The Emergence of One Elite Rule

Are we ready for another authoritarian rule? Yes, and we are helpless about it and will just succumb to this without bloodshed. Let me tell you why.

First, the forces of conservative politics or what I call the "political elite pushers" are stronger now than the forces of change agents. Simply, if there will be a direct clash between those who want change and those who want the status quo, obviously, the battle will be short-lived and would definitely favor the political elite. This imbalance of power stems from the inability of the movement for change to recruit new faces. There simply are fewer places to mold or cultivate new leaders right now, what with the slowly changing student movement in UP and other places. Worst, the movement is not adequately addressing the problem of leadership succession since the irony of the "Movement" for "change" is simply, it is anemic to internal changes especially when it comes to replacing the old guards with new ones. For many years, we have seen no new faces; only those old, tired bodies leading the charge using old, worn-out slogans.

On the conservative political front, they neither have problems on new leadership nor suffer from succession. Quite simply, the forces of conservatism are being bolstered by the emergence of the scions of the political elite who position themselves as change agents but, are, in truth and in fact, belong to the same, old dirty mold as their fathers and their mothers were. But, being inbued by youth, people see them in a totally agreeable light, blinded by the sparkle of their political pedigree.

This apparent weakness of the opposition stems from the lack of audacity and creativity coming from those who hold the reins of leadership within the movement. The lack of a unified front to fight the forces of conservatism places the entire country into perilous waters. If push comes to shove, the Filipino people do not have a strong, credible and creative force that would hinder or even defeat this gigantuan push of conservatism to effectively plant the seeds of one-man rule.

I shudder to admit it, but the Movement is now at its weakest since the failed attempts which began in 2005. It has been weakened by internal dissension, the lack of a collective agreement on post-Gloria matters, the lack of a definitive ideology that would guide the movement into a collective force and plain and simple, streaks of bad luck due to misapplication of strategies, misappreciation of the political terrain and weather and, finances.

Second, I hate to admit it, but discussions against charter change are being weakened by disparate voices coming ironically from those who oppose it. The very ones who oppose charter change are actually the ones helping this administration justify the imposition of cha-cha. Ask those senators who "oppose cha-cha" and you'll find that, indeed, they support it, but they just want to reserve it for the meantime since it's just one and half years before Gloria steps down. Others, well, they simply oppose cha-cha because of the prospect of term extension.

Third, in desperate times, people always, by nature, want to cling to something less benign and subtly devilish, but perceived as "sublime". Talks about "gringoism", " caudilloism" and "extra-constitutionalism" are spreading, creating a veritable first perception on dissent. Constant and consistent talks centering on this creates a psycho-linguistic backlash that could, indeed, prep up the citizenry to support authoritarianism. News on rising criminality, the prospect of war, state terrorism, lack of peace and order are communicative means aimed at the formation of one sociological world-view---the need for order coming from a unified power.

Lastly, the fluidity of the political situation favors the sudden entry of a "third force" positioning themselves as change agents. As I predicted a couple of entries back, both the traditional conservative forces and the old traditional leftist groups are cancelling themselves out. What is emerging is a third force that combines the good elements of Leftist ideology and the strong conservative pull of societal forces. This third force may be composed of old fogeys of the existing dispensation, just hiding their real dark selves behind the cloak of constitutionalism. What has been created are neo, mini Marcoses who adapted in the ultra liberal political environment and want to concentrate power just among themselves, along with control of resources.

Eventually, even without a coup or charter change, we are actually witnessing our country entering into the banana republic mode just by condoning these constitutional actions of a few pseudo and would-be Marcoses.