Colonial Legacies

My two trips outside Europe this year have been to Mexico, in March, and to the Philippines, where I am now. Despite being on opposite sides of the world, the two countries have a similar feel about them. This has set me wondering whether the similar colonial legacies have had an enduring effect on this lands, since I have not felt the same impression from other South East Asian visits.

I should declare here that, even more than usual in this blog, I don’t really have much idea what I am blabbing on about. Though much travelled in Europe, I am pretty naïve outside of Europe. Most of my trips have been as a Shell visitor, pampered and shielded from reality. Even then, I have never been to Africa, except South Africa, and only once to Latin America, this year.

So what do I find here, and in Mexico, that might be from a colonial legacy? There are many factors, some of which might be symptoms, some deeper root causes.

First is the security. In Mexico, the police and army were everywhere, in the Philippines less so, yet in both places guns have been prevalent, and public places and private addresses are routinely guarded and fortified. Armed security guard must be one of the most readily available jobs in both places. It is intrusive, and a sad reflection on a society with great inequality and lack of trust in the official institution.

Next is the consumerism and its nature. Here, malls are everywhere, and local shops everywhere else. You are also bombarded with advertising. Top categories are food, health and beauty, mobile phones and car related. In Mexico it is the same. I find the emphasis on body enhancement rather sad. Most people have very little money, and that feels a rather wasteful way to spend it. Yet spend it they do, judging by the number of outlets and people buying. Sadly, I also see many pawnshops and debt management adverts.

The cars and transport is truly amazing. Here is a city of 12-24 million people, depending on how you count, with one highway quality road, just one or two over ground metro lines, and no trams or trains. No one seems to walk, maybe due to the heat and pollution as well as the dangerous walkways. There are a plethora of public buses, and cheap local transport in the form of little vans converted as a form of bus and tricycles. Yet many people still drive, and what cars they have! SUV’s abound, and the average age of cars seems low. The result is almost total gridlock. A few years ago, the government tried to ease congestion by banning each car one day per week based on its number plate. Most of the people I have met here got around that restriction by buying an extra car! Manila is worse than Mexico City, where at least the metro system appeared good, but the nightmare of transport is the same.

Inequality is staggering in both cities. Both have shanty areas and street life at the bottom, and every strata on the way up towards condo or hacienda life with multiple cars and servants. The plentiful malls in Manila seem designed to serve the separate classes, some full of exclusive brands and others feeling like bustling street markets.

Then we come to the politics. Both places boast democracy, but ones driven primarily by money. We look with distaste at Berlusconi’s Italy, but here the hostess of a popular chat show just happens to be the president’s niece. Money buys patronage and votes, and retention of privileges. True, individuals in both countries are incredibly generous, especially to their extended families and via Church charity, but the reality is that a car or a city flat are totally unaffordable from the salary from a decent starter job. Worse, education is the most stratified thing of all. Many kids get no schooling, free schools are woeful, and getting to college from anything but a fee paying school is next to impossible. Then jobs are advertised for graduates from the better colleges only (unless someone in the family can get you in).

I ask many people here the question why the Philippines has fallen so far behind its neighbours. I usually receive incomplete answers. Too many people, corrupt politicians, lack of infrastructure. Yet Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia have or had all these things too. It is not enough.

Which brings me to my theory about colonial legacy. Colonialism is always bad, but if you had it, perhaps some is worse than others. What priorities did British colonists have? Raping the raw materials of their colonies was one, hardly a laudable goal. But the result may have been a few well-run companies, and some institutions and infrastructure to back them up, including some public schooling. Over generations, that may have equipped the societies to thrive once the Brits had gone.

I expect the Dutch, and even the French, colonies received similar legacies. Apart from a greater focus on a more authentic religion, I’m not even sure the Spanish were that different. My theory is that the bigger driver in Latin America and the Philippines has been the de facto US colonisation since 1900.

Much of what I find distasteful in Mexico City and Manila is reminiscent of the least functional aspects of the US. No public transport. Intrusive security. Inequality. Money based politics. Broken institutions. Poor public education. For many generations, the US has got away with it, perhaps because the prescription suited their nation in their state of development. But exporting that system to developing pseudo colonies appears to have been an unmitigated disaster.

If you are a bit jaded with the European model and what used to be called social democracy I advise you to spend some time in Manila. As the many priests here advise, it will help you to count your blessings.

Next week, if I find a bit more free time on holiday, I’ll think about what a one-term manifesto for improving the Philippines might look like. As with many problems, this one is much easier to diagnose than to solve.