Before I read all that, can I cancel anti government protests with machineguns?
You can assasinate people, as well as arrest them, accuse them of herasy, and have them be involved in an "accident"
Really quite a neat game, especially the extent to which the politics and economics are modeled. Your main goal is to stay in power (through election or by devious means) and appeasing the factions on the island is paramount, otherwise there will be a rebel revolt, or if it gets bad enough, an uprising/civil war type scenario. The farmers/miners/oil drillers produce raw goods which can be consumed by the population, sold as is, or refined into a more expensive product. For instance, trees can be harvested at the logging camp, then turned into lumber at the mill, then turned into furniture in a factory. There is also the very fun tourism business which allows you to build hotels, casinos(which your "el presidente" avatar can gamble in, nightclubs etc. But make sure to build these things in pretty areas and not next to industrial buildings!
Another element to the game is your relations with the superpowers (they may get angry and invade!)
You can change the rate at which the game is played, so a game could be completed in a couple days, or hours.
"If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing" -Ben Franklin
"Man must rise above the Earth to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only