Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. looks set to win the Philippines presidential election, according to the Associated Press. A win would mark the return of the Marcos family to power, more than three decades after being forced to flee the country amid a popular uprising following brutal, dictatorial rule.
The victory would also be the culmination of the family’s methodical work to rehabilitate its image. Bongbong Marcos’ namesake and father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., was president of the Philippines from 1965-1986, and TIME covered the rise and fall of the family’s rule over the country over two decades.
Read more: A Dictator’s Son Rewrites History on TikTok in His Bid to Become the Philippines’ Next President
When the elder Marcos was elected in December 1965, after 48 years of American occupation and two decades of independence, TIME called the Philippines “Asia’s freest democracy” and profiled the leader about a year into the job in the Oct. 21, 1966, issue.
“As the sixth President of the Philippine Republic, Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, 49, has been in office only ten months, but in that time he has taken significant steps toward providing the Philippines with the dynamic, selfless leadership it needs to cope with the Southeast Asian burdens of poverty, lawlessness, Communist insurgency and—most important—the quest for national identity after centuries of colonial occupation,” TIME reported. “With his unmatched war record, his dazzling political success, and his stern insistence on an Asian solution to Asian problems, Marcos—with luck—could meet that need. ‘It’s all there,’ says a Washington admirer. Whether the full potential is ever realized depends on Marcos.”
The glowing accolades proved misplaced, however. Marcos’ tenure eventually…
Source : time
