e prime minister and the leader of the
opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition
is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60
seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March
2002)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
PNP 50, JLP 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor
general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders: Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward
SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING];
People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]

Political pressure groups and leaders: New Beginnings Movement or
NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL,
OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Richard Leighton BERNAL

chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660

FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081

consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Stanley Louis MCLELLAND

embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor,
Kingston 5

mailing address: use embassy street address

telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859

FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743

Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four
triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer
side)

Jamaica Economy

Economy - overview: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite
(alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and
tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has
eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and
privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and
fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary
pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate, but have
resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving