The Philippines Left: Political Crises and Social Change
By Ben Reid
JCAP, Manila, 2000
Order through Resistance bookshops (see page 2) or at <http://www.dsp.org.au/rb/rb.htm>
REVIEW BY NICK SOUDAKOFF
The history of the revolutionary movement in the Philippines is rich and often inspiring. It includes the Katipunan revolution of 1896-8 against the Spanish colonial regime, the Huk rebellion of 1948-53 led by the Partido Kommunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) and the meteoric rise of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in the 1970s and the 1980s.
In its heyday, the CPP had tens of thousands of cadre in rural and urban organising units and some 25,000 armed combatants. It was one of the most successful Maoist parties to emerge during the 1960s and became a major force in Philippines' politics. It was one of the key leading bodies in the 1980s struggle against the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.
The political landscape of the left in the Philippines is different today. A "new left" has emerged from the splits in the CPP.
Understanding the CPP's growth, decline and fragmentation is crucial for comprehending the debates and perspectives of the "post-CPP" left in the Philippines.
Ben Reid's The Philippines Left: Political Crises and Social Change is an invaluable resource. It looks at the history of the CPP, its internal debates and subsequent splits and the political outlook of the different tendencies that have emerged.
Having surveyed the history of the left, Reid steps back and analyses the transition to capitalism in the Philippines and its impact on the social and political movements. It places the political challenges facing the new left parties and groups in the Philippines in context.
Maoism and the CPP
The CPP was formed by Jose Maria Sison out of a split from the pro-Moscow PKP in 1968. Sison was the leader of the PKP's youth wing during the mass youth revolt against the Vietnam War. From its formation the CPP has held to the Maoist schema of revolution led by a rural guerilla army waging a "protracted people's war", eventually culminating in the urban centres being surrounded and then seized.
This strategy is based on the premise that the Philippines is a "semi-feudal" and "semi-colonial" society dominated by US imperialism, hence the peasantry is the decisive social force in the national democratic revolution.
Reid examines the rapid growth of the CPP in 1970s and the debates between the party's regional committees and the central leadership around tactics and strategy.
In particular, he discusses the debate over the Manila-Rizal Regional Committee's (MRRC) involvement in, contrary to Maoist schema, the militant industrial campaigns that erupted in 1975 and the urban poor or "squatters" protest movements. This culminated in a dispute around participation in the 1978 election. The MRRC was involved in a pro-democracy electoral alliance and used the campaign to organise and mobilise working people in the region. The Sison leadership condemned this as "right opportunism" and said it was a distraction from the armed struggle.
The CPP continued to grow and in the early 1980s was in a strong position to play a leading role in the mass popular upsurge against the Marcos dictatorship that erupted in 1983. The upsurge began with the massive economic crises of 1982. The spark that ignited the political crisis was the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, a popular opposition figure. Mass organisations associated with the CPP's National Democratic Front swelled and its armed wing, the New People's Army, consolidated numerous fronts throughout the Philippines.
However, the CPP schema that the dictatorship could only be overthrown via a war in the countryside was bypassed by the events of 1986. Marcos called a snap election. The CPP central leadership called a boycott. This allowed the bourgeois opposition, led by Cory Aquino, to take the initiative and mobilise the mass opposition to the dictator.
After polling, Aquino and Marcos both declared victory. In response to the stalemate, a section of the military sided with Aquino and some 2 million people occupied the EDSA highway to stop troops loyal to Marcos crushing the pro-Aquino mutiny.
Following these events, massive debates erupted within the CPP and the correctness of Maoist strategies and tactics were questioned. This culminated in the central committee adoption of a document entitled "Reaffirm our basic principles and rectify our errors" in 1992. The document was an attempt to firmly reassert Maoist doctrines. It was the catalyst for a series of splits by regional party units and national departments.
'Rent capitalism'
Reid undertakes a Marxist analysis of the development and contradictions of capitalism in the Philippines, comparing its development with Korea's transition to capitalism. He argues that while industrialisation has been stunted by the political predominance of land-owning classes, nevertheless there has been a shift to urbanisation and a growth in the working class. It was these social and economic changes that undermined the basis for a successful protracted people's war strategy.
The contradiction of the development of capitalism in the Philippines is that it has not resulted in substantial industrial accumulation. Reid states that the "appropriation of surplus value was centred on market production, with petty commodity production and wage labour as the main forms of labour. A significant land-owning class, however remained and extracted rents through tenant and leasehold relations, especially in rice and corn growing areas. 'Rural bias' therefore remained a substantial factor inhibiting industrial accumulation." Reid calls this "rent capitalism".
This contradictory character of Philippines capitalism explains the initial popularity and eventual crisis of Sison's "semi-feudal, semi-colonial" and protracted people's war theses.
Within the CPP, the forms of struggle developed to deal with social reality by some regional party units and the central leadership's orthodox Maoist shibboleths came into conflict and resulted in open polemics and factional struggles.
Potential
Reid argues that despite the fragmentation of the CPP, there remains the real potential for achieving political and social change in the Philippines. The ruling class is unable to resolve the very real and immediate contradictions of rent capitalism.
The new left parties in the Philippines that correctly analyse the stage of capitalism the country has reached, and develop strategy and tactics accordingly, will be best placed to lead the social layers being drawn into struggle.
For example, the Sosyalistang Partido ng Paggawa (Socialist Party of Labour) has made a clear break from previous Maoist political and organisational schemas.
Reid's book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand and appreciate the developments on the left and in the social struggles in the Philippines. It is also essential reading for anyone keen to deepen their understanding of the Marxist analysis of society, social struggle and social change.