Dear Editor,

My wife dragged me along to a town
hall meeting in Miramar, Florida, last Friday to hear the prime minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness.

I am not Jamaican, but I pay attention to Jamaican politics because I met my wife in the 70s, while I was a Peace Corps worker in Jamaica. A few years later she was one of the many Jamaican families who were displaced from Jamaica during the Michael Manley era and made South Florida their new home. Those dark days have never tainted her love for her home country, and I have always supported my wife in her efforts on behalf of Jamaica.

I was very impressed that at the town hall Prime Minister Holness spoke for almost an hour without a script in an engaging, thought-provoking, and frank, yet respectful, manner. It was pleasantly surprising to hear a Caribbean leader speak without blaming America, the “system”, colonialism, slavery, and everything else under the sun expect taking responsibility themselves.

In this regard it was refreshing to see someone who clearly understands the dynamics of geopolitics, has a noble vision for his country, and has the skills to execute the plans to accomplish the mission. Prime Minister Holness breaks the mould of Caribbean leaders who all seem to want to be leftist rebel leaders — many without any cause.

My wife, a card-carrying Democrat, was very worried that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be visiting to read the riot act to Jamaica and the other Caribbean states on migration, deportation, trade, cutting development aid, and Cuban doctors. Again, to our pleasant surprise Prime Minister Holness and Secretary Rubio appeared to be good friends. The visit was stately, reassuring, and from the accounts of both sides, very productive. The takeaway being that Jamaica is the US’s strongest ally in the Caribbean.

This was also the message and position with Edward Seaga and the Ronald Reagan Administration in the 1980s. My wife reminded me that Prime Minister Holness was mentored by Seaga. While this may be a fact of history, he seems to have a different balance in his approach, certainly in the way in which he communicates his positions. I couldn’t place him as an ideologue, his positions were not extreme, he equally touches your heart as well as your mind. I saw my wife’s friends — who I know not to be political supporters of the prime minister, but who are patriotic Jamaicans — nodding in agreement to the points he made.

All is not perfect he conceded, but he effectively sold the message that Jamaica was at an inflection point in its cocoon of transformation. A powerful metaphor for those who understood. He said that transformation is oftentimes imperceptible to those who are in the cocoon being transformed, and the process of transformation is not pretty and often chaotic.

Sounding like a professor at this point, he described this as the “paradox of progress”. During progress there will be discontent, and people can often be displaced and left out of the benefits of change. It is important for leaders in democratic systems to recognise and pay close attention to this point. Frustrated electorates who have been suffering for a long time can easily be manipulated by opportunistic opposition politicians who heat up discontent by providing much light to the solution. Prime Minister Holness seemed to have learned this point well, an advantage he has over Seaga.

I supported Reagan, as did my wife in the 1980s. The republicans have always done right by the Caribbean, evidenced by the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), which up till now is the cornerstone of US trade and investment policy in the region. With these new tariffs, I am not sure the CBI will last.

Nevertheless, I like Prime Minister Holness’s attitude to look for opportunities and engage the US Administration. It would be a mistake to believe that a change of Administration will change the policies now being implemented. Waiting them out is not an option. President Joe Biden did not alter the first set of tariffs implemented by President Donald Trump. If this set of strong-arm tariffs yields results, the new global order will be irreversibly set. Therefore, I believe Jamaica has taken a very strategic approach.

I wish Prime Minister Holness success as he navigates these complex times for your lovely nation.

Fred Parker

parkerfred182@gmail.com