Post-War Politics and Economics PDF

Post-War Politics and Economics Date Created @May 5, 2024 6:44 PM Sources Abinales, Patricio and Donna Amoroso — All Politics is Local, 1946-1964 The Third Republic Presidents Manuel Roxas Had a heart attack while president Elipidio Quirino Ramon Magsaysay Carlos Garcia Diosdado Macapagal Ferdinand...

Post-War Politics and Economics Date Created @May 5, 2024 6:44 PM Sources Abinales, Patricio and Donna Amoroso — All Politics is Local, 1946-1964 The Third Republic Presidents Manuel Roxas Had a heart attack while president Elipidio Quirino Ramon Magsaysay Carlos Garcia Diosdado Macapagal Ferdinand Marcos The Quirino Administration (1948-1953) Roxas did not finish his term I was determined to carry on silently the work so auspiciously begun by my illustrious predecessor. To secure the biggest rice harvest since the outbreak of the war - State of the Nation Address of His Excellency Elpidio Quirino, January 24, 1949 Post-War Politics and Economics 1 Quirino would carry on the task of getting the Hukbalahap to negotiate again The Huk became open to talking again Contributed to security but also a major rice harvest Quirino also had his own platform as president “The most important and urgent aim of this administration at this stage is increased production and social amelioration. We cannot indefinitely ride on the foam of foreign charity and friendship.” Economic Policies Import and exchange controls allowed for the development of a viable manufacturing sector; There is a certain limit that a person or a business can get There is a certain limit for dollar allocations Quirino’s purpose: We have to control the export crop economy and get people into manufacturing What this does is we get to increase the limit of dollar allocations of import if you are going to get into manufacturing; basically you’re going to be incentivized The Central Bank controlled dollar reserves and resisted pressure from powerful sugar barons; Prioritize businesses in manufacturing Higher corporate tax rates increased government revenues, leading to the first budget surplus since the 1946 Limits to the Efficacy of State Reform Tax reform — implementation of direct taxation — was rejected; Those who have low work were taxed more American-owned “Filipino” corporations benefited more from the policy on dollar allocations; Post-War Politics and Economics 2 New cronyism and the “ten percenters” You get the control to dollars by being close to the president The argument is still the same, elites have the means to create a business Ten percenters: When you apply and give you a license for dollar control, the people in the window ask for 10% Quirino’s success in stabilizing the economy was thus overshadowed by tales of corruption and “well-publicizes large scale postwar scandals in the body politic,” including some involving his own family. (Abinales and Amoroso 2017, 178) The Magsaysay Administration (1953-1957) Magsaysay was Quirino’s defense minister so the success with the Huks was attributed to him Issues during the 50s: Corruption, Cheating, Flying Voters, Crooks and Thieves, “Lutong” Elections Magsaysay’s Image: Like every other Filipino, not like those past presidents All of us in public office are but servants of the people.” — Inaugural address of his Excellency Ramon Magsaysay, December 30, 1953 Magsaysay wasn’t from an elite background, his family’s background is labor, but he wasn’t a communist, his campaign was well-funded by the Americans From this day, the members of my administration, beginning with myself, shall cease to belong to our parties, to our families, even to ourselves. -— Inaugural address of his Excellency Ramon Magsaysay, December 30, 1953 Post-War Politics and Economics 3 Magsaysay has kind of the same image as Quezon An “Apolitical” Executive Branch Politicizing — engaging in the padrino system in politics Passed reforms for a stronger executive branch; Business executives headed economic projects; Not politicians in economic progress because they will mix it with their individual wants The AFP was mobilized in rural areas’ “civic action programs”; Remember: One of the reasons the Huks failed was because the AFP were forming their image Civic action programs: Your problems will be solved with the help of the soldiers Why the AFP? Because as president, Magsaysay was also the commander in chief in the AFP Presidential Assistant for Community Development (PACD) paved the way for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) “Landless for the landless” shall be more than just a catchphrase. We will translate it into actuality. They can win the economic security and social justice they desire only within the framework of our democracy. — Inaugural address of his Excellency Ramon Magsaysay, December 30, 1953 Trying to detach the executive branch from being involved in the padrino system They avoid bureaucracy You do not own the senators for the laws that you have Post-War Politics and Economics 4 Long term plans: Land reform Huks during the Magsaysay can win economic security under the rules of democracy Magsaysay was the first model of a populist president, getting people to directly move in the government Years later, we will see this populist image of the president in Erap, Duterte, Manny Pacquiao, etc. Populist leaders are the competition of elite politicians, it’s not bad bad but there is also the other side that you only use that image for campaigns Magsaysay and Quezon had that same of authority and people trusting them but with Quezon, his political capital was coming from the padrino system With Magsaysay, it was the people who were carrying him. It was people’s popular support which allowed him to hold on to his power Like Manuel Quezon, Magsaysay used his popularity to make administrative changes aimed at strengthening the central state as well as his own stature as a leader. Yet he was different from his colonial predecessor in that he mobilized social forced directly. This set a precedent for future presidents who wanted to establish a direct link with the people. It was the first postwar image of Filipino populism (Abinales and Amoroso, 2017, 181) Weaknesses of a Personalized Presidency Presidential agencies had little institutional value after the president’s term; You don’t get the people’s loyalty in the end because you were popular because of you, you were trusted by the people, not the government itself A strong executive threatened Congress and triggered a legislative backlash; Magsaysay found his way to fast track