Leftist wind, when will thou blow
PCIJ has a a story on former leftist activists turned campaign operatives. The story notes that former leftist activists are now in positions of influence as political operatives in presidential campaigns.

There are 300,000 elective positions in the country. Surely, there are candidates or organizations out there that would need a political operative or an organizer. And some of us soon realized that it is far easier to run an electoral campaign than it is to bring down a government or to win a revolution.

Former leftists/leftists are in positions of influence now, it is true, but the Left remains within the margins of political power. Former cadres may be campaigning now, but not for their own candidacies and certainly not with leftist platform.

This got me to thinking why has it proven so hard for leftists to win Philippine elections? Former leftists win, alright (Nani Braganza, Mike Defensor); but current leftists do not. Do Filipinos find the political Left repulsive and out-of-synch with the interests of the people? When will we have our Lula? When will we hear vitriolic diatribes against our elite democracy from the balcony of Malacanang?

I don't know if this may be a harbinger, but South America is turning left. The elites in Venezuela are trying to fight it with all their might, but Chavez seems to be staying for good. Lula is popularly ensconced in Brazil and giving the WTO a headache. In Europe, the Spanish Socialist Workers Party unceremoniously defeated the Bush-identified government. The conservative Pope in Rome is ailing. Italy is just about waiting for Berlusconi to fall. The Washington consensus is showing signs of regime fatigue. Will the leftist wind ever reach the Philippine shores?