A dictator's son runs for Philippines president in a bid to revive his family's power
History could come full circle in the Philippines next month.
Decades after dictator Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in a popular uprising that laid bare the brutality and sweeping corruption of his regime, his son is poised to revive the family's political fortunes in next month's presidential elections.
In the race to replace outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, the latest polling shows that the 64-year-old Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is maintaining a significant, if slightly receding, lead. While Duterte, 77, cannot by law seek reelection, his daughter is running for vice president alongside Marcos.
But the prospect of a Marcos restoration inflames passions. Supporters see vindication, and opponents see an assault on the country's fragile democracy.
The elder Marcos was "capable, brilliant, cunning, utterly rapacious," says historian Joseph Scalice. However, "what lingers in popular memory is corruption and theft," he says. "But in the end, the Marcos administration — its military rule — was brutal."
