Kinship politics in postwar Philippines: The Lopez family, 1945-1989.

Abstract

The dissertation argued that a conflict occurred between Filipino cultural values which emphasized family solidarity and loyalty to the family above all else (what the dissertation termed kinship politics or politica de familia, and western values which stressed loyalty to the nation-state above that of the family. It contended that such an unresolved tension between both sets of values explained the recurring 'cycles' in Philippine post-war history wherein each political administration was voted out of office because of charges of graft and corruption, only to be replaced by a regime riddled with equal culpability. Filipino family values motivated elite families to behave according to the precepts of kinship politics; that is, utilizing political power in order to build a family business empire, while western values inculcated throughout colonial rule compelled others to castigate these families for behavior against the national interest. The dissertation looked at three eras: the republic period--1945-1972, the martial law period, 1972-1986, and the Aquino period, 1986-89. It was argued that the Marcos years (1972-1986) were the classic example of kinship politics in its purest form as one family alliance only--the Marcos family--controlled the state end owned most of the country's major corporations. Empirical evidence to support this hypothesis was provided through a case study of one of the most prominent families in post-war Philippines--the Lopez family. The sources used for the study included periodicals and newspapers (particularly those owned by the family as instruments for carrying out politica de familia), presidential papers, documents of the Securities and Exchange Commission, court cases, the annual reports of family corporations and records from the Central Bank, personal family documents and scrapbooks, personal accounts and books authored by the family members (Marcos, Lopez), their allies, and their critics, and most important, around two hundred hours of interviews with family members, allies, critics, and other rival families.