him in an obituary as "Jamaica's Passionate Populist".
Before his formal entry into politics Manley had the reputation of being the foremost union organizer in the Caribbean-an energetic, fearless, dynamic, and gifted leader.
Connections
Michael Manley was married five times. In 1946 he married Jacqueline Kamellard but the marriage was dissolved in 1951. Manley then married Thelma Verity in 1955; in 1960 this marriage was also dissolved. In 1966 Manley married Barbara Lewars (died in 1968); in 1972 he married Beverley Anderson but the marriage was dissolved in 1990. Beverly wrote The Manley Memoirs in June 2008. Michael Manley's final marriage was to Glynne Ewart in 1992.
Manley had five children from his five marriages: Rachel Manley, Joseph Manley, Sarah Manley, Natasha Manley and David Manley.
Michael Manley: The Making of a Leader
Traces the life of the Jamaican journalist, labor activist, and politician, and looks at how he has used his terms as Prime Minister to work on behalf of the poor
1990
Caribbean Labor and Politics: Legacies of Cheddi Jagan and Michael Manley (African American Life Series)
Having more in common than their deaths on the same day in 1997, the late Cheddi Jagan of Guyana and Michael Manley of Jamaica both represented a radical perspective in modern Caribbean politics. Jagan and Manley each had a bold and creative ability to connect labor and politics and made it their priority to minimize poverty and inequality and to enhance the welfare of the Caribbean's disadvantaged and dispossessed. Caribbean Labor and Politics looks closely at the legacies of Jagan and Manley and their ramifications for the political and economic struggles of the Caribbean region and the world. This edited volume brings together a variety of studies on the lives, works, and intellectual and practical contributions of these two stalwart political leaders. The chapters focus primarily on Jagan's and Manley's years as heads of state of their respective countries and also encapsulate their pre-political years-mainly their growing-up experiences and their organizational work in the labor movement. The core contributions of these men are characterized in terms of their pivotal struggles towards the realization of what we term the "working class project."
2004
Michael Manley: The Biography
Drawing on Manley's own letters to and from close con dante, Rex Nettleford, and others; author interviews with over 30 persons in Jamaica, Cuba, the US and UK, Canada, Trinidad and Barbados; countless hours of intense and extensive research and review of footage of Manley's speeches, press conferences, o cial visits and writings, Smith provides fresh and revealing insights into one of the most charismatic personalities in the modern political history of the Caribbean. Access to and use of declassi ed US State Department documents in particular, adds a completely new dimension to the Manley story and the dynamics of US-Jamaica relations in the turbulent years of the 1970s and the '80s.With his signature strong narration and uid writing, Smith presents a detailed, yet engaging exploration of Michael Manley's life and career. From his relationships with his parents, his children, and with women, to his trade union and political careers and the bitter antipathy with political rivals, no aspect of Manley's life is left unexamined.
2016
Jamaica's Michael Manley: The Great Transformation
JAMAICA'S MICHAEL MANLEY: THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION (1972-92) About the Author David Panton is a 21-year-old Jamaican. He received his B.A. in Public Policy (with high honours) from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. He is the recipient of the 1993 Rhodes Scholarship from Jamaica and is presently a student at Harvard Law school. About this Book In 1980 Michael Manley lost the General Election a