Following Estrada's arrest, crowds of more than 100,000 people gathered for several consecutive days at a traditional religious site in the city, listening to speeches by a number of prominent political figures calling for Arroyo's resignation. On May 1 a section of the crowd marched to the palace, breaking through several roadblocks on their way before reaching their destination, where they dispersed in the face of the deadly fire of the military.

Declaring a "state of rebellion," Arroyo ordered the arrest without warrants of 11 opponents associated with Estrada and the protests. They are charged with inciting rebellion. One of the accused, Sen. Miriam Santiago, filed a petition with the Supreme Court to stop her arrest. "Philippine democracy is now in its death throes," she said. By May 2 four people on the list had been detained. The most prominent of these was Juan Ponce Enrile, a 20-year veteran of the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, and of Corazon Aquino--the politician who headed the "people's power" rebellion that overthrew the Marcos dictatorship in 1986.

In January, Enrile and 10 other senators voted against admitting crucial evidence in the impeachment proceedings against Estrada on charges of corruption, a move that forced Estrada's opponents, who had been campaigning for months to remove him from office, into the streets.

Arroyo, then the vice president, headed massive protests in which capitalist organizations and members of the church hierarchy played a prominent role, along with trade unions and other organizations associated with the labor movement. Many working people participated in the actions, along with better-off middle-class layers.

The announcement by armed forces chiefs that the military would not act against the rebellion was a decisive moment. Estrada was removed from office, still protesting, on January 20.

Aquilino Pimentel, the president of the Senate, raised a voice of caution, noting "The administration seems to be pursuing some shortcuts in restoring order." He added that the two mobilizations, held with backing of various wings of the wealthy rulers, could open up the "danger now that if you amass 100,000 or 1 million people on the streets, it can topple the government. We cannot afford to have a 'people power' three or four in this country."

Senator Santiago also called on the Commission on Elections to postpone local and congressional elections scheduled for May 14, saying that the opposition campaign had suffered with the crackdown.

In the wake of the recent shootings and arrests of opposition figures, broad sections of the ruling class have moved to consolidate Arroyo's grip on the country's highest political office. While she retains the backing of the military brass and of the majority of the most privileged layers in the country--reflected by a 4.1 percent jump in the index of Manila's stock exchange on May 2--her opponents were able to mobilize the support of many working people in Manila only 100 days into her presidency.

Calling the march on the presidential palace a "mob of protesters" who brought "mayhem" to the city, the New York Times said the conflict "underscores the depth of anger felt by many poor Filipinos, who adore Mr. Estrada despite his failings and who regard his arrest last Wednesday by armored police officers as a gross violation of his rights." Estrada had built a popular base among workers and farmers looking for an alternative to the incumbent governing figures in the 1998 election. Campaigning as someone outside the country's traditional elite--his long record as a local and national politician notwithstanding---and exploiting his fame as a movie actor, Estrada won 40 percent of the vote, defeating eight other candidates by the biggest margin in the country's history.

During the recent protests he echoed the demagogic themes of his election campaign. In a recorded message broadcast to the gathered crowd on April 29, he called for nationwide protests until the "voice of ordinary people like you will achieve victory."

Washington, which has interfered in Filipino affairs many times since it replaced Spain as the dominating power in 1898, has shown no sign of bending from the support it gave Arroyo within minutes of her swearing-in as president.

The March 20 Wall Street Journal expressed the hope of "foreign investors" in the new administration. They want, wrote Chen May Yee, "a return to the business-friendly policies" of the mid-1990s, before the "troubled tenure" of Estrada and "they want it fast." U.S. capitalists' "wish list includes [the] continued liberalization of the telecommunications and banking industries," the paper said. The country's economy is dominated by U.S. and Japanese companies. The electronics industry, for example, is responsible for some 60 percent of Filipino exports; the biggest player in this field is the U.S. company, Intel Corp, which last year shipped goods equivalent to 3 percent of the country's gross national product.

The devastating consequences of this kind of neocolonial dependency are reflected in the country's foreign debt. One-third of the country's budget goes to pay the annual interest on the total debt of $40.6 billion.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home