In this highly populated archipelago (110 million inhabitants in southeastern China), everyone calls it “Bongbong”. “Bongbong” is the nickname of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, 64, and namesake of his father who was ousted 36 years ago. With him, the Marcos are therefore back at the presidential palace of Malacanang in Manila. And back with drums and trumpets: from the 1st ballot, “Bongbong” won 56% of the vote, twice as much as her rival, Leni Robredo.
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“BongBong”, despite his nickname, is a pretty dull character. He shunned the pre-election debates. The boss, the diva even, is her mother, Imelda Marcos, 92, famous for her luxury tastes and her 3,000 pairs of shoes. But the Marcos are not just bling bling and anecdotes. During the 20 years of their previous rule (between 1965 and 1986), 70,000 people were killed or arbitrarily detained according to Amnesty International. Arrests and torture were commonplace. And the family clan stole billions of dollars from the coffers of the country for its personal enrichment before fleeing to Hawaii in 1986. “Bongbong” returned to the country a few years later. He never expressed any regret for the practices of his father’s regime. Far: he even praises his “political genius”.
This impressive success is the consequence of a curious nostalgia for the authoritarian regime of the Marcos, and also of a disavowal of the political class, seen as responsible for the economic stagnation of recent years. Above all, the Marcos clan has succeeded in recent months in deploying a veritable web of disinformation with colossal investments in televisions and even more so in social networks (TikTok in particular, omnipresent in the lives of Filipinos).
The Marcos gradually propagated a revision of history, equating the years of dictatorship with years of prosperity and cultivating the glamorous side of their family. On some videos, the wealth of the Marcos is even presented as an asset to redress the country, and no longer as proof of their corruption. Those under 35, addicted to social networks and who have never experienced dictatorship, have taken the bait.
And then there is a final parameter: the Marcos have made an agreement with another clan, the Dutertes, who have been in power for six years, six years marked by an ultra-violent fight against drugs. And there too it is a family story: the outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte did not have the right to represent himself. It is therefore his daughter Sara, who formed a ticket with Marcos Junior. She ran for vice president. The position was also put to the vote, a separate vote but in the same ballot the day before yesterday.
Result: same tidal wave. Sarah Duterte is 43 years old. Behind the scenes, she should play an important role. In particular, to ensure that his father is protected, while he is the subject of an international investigation, precisely for his murderous “war” on drugs. All this is not very reassuring about the state of democracy in a region of the world, Southeast Asia, where it is in bad shape.