Imelda Marcos on the Campaign Trail

When does the pornography of violence sweeten and remould political messages for public consumption? In a feature on the BBC, which provided a platform to air an example of astonishing guff, we have an apologia in motion, enriched by missives and observations about `beauty´ and `love´. The star of the show is Imelda Marcos, who does not believe that beauty is for `seduction´ or other `things´. The former First Lady of the Philippines, in full campaign swing for a Congressional seat in her country, argues that love is a maternal thing - nurturing and caring.

The latter was certainly in short supply when she was in power with her husband, Ferdinand Marcos, strongman of the Philippines for twenty years. It was a reign that saw a decade of martial law and a fair share of murders and human rights abuses to boot. Thrilled by his `macho´ manner and his generally `perfect´ disposition, Imelda, along with her husband, looted an impoverished country with fanatical resolve. Imelda herself accumulated those `beautifully made shoes´, bullet proof bras, vast quantities of perfume and a thousand handbags. A country previously on a reformist track was rapidly turned into a surrogate state of the US.

Her election platform has proven light on substance (she will happily talk to those she has pilfered from), but heavy with purpose: to bury her husband in a heroes´ cemetery and take the broom of history to clear out the negative impressions left by his time in office. `This is,´ she said on kissing the glass coffin retaining the body of her husband, `one of our major injustices´ (Guardian, Mar 26). In 1986, Ferdinand had to make a speedy exit and moved to Hawaii, where he died in exile.

To music used for her latest BBC interview crafted by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, `Here Lies Love´, from their musical by that name from 2006, Imelda is given ample room to transform her onerous vices into beneficial virtues. Were there `skeletons´ to be found in her closet when the authorities came after her? No. There were, instead, those beautiful shoes. That these amounted to thousands in a display rendered more obscene for the sheer poverty of the country, demonstrating the sheer bankruptcy of governance, is not an inconvenience. How did her husband behave when he declared martial law? With awe-inspiring wisdom, refusing to use `power´, which is a chamber full of bullets that must never be emptied, lest you loose the credibility to govern. Love evidently addles.

The historical revisionism (or just plain creativity) evident in this ghastly piece of promotion is remarkable. She offers a spectacular explanation as to why the Cold War ended. Not through the tug of war between the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his sparring party from the U.S., Ronald Reagan. Not the sheer exhaustion of ideas that drove a system to collapse. No, it was because China´s long term head of state Mao Zedong kissed her hand, the hand of a representative of `United States Jr.´ Respect - and love, yet again prove the great stupefacients.

The Philippines is a country of tragic electioneering and bombastic candidates, all promising an unattainable heaven. Marcos can simply append her name to the list. Another celebrity candidate in the elections is the boxer Manny Pacquiao. The spawn of the Marcos dynasty is also seeking to impress themselves upon the electoral landscape, with Imelda´s son Bong Bong seeking a senate seat, and daughter Imee, now is running for governor in Illocos Norte.

The title picked by Byrne and Fatboy Slim, and the epitaph that Imelda is seeking for herself on her tombstone is, without them knowing it, right. Here lies love indeed, and its cruel mendacity is overwhelming.

Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com

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