Caribbean & Central America - March 2013 (ISSN 1741-4458)

*** NEW LEADER FOR BARBADOS OPPOSITION AFTER DEFEAT. The ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), led by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, squeezed home in a tight election in Barbados on 21 February to secure a second term. The DLP beat the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) by 16 seats to 14.

Stuart’s successful campaign was based on the premise that his administration (which initially came to power under the now deceased David Thompson) had had to cope with “the worst economic and financial crisis the world has seen in about 100 years” – and that it had done as well as it could have done in the circumstances. He could point to a “stable economy”, which moved from a 4.0% contraction in 2008 to 0.8% growth in 2011, while the fiscal deficit came down from 9.1% of GDP to 4.7%. BLP leader Owen Arthur, on the other hand, railed against the IMF and called for “a fundamental change” in economic policy.

The BLP’s defeat led to a quick change of leaders, with Mia Motley picking up the mantle from Arthur. This is the second time Motley has been asked to lead the party after it has been led to defeat by Arthur. It happened in 2008, but the party later recanted and turned back to Arthur in 2010. Motley was deputy prime minister for the last five years of the 1994-2008 administration.

*** CARICOM CASTIGATES US OVER ANTIGUA. At its 18-19 February summit in Haiti, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) called on Washington to comply with the World Trade Organization’s latest ruling against its banning of US citizens from participating in internet gaming based in Antigua. The conference called on the US to “honour its obligations” and to “respect international rules”. It said: “Those rules apply to all countries whether small, large, rich or poor. All countries must abide by their obligations within the Community of Nations…”