Philippine colonial democracy

Philippine Colonial Democracyoffers a sobering assissment of the country's early experience with elections. Through four studies spanning a half century, the authors conclude that the Filipino's first formative experiece of democracy left a problematic legacy. In the late nineteenth century, Spanish manipulation of municipal elections encouraged bitter factional rivalries around the plazas. Despite its self-proclaimed altruism, the American attempt at tutelary democracy was marred by colonial controls that distorted the direction of emerging national institutions. By 1935, when Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon moved into Malacanang Palace, Philippine politics--already suffering entrenched corruption and ceaseless colonial interference--showed a tendency toward authoriatarianism. Clearly, the problems of modern Philippine democracy have their roots in the colonial period.