Word: arroyo
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...There's no single mastermind trying to bring down Arroyo. Rather, there are sundry groups arrayed against her: retired military men, loyalists of her predecessor Joseph Estrada (whose overthrow in a People Power demonstration in 2001 gave Arroyo the presidency), leftist organizations rallying the aggrieved poor in regular protests that denounce the government as pro-rich. But street demos are just one tactic to topple Arroyo. The strategy?according to foes of Arroyo as well as palace insiders?is to first discredit the 58-year-old former economics professor in order to turn popular opinion against her. The Senate...
...exactly. You can't swing a rosary in Manila nowadays without snaring a self-professed "destabilizer": someone trying to undermine the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Or an accuser charging the government with some malfeasance, or a Senator or Congressman calling for Arroyo to quit, or a prophet forecasting "major change"?meaning a complete overhaul of the Philippine political system. The press is certainly looking for them, and writing up breathless copy even when they don't quite fit the bill. Eugenia Apostol, publisher of the new Mr. & Ms., did some television interviews at the relaunch soir?e and was asked...
...ever the Philippines needed some holistic healing tips, it's now. Arroyo says there's a conspiracy to bring her down. She said in a speech last week that "those who plot against the government in this time of clear danger ... are no better than economic saboteurs. They have nothing good to contribute to our country but bring [misery] for one and all." It's not just one plot, however. There are countless being hatched, some surreptitious, others gleefully open, and not a few that are trial balloons filled with nothing but gas. That has spawned a host of wild...
...course, the strategy may not work. The people might not be roused. Arroyo's popularity rating is at a historic low: polling organization Social Weather Survey in May found 59% of Filipinos were dissatisfied with her performance and only 26% satisfied. But Arroyo has no obvious successor. When Filipinos took to the streets in February 1986, they were rebelling against Marcos?but they were also elevating Corazon Aquino, who had been cheated in a snap presidential election earlier in the same month. In 2001, the People Power movement knew who would replace Estrada (he had narrowly avoided being removed from...
...Arroyo's enemies say they are no longer content just to see her step down. If she did so, her Vice President and party colleague Noli de Castro, a former news broadcaster new to public office, would become President. But that would not bring the sort of change those opposed to Arroyo want to see. That may be why there's so much talk of revolution and a new political structure for the Philippines: a national governing council, a civilian junta, or a strongman general and a politician ruling in tandem. When Arroyo goes, her enemies say, the country...