Marcos Was More Than Just Another Deposed Dictator - tribunedigital-chicagotribune
Marcos Was More Than Just Another Deposed Dictator
September 29, 1989|By Joseph A. Reaves.
Ferdinand Edralin Marcos began his political life as a convicted murderer and ended it branded the world`s biggest thief. But in between he achieved power unmatched by anyone in his native Philippines.
When he died a broken man in exile in Hawaii Thursday, it was easy to dismiss Mr. Marcos, 72, as just another Third World strongman who richly deserved his comeuppance. He was far more than that.
Like all notable figures of history, Mr. Marcos evoked either contempt or devotion. Passion was the norm, indifference impossible.
His followers would, and did, give their lives to keep him in power. His enemies would, and did, die to topple him.
Mr. Marcos ruled the Philippines for 20 years-longer than all five of his predecessors combined after the country gained independence from the U.S. in 1946.
The fact that the Philippine constitution limited a president`s tenure to two consecutive four-year terms never hampered the ambitious Mr. Marcos. He won election twice, then declared martial law and rewrote the constitution to meet his needs.
During a decade of martial law, Mr. Marcos imprisoned thousands of political enemies, stifled the most aggressive media in Southeast Asia and enriched himself and a coterie of friends by simply taking over the nation`s most profitable businesses.
Such actions are common among despots of the world. What set Mr. Marcos apart-what made him historic at home and abroad-was the political acumen he displayed time and again in explaining away his sins.
Mr. Marcos managed to rule his country as a dictator, yet he was hailed by none other than George Bush, a future president of the United States, as a champion of democratic principles.
He managed to systematically steal billions of dollars, yet still somehow portrayed himself as the benevolent spokesman of an impoverished people.
He imposed martial law on freedom-loving people and, at least for a while, convinced them he had done it for their own good.
An early indication of the gap between the perceived Marcos and the real Marcos came in 1966 when Time magazine put the new president on its cover and hailed his ``dynamic, selfless leadership.``
Twenty years later, Time was one of a long list of prominent publications and political observers admitting that ``Marcos the Magnificent`` had taken them in.
In truth, Mr. Marcos changed little during his years in power. It was Filipinos` and the world`s understanding of him that changed.
Mr. Marcos married Imelda, a member of the politically prominent Romualdez family, in 1954 when he was a congressman. She had just completed her reign as Miss Manila of 1953 and was working in a bank.
After Mr. Marcos won his first presidential term, the new first lady began a series of projects to beautify Manila and promote Philippine culture. But she drew more attention for her free-spending ways and extravagant parties with jet-set friends, the pace of which increased after martial law was declared in the 1970s.
Mr. Marcos made his wife the governor of metropolitan Manila, a position from which she wielded political power that was second only to his. But her legendary shopping sprees-she reportedly spent $3 million in one day on jewelry and antiques-did not always sit well among residents of the impoverished nation.
The resentment over the couple`s lavish lifestyle was evident after Mr. Marcos was deposed in 1986 and the new Philippine government invited the poor into Malacanang Palace to view some of the possessions left behind when the Marcoses fled. The display included nearly 3,000 pairs of Imelda`s shoes, quart bottles of expensive perfume and jewels the size of cherry tomatoes.
Mr. Marcos had let it be known from his earliest days that his ambition was boundless and that he had the intelligence, cunning and determination to fuel his drive.
In 1949, during his first campaign for Congress, Mr. Marcos spelled out his ambitions to voters in his native province of Ilocos Norte:
``If you are electing me just to get my services for the pittance of 7,500 pesos a year, don`t vote for me at all,`` he shouted. ``This is only a first step. Elect me a congressman now, and I pledge you an Ilocano president in 20 years.``
Mr. Marcos won that election, as he did-by hook or by crook-every election he ever ran in. He became president just 16 years after his first congressional race.
But Mr. Marcos almost didn`t get the chance to enter public life.
He was a promising law student at the University of the Philippines in 1939 when he was arrested and charged with the murder, four years earlier, of a candidate who had defeated and embarrassed his father in an election.
The candidate, Julio Nalundasan, was shot to death with a single bullet from a competition pistol fired through a window of his home. On the day of the killing, Nalundasan`s followers had celebrated their victory over Mr. Marcos` father by hauling around a coffin with the Marcos name scrawled across the lid.