Gangs, grassroots politics, and the crisis of dependent capitalism in Jamaica

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, intense inter-gang rivalry became institutionalized and eventually assumed a partisan character. The immediate effect was that local networks of kinspeople and peers extended and strengthened. Relatives and former friends who had severed contact with those involved in gang activities re-established communication and interaction. The gang faction with labourite connections prevailed, and Ethiopia’s fight against its traditional rival became a part of the larger contest between the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP), between US government and corporate interests and the recalcitrant PNP. In late 1983 and 1984, the newly emergent vanguard or top-ranking gang attempted to consolidate its position in the partisan niche by discrediting or eliminating its major competitor, widely respected by most Ethiopians. The JLP with its heavy backing from the US government retains the edge in the sphere of physical coercion.