Aquino, Corazon

former philippine president1933–

Maria Corazon Cojuangco Aquino (b. 1933) was the first female president of the Republic of the Philippines. Better known simply as Cory, she was responsible for galvanizing political opposition to the dictatorial rule of Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989). She gained renown as one of the cardinal leaders of the 1986 "People Power Revolution": a nonviolent civilian-military uprising that overthrew the authoritarian regime. Her courageous stance and moral leadership also led to the rise of women leaders in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world.

Aquino was born on January 25, 1933; her parents hailed from two of the richest and most politically powerful families in the Philippines: the Sumulongs and the Cojuangcos. She belonged to the clans that controlled the largest agricultural properties in the provinces of Tarlac and Rizal. Her father was a congressman and both her grandfathers had served as senators.

Aquino received excellent academic training. She completed her secondary education at the Raven Hill Academy in Philadelphia and the Notre Dame School in New York City. In 1953 she received her B.A. from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York, where she majored in both French and mathematics.

Despite her background, Aquino was very disinterested in politics. Her marriage to Benigno Aquino, Jr. (1932–1983), however, ensured that politics would come to play a central role in her life. Her husband was later elected senator and became President Marcos's main political adversary . On August 21, 1983, Senator Aquino was assassinated, an event that would trigger widespread condemnation of Marcos's despotic rule. In Cory Aquino's words, "tyranny had sowed a bullet and reaped a revolution" (White 1989, p. 187).

On February 7, 1986, Aquino battled Marcos in one of the most violent presidential elections in Philippine history. A power vacuum would ensue as the Commission of Elections and its watchdog organization produced conflicting tabulations. Eventually, the "People Power Revolution" would vanquish the dictatorship. "Behind her standard," commented authors Reid and Guerrero in a 1995 book, "Filipinos rediscovered their courage."

Aquino subsequently authorized the crafting of a new constitution that restored the fundamental freedoms of the Filipino people and its democratic institutions. However, her conservative positions and political inexperience prevented her from introducing critical socioeconomic reforms. Seven attempted military coups destabilized her leadership; the most violent one in 1989 nearly toppled it. In 1992 Aquino presided over a peaceful transfer of power to Fidel V. Ramos (b. 1928). By 2004 she had retired from electoral politics, but she continued to play an active role in efforts to establish good governance in the Philippines. She has devoted most of her time to serving as the chairperson of the Benigno Aquino Jr. Foundation and as an advisor to the Metrobank Foundation. Both organizations provide academic scholarships to poor but deserving students and logistical support to non-governmental organizations working on local community development.

Aquino has received numerous awards in recognition of her contributions to democracy and the empowerment of women. She has been awarded the Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award, the United Nations Silver Medal, the Canadian International Prize for Freedom, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding (Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize). She has also received honorary doctorates from various institutions, including the Ateneo

de Manila University in the Philippines, Boston University and Fordham University in the United States, and Waseda University in Japan. Aquino's stern adherence to nonviolent opposition, in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968), would strongly influence the tactics of democratic movements in Eastern Europe, Indonesia, and China.

See also: Gandhi, Mahatma; King Jr., Martin Luther; Philippines.

bibliography

Harris, Kenneth. "Cory Aquino: Gender, Class, and the People Power." In Women in World Politics: An Introduction, ed. Francine D'Amico and Peter Beckman. Westport, CT: Bergin and Garvey, 1995.

Komisar, Lucy. Corazon Aquino: The Story of a Revolution. New York: George Braziller, 1987.

Reid, Robert and Eileen Guerrero. Corazon Aquino and the Brushfire Revolution. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995.

Roces, Mina. Women, Power and Kinship Politics: Female Power in Post-War Philippines. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998.

Santiago, Angela Stuart. 1986: Chronology of a Revolution. Manila: Foundation for Worldwide People Power, 1995.

White, Mel. 1989. Aquino. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1989.

Rodelio Cruz Manacsa