Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, son of Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator deposed 36 years ago, has just been elected president of the Philippines, with 50% of the vote, twice as much as his rival, the former vice president Leni Robredo, a lawyer and defender of human rights. The future vice president, and Bongbong’s second, will be Sara Duterte, daughter of Rodrigo Duterte, who has been president until now, and has distinguished herself by her extrajudicial persecution of the drug world.
Marcos Sr. was president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, when he fled to Hawaii, forced by the popular revolution that caused the assassination, as soon as he landed in Manila, of the lawyer Benigno Aquino, who came from the United States and intended to end the Marcos regime. father, characterized by corruption, the annihilation of opponents and judicial control.
Bongbong has campaigned under the slogan “Together We Will Rise Again,” which echoes Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again.” He has given few interviews and has made vague promises. How is it then possible that whoever comes to restore a dynasty of dark memory, without making retroactive family excuses or guaranteeing collective progress management, has won the elections so comfortably? The answer given by critical sectors is this: Bongbong is behind a campaign that has been using social networks for ten years to whitewash the image of the regime embodied by his father, Ferdinand, and his mother, Imelda, known for her collection of 3,000 pairs of shoes According to this campaign, his father’s years were not one of political and economic abuse – it is estimated that the Marcoses took some 10,000 million dollars – but of security and prosperity. If we add to this that more than half of Filipino voters are under 30 years of age and that they spend about four hours a day on the networks, the answer to the question is taking shape.
It is true that the presidents who came after Marcos – Aquino, Ramos, Estrada, Macapagal, Duterte – have not been able to mitigate the tremendous inequality suffered by the Philippines, a country with 7,000 islands, 110 million inhabitants and a GDP that last year grew by 3.2%. And it is proven that the Marcos were a corrupt lineage. Perhaps that is why Bongbong asks to be judged by his actions and not by those of his ancestors. That suggests two things to us. One: that he would not want to be associated with the less worthy traits of his parents. And two: that he could only achieve it if his politics were more responsible and fair.
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