Jamaica’s latest democracy index score (for 2024) of 6.74 falls in the category of a flawed democracy, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Democracy Index. This is the country’s lowest score on record since the index began in 2006. The index considers things such as political participation, functioning of the government, and political culture as matters of concern. Civil liberties and the electoral process remain strong.

What is quite clear is that although we have a healthy democracy compared to many countries, problems persist, and we still have a lot of work to do on many fronts. It is often said that democracy is a messy thing. It is loud and oftentimes cantankerous, and so it ought to be as different viewpoints contend.

In a democracy, no one view of a matter is regarded as sacrosanct. It is immoral in any country for one person or group of people to believe their views alone matter and others must accept these views whether they agree or not. It is a gross violation of one’s personhood and sense of humanity to have one’s personal freedom taken away or for one to be violently silenced and even killed because as the citizen of a country he or she dares to express an opposite voice to the ruling elite. It is an offence to the dignity of people for this to happen.

This is what happens in a dictatorship and in countries ruled by autocrats and strongmen. And because people’s views are stifled under such situations, the best outcomes for the society tend not to be carried out. Abysmal mistakes are made, which have deleterious consequences for the country, as we witnessed in parts of Africa, Latin America, and Asia under dictatorial, mercurial leadership.

Notwithstanding what people posit to be the medical and educational achievements of Cuba and the pernicious embargo against that country, mainly by the United States, this writer believes the prospects of the Cuban people would have been more secured and advanced were the people allowed to participate in the legitimate determination of their own destinies.

The communists have ruled Cuba for almost 65 years. With the official establishment of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in 1965 and the nationalisation of the economy, free speech and assembly were the first casualties. The depredations of the great bear to the north and the economic embargo against the country were always the scapegoats that have been used to explain the dire economic state of the country over these years.

It is true that the embargo has contributed to this, but one should not underestimate the value of free speech and the free flow of ideas in achieving sociopolitical and economic strength.

Incidentally, the contrast could not be starker between North and South Korea. In the South there is a vibrant economy where the people are free to express themselves, criticise their Government, and participate in democratic debate about their future. In the North, no such thing is allowed by a capricious and hostile leader who dominates and dictates the terms of engagement of the society. The result has been poverty and abysmal failure as the resources of the country are deployed to establish military strength. It is difficult to miss the contrasting moods of the people in both countries, living on the same peninsula and sharing a common history up to the point of division.

This has been the bane of countries ruled by autocrats. I decry the hard-fisted approach by the present US Government in the way it is going about regime change in Cuba. People do not have to suffer inordinately as the Cuban people are doing because of the predations of a politburo. The US can perhaps exert more pressure on the ruling elite without allowing the widespread energy, medical, and other dislocations the people are experiencing. What remains clear to me, as I have said previously in this space, is that by the end of 2026 there will be either regime change or a fundamental alteration to the governance of Cuba.

But back to Jamaica. Credit must be given that despite flaws in many areas we still remain a vibrant democracy. We have one of the freest presses in the world, and people are not being detained because they espouse a different viewpoint. I have never claimed to be a member of any press corps, and I am certainly not a practising journalist, but I can say that over almost 50 years of writing and participating in public commentary, I have never been harried or harassed or threatened by any governmental authority. And I have been very brutal in my criticisms of the Government, especially during the period 1980-2000.

Incidentally, in case anyone wants to assign party loyalty to me, I have been called, labelled, and cursed for being either a Labourite or a Comrade over the years. Whenever I write there is only one word that comes to my mind: Jamaica.

Despite what we say about corruption, and there is a lot of room for this, mechanisms of accountability have been fairly well established, but they need to be given stronger teeth than now prevails. Despite limited resources in many instances, organisations such as the Integrity Commission, Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, Auditor General’s Department, and Independent Commission of Investigations need to step up their game and put the squeeze on political authorities on both sides of the aisle.

When we hear them and other civil servants in leadership positions squeal because they are being held accountable, we know they are doing their jobs. The louder the squeal, the better. And they should have no fear for Jamaicans as a whole instinctively endorse the work they are called to do.

The strengthening of our democratic way of life cannot be left to the politicians alone. We have ceded too much ground to our elected leaders to guide us on the vibrant path to freedom without recognising our role as citizens in this process. We do not make enough demands on them as we ought to. And demands are not just about proper roads, water, or the many resources vital to the health of a country. They are fundamentally about the type of governance we are prepared to embrace and the paradigm of leadership we are prepared to hold on to.

We need to move away from the notion that those we elect to office are our bosses and we jump as they command. We need to get more in tune with the reality that we are their bosses, we pay them for a period of time to do a bit of work, and we expect nothing but the best in the context of the limited resources that the country has.

We must insist that in every relationship people strive best when they are allowed freedom of expression, when no one voice prevails or believes itself to be dominant or that he or she alone can fix things.

Personal culpability must be ascertained, critiqued, and admitted, and people held accountable for their actions.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He also hosts a podcast — Mango Tree Dialogues — on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.

Raulston Nembhard

Jamaica has a highly regarded free press that consistently ranks among the top countries globally.