Monday, August 3, 2009

Corazon Aquino passed away this weekend


Tens of thousands of Filipinos lines the streets to bid farewell to the Phillippines' first female president, Corazon Aquino. Pres. Aquino passed away Saturday after a long battle with colon cancer. Mrs. Aquino came to power in 1986 following in the shoes of her slain husband, Benigno "Noy Noy" Aquino. Mrs. Aquino ran against dictator Ferdinand Marcos but lost amid voting irregularities and widespead cheating. A military coup then overthrew Marcos and sent him into exile, installing Aquino amongst widespread support from the Filipino population. The street demonstrations in which ordinary people formed a live blockade to protect the military mutineers and nuns knelt in front of tanks clutching the rosary began a wave of grassroots activism which spread across the globe; The Aquino-inspired uprising is credited as one of the inspirations behind the toppling of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communist isolation of East Germany, as well as serving as the model for other popular uprisings throughout Asia and the Soviet Union.


2 comments:

  1. I didn't know all of this. You all are really trying to be global with your posts. Immpressive.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am surprised to see you all covering this. This didn't make any of the other black blogs I read but I saw it on CNN. Pres. Aquino was well respected all over the world. My Filipino friends held a memorial mass for her today.

    ReplyDelete