Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

After the defeat of the Huk's revolutionary struggle in the Philippines, progressive politics focused on the moderate nationalism of Claro M. Recto. However, in the late 1960s, with a new wave of youth radicalization, communist groups took back the political initiative, before they split sharply over the Sino-Soviet conflict. In the 1950s a moderate, unstructured, nationalist movement formed around the lawyer Carlo M. Recto and progressively radicalized. He introduced a critical vision of the subordination of the Philippines vis-à-vis the United States beyond the groups traditionally influenced by the left. He adopted the theme cherished by Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru – “Asia for the Asians” – identifying internationally with the non-aligned camp. Recto entered into conflict with the Catholic Church when he urged that the works of Jose Rizal (which contained attacks against the friars) be part of the compulsory syllabus of universities and colleges. In a time of repression, Recto helped create a space within which social resistance could be expressed. Nevertheless, radical unions such as the Congress of Labor Organizations (CLO) suffered when conditions were created to favor a unionism of class collaboration with the adoption of the Minimum Wage Act in 1951, the Industrial Peace Act in 1954, and procedures of collective bargaining centered on enterprise. A Jesuit, ... log in or subscribe to read full text