processes but this Post-War Politics and Economics 5 When Magsaysay tried to pass the Land Reform Act of 1955, he exempted huge estates of the sugar barons, and the legislature further weakened the act with amendments making it difficult for tenants to actually acquire land. (Abinales and Amoroso) Magsaysay died of a plane crash in 1957 and much of what he was able to achieve was also lost because a lot relied in what he was as a person The Garcia Administration (1957-1961) Garcia was from the Nacionalistas and his idols were og Nacionalistas but he wasn’t as charming and the same backstory and the same popular support from the people In the end, he needed to rely on the padrino system Politically we became independent since 1946, but economically we are still semi-colonial. — Inaugural address of his Excellency Carlos P. Garcia, January 25, 1960 The Filipino First Policy Promoted economic nationalism by encouraging production and consumption of Filipino-made products In application it’s the same as Quirino’s BUT Emphasized the priority for Filipino-owned businesses; Philippine economy had a modest industrial base and a more diversified economic elite. What else can the elite do outside of agricultural export crops? Inequitable Growth Post-War Politics and Economics 6 At the end of the day, you are incentivizing people who have the capacity to diversify, they just don’t want to take that risk you are just making that risk easier for them Growth favored the already wealthy, as they had capital to diversify in businesses Statistically, the economy grew Close relations to the President facilitated opportunities for growth The middle class remained stable but did not grow; they remained in small time buy-and-sell The poor remained poor, but lacked the organization to mobilize There were a lot of issues tied to Garcia’s term when it comes to corruption and cronyism Those who received the license were people closer to the government Post-War Politics and Economics 7 The Central Bank in Cuaderno’s time imposed not just monetary but also fiscal discipline on the government.” — PH free press on Miguel Cuaderno’s leadership in the Central Bank and Monetary Board This was during the time of controls, when it was so easy to make anybody a millionaire; just give him a license and it’s done. (Abinales and Amoroso 2017) Critics of the Garcia Administration American, Chinese, and Chinese-Filipino businessmen felt excluded from this policy Filipino exporters and middle-class associations Senior AFP officers Congress opponents During Garcia’s term there were rumors of an impending coup de tat or impeachment The Macapagal Administration (1961-1965) Liberal Party Our first mission is the solution of the problem of corruption. We assume leadership at a time when our Nation is in the throes of a moral degeneration unprecedented in our national history. Our fourth mission is to launch a bold but well-formulated socio-economic program that shall place the country on the road to prosperity for all our people Post-War Politics and Economics 8 I strongly believe in placing the burden of economic development in the hands of private entrepreneurs with the least government interference while making the Government assume the full responsibility for implementing the social and public welfare program. — Inaugural address of His Excellency Diosdado Macapagal, December 30, 1961 He had a long term socio-economic program Macapagal’s plan was to stop trying to control business people, the government stops to try to tell them what to do The government should focus on the things that would help people grow National Development Program Implementing Agency (PIA) to oversee national economic development plan They have to be apolitical to have a less tendency for corruption Macapagal will appoint rich people because they already have money and will not rob Currency decontrol and peso devaluation benefited family business empire that were diversifying into new exports and industries; Macapagal promised to pursue tax evaders and corrupt businessmen had targeted the Lopezes; Only 3 out of 26 Macapagal’s reforms were passed in Congress Criticisms and Controversies “Conspicuous consumption” Policy implementation derailed by petty conflict Post-War Politics and Economics 9 Growing nepotism Dismissal of Justice Secretary Jose W. Diokno who investigated with American Businessman Harry Stonehill Diokno’s investigation was leading to Macapagal himself and Macapagal dismissed Diokno By the end of his term, Macapagal was more known for his corruption like Garcia Biopics were used as propaganda and for campaign Macapagal ended his term like Garcia — known more for the corruption permeating his administration than for his attempt to coordinate economic development (Abinales and Amoroso, 2017) Post-War Philippines: Critical Insights 1. Is Nationalism still relevant after independence? Support for Filipino businessmen When it comes to implementation, the growthy they are introducing in the economy was not inclusive 2. What was post-war democracy like? The system has already been rigged so bad that it’s hard to get something passed that is not approved by the landlords Filipinos just fight with themselves and voters do not have loyalty to these parties and it’s a fight between people and not between ideas and advocacies Debates over Filipino nationhood changed with independence. First, they shifted from dissatisfaction with American rule to criticism of military, economic, and cultural “neo-colonialism,” as manifested in US military bases, lopsided economic Post-War Politics and Economics 10 agreements, and the “Americanization” of Filipino culture and consciousness (Abinales and Amoroso 2017) Post-War Nationalism Articulated and manifested by the PKP and the nationalist senators Laurel and Recto; Post-war nationalism was met with disapproval and was associated with communism; However, it failed to quash nationalist resurgence in campuses and the “restablishment” of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Impacted Filipinos’ relations with “outsider groups” : Filipino-Chinese and Muslims Post-War Democracy Abandoned state centralization It was more about how do we build our local base in the local setting and not a strong centralized power Normalized switching parties Revived and strengthened patronage politics Characterized by growing executive-legislative conflicts Saw the growing influence of powerful families and landed elites Corruption and cronyism eventually led to public cynicism Post-War Politics and Economics 11