Political struggle in Thailand

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/thailand-protesters-swarm-telecommunications-agencies/article5408000.ece

[Hrafn]

I was under the impression the protesters are conservatives?

[Sasha]

Its the urban middle class vs the rural poor, both are just being used by different factions of the bourgeoisie, its pretty much the same as what is happening in the Ukraine at the moment.

[cyu]

http://politicalblindspot.com/police-in-thailand-lay-down-vests-and-barricades-in-solidarity-with-protestors/

http://politicalblindspot.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/1471352_461773820599689_1809497943_n.jpg

riot police yielded to protesters they were ordered to harass. police removing barricades and helmets as a sign of solidarity.

protesters goal is to destroy the political machine of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is accused of widespread corruption and abuse of power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaksin_Shinawatra

Thaksin's government designed its policies to appeal to the rural majority, initiating programs like village-managed microcredit development funds, low-interest agricultural loans, direct injections of cash into village development funds, infrastructure development

Thaksin's economic policies helped Thailand recover from the 1997 Asian financial crisis and substantially reduce poverty. Thailand repaid its debts to the International Monetary Fund two years ahead of schedule.

Nationwide poverty fell from 21.3% to 11.3%. Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, fell from .525 in 2000 to .499 in 2004. Foreign exchange reserves doubled from US$30 billion in 2001 to US$64 billion in 2006.

Critics say Thaksinomics is little more than a Keynesian-style economic stimulus policy re-branded.

After the 2006 coup, many of Thaksin's economic policies were ended

Thaksin initiated two key healthcare policies: subsidized universal health care and low-cost universal access to anti-retroviral HIV medication (ARVs). Prior to the program's introduction, a large portion of the population had no health insurance and only limited access to healthcare. The program helped increase access to healthcare from 76% of the population to 96%.

the number of people living with HIV/AIDS as well as the overall prevalence rate noticeably declined. Thaksin allowed the estimated 2.3 million migrant workers in Thailand to register and seek health coverage under the Thai national healthcare system. They were also eligible for work permits at the end of the registration period, entitling them to full labor protection.

[ckaihatsu]

Protesters bring Bangkok to a standstill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmWe_MnH1a8


Investors balk as Bangkok shutdown looms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuiapqtIX0Y

[ckaihatsu]

Thai stability hangs in the balance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMvB60YHO1g


Breakingviews - Will Thai central bank ride to the rescue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-yAi11q6CU


Wealth Strategies - Opportunities lurk in troubled Thailand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1GrSyn7xoc


FACTBOX - Strife set to dent 'Detroit of the East'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOOcGnC4Zow

[Mather]

I was under the impression the protesters are conservatives?

The anti-government protestors (known as the Yellow Shirts) are not just any old conservatives (in the European or American sense) but anti-democratic ultra-conservatives who are fanatically royalist.

They wish to have an unelected government installed and have the constitution changed so that 70% of the Thai parliament will be unelected and reserved for the Thai elite. Their rationale for this is that working class and rural poor voters keep electing governments that give them 'handouts' such as healthcare, housing and education. Since the poor only vote for policies that benefit them and are thus 'greedy' they should no longer have the right to vote. It is an argument that been put forward by some reactionary libertarians such as Hans-Hermann Hoppe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Hermann_Hoppe) and it is a thoroughly reactionary and anti-working class position.

Not that the current government is any good either and as another poster has said, the situation in Thailand is similar to the current crisis in the Ukraine in that neither side has anything to offer the working class.