Arroyo was sworn in as president after Joseph Estrada stepped down January 20 in the face of growing opposition to his rule. The opposition included members of Estrada's own cabinet, major business figures, the hierarchy of the Catholic church, and the high command of the armed forces. Hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets of the capital Manila in the last day's of Estrada's rule, demanding his resignation.

The new president and her government have tried to scapegoat Estrada and his conspicuous accumulation of personal wealth for the country's long-standing economic problems. Fidel Ramos, who served as the country's president from 1992 to 1998, and who played a key role in the opposition, claimed in a January 23 interview that "lately we are known as a bunch of gamblers, womanizers, drunkards.... And we've become suddenly poor all over again."

Ramos also rejected Estrada's claims that he was winning the war against insurgent groups in the south of the country. Estrada had pursued negotiations with the major independence group on the island of Mindanao and conducted a military offensive on Jolo against the Abu Sayyaf group, which has been accused of kidnapping foreign citizens for ransom.  
 
Austerity budgets
According to the Associated Press, Arroyo's pick for finance secretary has said that "a balanced budget is unlikely until 2006 at the earliest, with austerity budgets providing little room to address the needs of the poor." He warned that the "budget deficit may balloon to $4 billion this year if the government fails to curb expenses and improve revenue collection." Last year's deficit of $2.72 billion was more than double the government's stated target.

In a January 24 conversation, Arroyo invited U.S. president George Bush to Manila this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. Bush reportedly described this as a "very good idea," and reiterated Washington's support for the new government.

The fact that ruling layers in the Philippines resorted to mass protests to oust Estrada has been met with some caution from capitalist politicians in Southeast Asia, however. In a January 22 comment, Lee Kuan Yew, the autocratic former prime minister of Singapore, expressed unease at the mobilizations. "I would have preferred that Estrada could be removed in a constitutional way in the Senate," he said, adding, "I don't think it was a plus for the democratic system."  
 
 
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