Challenges to Democracy...

Granted we are a nation built on a distrust of the demos...

 

But this was an interesting read on the challenges in the Philippines to dismantle the political families that make up the "establishment" controlling the political process.  We face this in many ways in the united states though probably not as directly or visibly (Bush, Clinton, Kennedy anyone?) in the minds of voters or directly on the ground via internal family power grabs.

 

Family Feuds

Membership in a political party isn’t required to win in Philippine elections since political families are more influential in delivering votes for their relatives and anointed candidates. In small municipalities, the candidate who belongs to the biggest family is sure of winning in the polls. If there are several big families in a city or province, the family with the biggest war chest dominates the elections. Old political dynasties have the advantage since many voters look up to them as local monarchs.

The local elections can be viewed as a battle between rich families seeking to maintain or grab power in a particular territory. Sometimes the feud between political families can be settled peacefully, especially if all parties are willing to compromise. In 2004, President Gloria Arroyo united all families in Cebu Province which helped her gain a one million vote lead over her main rival in that province alone. Another way to end the rivalry of political dynasties is to divide a province or create a new district through legislation. For example, political tension in Cavite Province was somewhat defused when Congress subdivided it into seven legislative districts.

But most of the time, political families are violently resisting the idea that another family is trying or preparing to challenge their leadership in a city or province and they use all means necessary, including violence, to remain in power. The bitter rivalry between the Mangudadatu and Ampatuan families in Maguindanao Province resulted in a gruesome massacre which claimed the lives of 57 civilians last November. Most of the country’s election hotspots are areas where two or three families are competing for dominance in the elections. Many voters are delighted to see these families ‘destroy’ each other in the campaign, but many are also worried that the verbal fighting might turn into a bloody duel between the candidates themselves and their supporters.

And there’s another aspect of the family feud in Philippine politics worth mentioning – candidates are challenged by their own relatives in the polls. This is hardly surprising in small towns since all politicians are related by blood or affinity to most residents in these places. Still, news of a power struggle inside the same family continues to bewilder many Filipinos since family ties are highly important in the country’s culture. Some examples involve former presidential daughter Imee Marcos, who is facing off against her first cousin for the top local post in Ilocos Norte Province. Governor LRay Villafuerte of Camarines Sur Province is publicly feuding with his father, Congressman Luis Villafuerte. The major election rival of the Mayor of Mabalacat City in Pampanga Province is his eldest daughter.

Elections are interesting and at times funny in these places because feuding family members are cleaning their dirty linen in public.

But to democratize Philippine politics, dynasties must be dismantled. If this isn’t possible at the moment, citizen groups must continue to work for a better political system where everybody, not just family members of oligarchs, has an equal chance of participating in the elections.

 

Posted via email from Jim Nichols