Modern Revolutions

2001 Edsa Revolution:

    -Mahek and Miwa-

   1.) What methods did the group(s) use to express their frustration and ultimately lead to a revolution?

The house of representatives filed an impeachment case against the president, Estrada. Two days after the impeachment trial new evidence came that Estrada had many secret bank accounts keeping a huge amount of money and so all his persecutors in the Estrada impeachment resigned.    

• At that day a crowd numbering to 100,000 was at EDSA. Next day the crowd’s number triples, demanding Estrada’s resignation. ·     
• Next day the military and the president split and the military joined the crowd. Estrada appears on television two times saying he would not resign. The crowd said that if he insisted on staying they will march to Malacañang and force him out by 6:00 am.  ·     
• Still Estrada refused to listen, and one third of the crowd marched to Malcañang and occupied Mendiola The supreme court decided that vice president Arroyo would become the president · 
•      A message was sent to the people from Estrada saying that the new president was Arroyo ·     
• The people rejoiced and Estrada was officially impeached and put under house arrest      

 

2.) How is your revolution similar and/or different to one of the revolutions previously studied?  

This revolution is very similar to the People Power revolution and very different from it at the same time. One thing that makes it similar to the People Power revolution is that they both were staged to overthrow corrupt leaders. However, Marcos, who the People Power revolution aimed to overthrow, was a self-appointed dictator, while Estrada, the man who the 2nd EDSA revolution aimed to overthrow, was an elected president. In fact, Congress had actually considered impeaching Joseph “Erap” Estrada without resorting to a revolution, but the people who voted to examine the evidence of Estrada’s corruption were outnumbered by one vote. Another similarity to the first People Power revolution is that they both took place at EDSA and both involved the military turning on the president and masses of people gathering at EDSA. A difference is that Estrada left Malacañang Palace with his family, smiling and waving at the reporters present to cover the event, and ’shaking hands and kissing babies.’ He was placed under house arrest, eventually restricted to his rest home in Tanay, Rizal. Marcos, on the other hand, left as a sad old man, but lived out the rest of his life as a free man in Hawaii. The last difference that will be mentioned is that the first People Power revolution was met with general approval, while the second EDSA revolution was seen by some as illegitimate and a ‘mob rule.’    

3.) What was the eventual outcome of the revolution and did the nation/people become better due to the revolution?

The eventual outcome of the revolution was to take out Estrada. The people didn’t become better due to the revolution since the country is still under poverty, the authorities are corrupt, and people still do not trust their leaders. Also, Estrada was just pardoned for his crimes.  

4.) Was the revolution justified? Would other methods have worked? 

The revolution was completely justified. Estrada had stolen millions from the country for his own personal expenses. Not only is this illegal, but it is morally reprehensible as well. The attempt to impeach Estrada by using Congress had not worked, so the people were forced to resort to gathering at EDSA, in hope that history would repeat itself. It was better than allowing Estrada to continue stealing from the country, and it was also better than resorting to violence. No other methods would have worked. Another justification for this revolution was that most of the population was in favor of it, aside from the few supporters Estrada had, most of whom only supported him because he used to be a film star or because they had some personal gain in Estrada continuing to be president.  

5.) Briefly state whether or not your revolution follows Crane Briton’s Stages of Revolution.  

This revolution follows Crane Briton’s Stages of Revolution very well. The population loudly expressed its anger at Estrada’s corrupt ways and several people deserted or distanced themselves from Estrada. This fits the first stage of revolution perfectly. Next came the rising fever. There were several rallies to oust Estrada and the senate voted on whether or not to examine Estrada. However, the result was in Estrada’s favor. The government was then overwhelmed by the anger of the population. Phase three, the crisis, came when Estrada was finally ousted by the people, who rallied at EDSA for his impeachment. The radicals were the people who rallied at EDSA and those opposed to Estrada. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in to be president. However, her position was fragile. There was an attempt to replace Estrada as president. The only way in which phase three did not apply was that the radicals weren’t beaten. Convalescence does not completely apply, because life hasn’t exactly been normal since the revolution. For instance, there have been quite a few coup attempts against Arroyo. However, the economy has improved since then - it went from almost sixty pesos to a dollar down to a little over forty pesos to a dollar. Overall, this revolution follows the Stages of Revolution quite well, except for a few small differences.  

Bibliography  “EDSA Revolution of 2001 .” Information and Much More from Answers.com. 30 Jan 2008 .  

“2001 EDSA Revolution Information.” BookRags. 30 Jan 2008 .  

“The Story of EDSA 2.” EDSA II Information Page. 05 Sep 2005. 30 Jan 2008 <"2001 EDSA Revolution Information." BookRags. 30 Jan 2008 . >.

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