Obama in Jamaica, Reggae-Style

During Barack Obama’s flying visit to Jamaica, in the under 24 hours after his arrival at Kingston last night, there was no lack of funny moments as well as polemics and protests. It started off with a surprise visit to the Bob Marley Museum, an obsession which the American president said he has had since his childhood; as soon as he landed, Obama headed straight for Hope Road, home of the “sanctum sanctorum” of the world reggae icon. There he showed off with a commendable performance of some of Bob’s famous worldwide hits, much to the delight of Rita Marley, wife and tireless manager for the successful artist, who will no doubt make the most of it for her business.

Blacka, Energy, Education

Jamaica is fond of Obama, because of his skin color; it’s a small island but with enormous economic interest and natural resources. Its population, around 80 percent Afro-Caribbean, cannot manage to break away from their inferiority complex with regard to those of lighter complexion. Here, the money-makers are the white people: Americans, English or Spanish, along with the few Jamaicans who are lucky enough to have light skin, thanks to unions and arranged marriages since the time of slavery. A black person, especially one who is the president of the most powerful nation on Earth, provides a source of unspeakable hope for blackas, which in patois dialect means “blacker.”

Early yesterday morning, the historical agreement was signed by the two energy ministers, about supplying liquefied natural gas as an alternative resource to petrol and diesel fuels. This is something completely new for a country that relies on Texan oil, with its very expensive retail price of around a dollar and a half per liter, and the lower-priced Venezuelan petrocaribe oil, currently at high risk due to the crisis in the producing country. In addition to Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Dominica and Grenada, which make up Caricom, the Caribbean community that unites the English-speaking countries also receive crude oil from Venezuela at discounted prices with deferred payments.

The president had a crucial meeting at the University of the West Indies with young leaders in the community, touching on a sore topic — education and teaching — where Jamaica ranks very poorly, with just over a hundred public high schools, compared to its population of around 3 million, of which only 5 percent have the financial means to access the elite universities. Barack has promised to allocate $70 million to help this sector in the Caribbean and Latin America. On what conditions, we don’t yet know; the fact remains that the Jamaican economy is already choked by interest on public debt owed to the IMF, and there are few who believe that this money will be nonrefundable.

In the morning, the idyllic atmosphere had already been ruined by a large protest of citizens, directed at Obama, guilty of supporting gay rights and allowing same-sex marriages. Heavens, a scandal that could not go unnoticed in Jamaica, one of the most homophobic countries in the Americas. Caught off-guard by Rasta questions, asking his opinion on the recent legislation regarding moderate quantities of ganja (marijuana), he warned them about possible repercussions of this change in the law, perhaps mindful of the revolt from five years beforehand when he called for the arrest of a known trafficker who was conspiring with the prime minister at the time.

Off to Panama!

Today, things are getting serious in the city of Panama; Barack is due to meet with Raul Castro and seal the historical thaw between the U.S. and Cuba, which was reiterated at the university yesterday. A crucial step that will be added to the killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011. Both events will be part of the treasure, in terms of political affairs, to entrust to the party at the end of his mandate. And to consign Obama himself to history.