What Happened In Thailand last Weekend-- And Why?

I always seem to end up in Thailand when they're in the middle of their elections. The one last week went far more smoothly-- particularly the aftermath (at least so far)-- than almost anyone predicted. Over at my travel blog I ran a graph from the Bangkok Post (below) that confirmed there was a widespread belief among people in Bangkok that violence was sure to follow election returns that anticipated a victory for Pheu Thai, the political machinery of the Shinawatra family.


But Pheu Thai's sweeping victory-- which did not include Bangkok and was predicated on the massive turnout among poor farmers in the northern part of the country-- has so far been taken in stride. The night after I ate in the Benjarong, a restaurant in the Dusit Thani Hotel, which had been mortared from across the highway in Lumpini Park the last time the red shirts and the yellow shirts clashed in Bangkok. Thomas Fuller at the NY Times, who doesn't seem to share my concern about Thaksin Shinawat's faux populist/fascist orientation, marveled at how deftly the Shinawatras seem to have pulled off a political miracle-- or magic act. "Once again," he points out in awe, "the Shinawatra clan has pulled off an unlikely feat: One of the wealthiest families in Thailand has convinced the poor and politically disenfranchised that it understands their problems, feels their pain and will fight for their rights." Even without the long and ridiculous list of promises Shinawat's party made to poor Thais-- from a laptop in every hut to universal medical care-- it was more than clear the poor people of Thailand want Thaksin as their country's leader. But he's in exile, avoiding a prison term for corruption... so they elected his sister.

The Shinawatra family, a family of Chinese immigrants who became wealthy by lending money and confiscating land, has a hold over poor Thai families that isn't easy for a foreigner to comprehend. And that includes the Bangkok elite! It's got to go deeper than his ability to speak to them in the local northern dialect.

The paradox of a billionaire family winning Sunday’s election by championing the have-nots-- a notion that flabbergasts its adversaries-- was on full display here in San Kamphaeng, the Shinawatra family’s hometown.

In grubby market stalls and ramshackle shops, residents flew red flags that advertised their support for Thaksin Shinawatra and his younger sister, Yingluck, who is now in line to become Thailand’s first female prime minister... Opponents of the party fear a surge of populist policies, increased debt for the country and a revival of what they say were efforts by Mr. Thaksin to dilute democratic checks and balances.

But here in the birthplace of a now revitalized Shinawatra political dynasty, the victory Sunday was personal.

“We have been tormented since 2006,” said Piyapong Pookklai, 61, a classmate of Mr. Thaksin at the local primary school. The military coup that year removed Mr. Thaksin from power and the election Sunday was seen here as both a vindication and an act of defiance toward the coup makers.

A caravan of pick-up trucks from the Pheu Thai Party drove triumphantly through town on Monday, with loudspeakers blaring a grateful message to voters: “We will bring happiness back to you, brothers and sisters! Thank you!”

The caravan was led by Mr. Thaksin’s niece, Chinnicha Wongsawad, who was re-elected as a member of Parliament with a commanding 78 percent of the vote. At 29 years old she is one of the youngest members of the Shinawatra family.

She joins the growing dynasty: In 1969 Mr. Thaksin’s father, Lerdt, was elected to Parliament and served a little more than two years. (Like his son nearly four decades later, his term was interrupted by a military coup.) Mr. Thaksin’s sister, Yaowalak, served as an official in the municipal government of Chiang Mai, the busy capital of northern Thailand a half-hour drive from here. Mr. Thaksin’s brother, Payap, was a member of Parliament for one year until the 2006 coup.

Finally, Ms. Yingluck’s election to Parliament on Sunday marked her debut in politics. Previously she worked as an executive in Mr. Thaksin’s business empire.

The Shinawatra family started its silk business in 1911 and have spent recent decades converting their economic clout into a political power.

As Chinese immigrants who arrived in northern Thailand in the early 1900s, the family’s forebears were outsiders. But the family grew deep roots in the community, married local villagers, bought land, planted orchards, lent out money and soon became the overlords of the area.

Bangorn Auppara, 76, a resident who once worked for the Shinawatras, says the secret to the family’s success has been a mixture of hard work, resourcefulness, and “stinginess.”
The family became powerful in the area, she said, partly by lending out money and confiscating land when the borrowers could not pay back.

It’s hard to find someone here who has a bad thing to say about the family, partly because so many people in San Khampaeng work for them or rent property from them.

I hope we never find out what would happen if any Kochs run for office here. It's bad enough we have Rockefellers.