SHORTLY after the 2022 presidential elections, progressive thinkers underscored how the return of the Marcos dynasty to Malacañang – on the coattails of their nouveau riche allies from the South, the Dutertes – was the upshot of decades of festering economic inequality, dynastic politics, and unresponsive state institutions.
After all, even the most celebrated reformist presidents fell far short of delivering the fundamental promise of the Edsa People Power Revolution. If anything, the concentration of power in the hands of political dynasties intensified in the early 2010s, the same era that saw 40 richest families gobbling up three-fourths of newly created wealth in the country.
