When the development on your island is well along, mouse scrolling may slow down considerably. This is normal.
Be sure to read the Read Me file on the disc. You may want to print it out for more technical information, hints, and tips.
Tropico comes with an in-game tutorial to get you started. After the tutorial, you'll need to experiment a bit.
You can play either a random map, or you can play one of the pre-scripted Scenarios, with specific goals.
Pay attention to your construction priorities. For instance, you may want to finish your High School before your Church, since you need people with High School educations to build a Church.
Try giving your populace a raise in pay just before an election; it'll give them more respect for you, and more of them will vote for you.
Build buildings first, then use roads to connect them. People move faster on roads, but roads get in the way of building sites. Also, don't put roads too close to Farms, or you'll lose valuable planting space.
