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Research Article

‘People Power’ and Middle Classes in the Philippines: Searching for Dynamics of ‘Changeless’ Society

Min Jung Kim

Sogang Institute for East Asian Studies, Sogang University

Published: February 2005 · Vol. 24 No. 1 · pp. 59-99
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Abstract

This article examines characters and roles of the middle classes in the Philippines, which have been reported as leading parts of Philippine  People Power,  and seeks to understand the changing dimensions of the Philippine society, which has been defined as changeless land  for a long time. The  People Power 2  that forced President Estrada to step down in 2001 has been commonly described as the bloodless revolution led by the middle classes, following the model set up by the People Power 1 of 1986. However, there have been unnoticed changes during the past 15 years. In 2001, for example, civil society played a major role that the church did in 1986, young generations participated more actively, and new communication technology took a critical part. The ironic part of the second People Power is that it has been interpreted as a confirming sign of the Philippine societies changeless -ness because it repeated the first incidence without any significant results. Nonetheless, the People power 2 reflects the existence of the middle classes that have been growing and diversified, and the main slogans of the movement also have more concrete and substantial contents than in 1986. In the meantime, pro-Estrada demonstrators, mainly from the poor classes, modeled the middle classes of People Power 2, expressing their rage against the social conditions that they regarded as leaving them behind in the process of development. Therefore, I argue that the growth and diversity of the middle classes have deepened the gap between the classes and thus, furthered the class conflict, which ultimately can be understood as having reproduced People Power in the Philippines. It may indeed signal the dynamics of social change in the Philippines.
Keywords: The PhilippinesMiddle ClassesPeople PowerEstradaMass MovementClass DifferentiationPolitical CultureSocial ChangeCivil Society.