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“The interests of the peasants and landowning politicians can never be reconciled,” says one activist.
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January 22, 2021
Protesters reenact the 1987 Mendiola Massacre during a rally on Jan. 22, 2021 in Manila, Philippines. Protesters also accused the government of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of responsibility for the recent killings of peasants.
Credit: AP Photo/Aaron Favila
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Thirty-four years ago today, Rafael Mariano was marching towards the presidential palace in Manila. Joined by over 10,000 others protesting for peasant land rights, he remembers trudging past Manila Central Post Office before pushing on to Mendiola Street.
“We wanted genuine reforms with free land distribution for peasants, fully abolishing the unjust arrangements of centuries prior. We looked for government officials to discuss our demands, but we found no one,” said Mariano, then a 30-year-old peasant activist.