It wasn’t easy....without

[meliss]

Here is the source.

"The Supreme President was a big man with big appetites. ... In his earlier days, he had been somewhat of a brawler, and it had caused him minor problems in his political career. It wasn’t easy making it through the ranks of the People’s Movement Party without having done jail time for mayhem."
Does it mean, that it was easier to make through the ranks of the People’s Movement Party for those who have done jail time?
Thank you.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Here is the source.

"The Supreme President was a big man with big appetites. ... In his earlier days, he had been somewhat of a brawler, and it had caused him minor problems in his political career. It wasn’t easy making it through the ranks of the People’s Movement Party without having done jail time for mayhem."
Does it mean, that it was easier to make through the ranks of the People’s Movement Party for those who have done jail time?
Thank you.

No, it means that to make it through the ranks of the party you would have to do things that could get you arrested for mayhem. It wasn't a requirement, but it was a frequent result.

 

[meliss]

If so, does the previous sentence - "In his earlier days, he had been somewhat of a brawler, and it had caused him minor problems in his political career" - accentuate that he had problems or that the problems were only minor?

 

[MikeNewYork]

If so, does the previous sentence - "In his earlier days, he had been somewhat of a brawler, and it had caused him minor problems in his political career" - accentuate that he had problems or that the problems were only minor?

I means that it caused him problems, but they were only minor problems.