Duterte elected in the Philippines

[Jacob]

Apparently he's calling for extra-judicial killings to start immediately - inside prisons, targetting"corrupt journalists", targetting top ranking military officers, and anyone else who is bad. He is also, apparently is planning on rewriting the constitution.

Languishites, how is this going to go? As bad as Venezuela? More like Turkey? Its own very special fucked scenario?

[Sheilbh]

When I was on holiday I got chatting to a Filipino guy who was a big supporter of him. Said he was who the common people wanted to win.

Me: That's nice....very warm isn't it?

[jimmy olsen]

I'm ignored

http://languish.org/forums/index.php/topic,13946.msg975179.html#msg975179

Seems like it will go pear shaped even faster than Venezuela. Chavez had tons of oil in a time of high prices to prop up the economy, and he mostly imprisoned people. He didn't bust out roving death squads immediately.

[Monoriu]

The Philippines is only an hour's flight from Hong Kong.  It is actually very near.  I grew up with a Filipino maid living in my flat.  More than a hundred thousand Filipino maids are in Hong Kong and they camp in Central every Sunday.  There are entire malls dedicated to serving their needs.  But I have never been there, and have no intention to do so.  All of my previous interactions with the place and the people don't leave me with a good impression. 

Indonesia has announced that they will cease exporting maids.  No idea how that will turn out.  But this news from the Philippines likely means exporting maids will continue to be one of their most important businesses in the forseeable future.  The difference between Flilipino and Indonesian maids is that the former are usually more highly educated, speak English, but suck at cooking and are less hardworking.  Indonesian maids speak Cantonese (they specifically learn the dialect for the job), are better at cooking and cleaning, but are Muslims (Filipinos tend to be Catholics).  The reason religion matters is because many Indonesian maids refuse to cook pork, which is commonly found in Chinese cuisine. 

[derspiess]

They'll be okay.

[jimmy olsen]

They'll be okay.

Just like Venezuela's okay?

[derspiess]

They'll be okay.

Just like Venezuela's okay?

I never said Venezuela would be okay.  I predicted way back when Chavez took power that they'd turn into a shithole.

[The Minsky Moment]

Deng and Pinochet both taught us that it is possible to murder your own citizens as a matter of policy and still have the economy grow at 10%.  It that sense derspiess may be right.

[The Brain]

Will he champion the systematic use of torture like a POTUS? Sorry, I mean Enhanced Torture Techniques.

[Monoriu]

I distinctly remember there was a time when the Philippines had a coup like every 18 months.  Or less.  They seem to have fixed that. 

[Admiral Yi]

I distinctly remember there was a time when the Philippines had a coup like every 18 months.  Or less.  They seem to have fixed that.

I only remember one coup attempt after Marcos was ousted, thwarted at least in part by US Phantoms buzzing the barracks.

[Monoriu]

I distinctly remember there was a time when the Philippines had a coup like every 18 months.  Or less.  They seem to have fixed that.

I only remember one coup attempt after Marcos was ousted, thwarted at least in part by US Phantoms buzzing the barracks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986%E2%80%9390_Philippine_coup_attempts

Wiki says 6 coup attempts between 1986-87.  2 attempts in 1989, 2 attempts in 1990, 2 in 2001, 1 in 2003, 1 in 2006, and 1 in 2007.  Because so many HK families have Filipino maids, there are so many Filipinos in HK, and so many HKers go there for vacation (it is nearby and cheap), the coup attempts receive wide coverage in HK. 

[jimmy olsen]

They'll be okay.

Just like Venezuela's okay?

I never said Venezuela would be okay.  I predicted way back when Chavez took power that they'd turn into a shithole.

Then what's the difference?

[alfred russel]

I think there is a lot less danger from non ideological blowhard demagogues like Duterte and Trump than ideological ones with deep movements behind them. Duterte's power base is based on people believing he is effective. He takes no prisoners and gets things done. So once he fails to get things done, he is going to have a problem.

Ideological movements like the "Bolivarian Revolution" tap into the right vs. left polarization that already exists. Sure they will also suffer from ineffectiveness, but there will still be ideological true believers, and those who believe the other side is worse, which combined with the power of the state can be enough to hold on a bit longer.

[Sheilbh]

I'm not sure that works. I mean I think Putin and Erdogan broadly fall into that category and in both cases they've distracted domestic issues into foreign policy with damaging results.

Do you really want a failing tough man whipping up the crowds about, say, South China Sea islands? It seems like the Pacific rim is the last place - except the US - we need that sort of leadership.