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Dictatress Imelda Marcos - Greedy Dictatress of the Philippines
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The widow of the Filipino dictator, Imelda Marcos, has gone down in history as the most greedy woman of our time, and legends are woven around her pathological obsession with luxury and wealth. It's said that she used silk toilet paper. A national museum in the Philippines was created from her shoe collection. Once, she spent $2,000 on chewing gum at San Francisco airport. During another flight, she had the plane turn around in the air because she forgot to buy cheese in Rome.
After the death of her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, around 100 lawsuits were brought against her, and she was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud. However, she managed to stay free and even continue her political activities.
The enigmatic origin of her childhood and youth, the future first lady's history, is convoluted and contradictory. Most likely, Imelda herself edited her biography to hide unpleasant moments. For instance, she banned the sale of a book about her written by journalist Carmen Navarro Pedrosa. According to this book, Imelda grew up in extreme poverty. Her biological mother kicked her out of the house, and Imelda slept on packing crates in her relatives' garage. However, Imelda vehemently denied this, always emphasizing her noble origins.
This is quite significant because if you're always wealthy, there's no need to explain the source of your fortune. According to the official version, Imelda was born in 1929 into a well-off family. Her ancestors were wealthy landowners of Spanish-Filipino descent. Her father was a law professor and an arts patron. Her uncle was a presidential candidate named Orbert, and a cousin was Oldos Lopez. From an early age, Imelda radiated beauty and talent, studying vocal music at the conservatory. At 18, she won a beauty pageant in the capital city, Manila. However, tabloids claimed that the title wasn't earned entirely fairly, but that's beside the point.
Marriage to the dictator. According to the official biography, the love between Imelda and Ferdinand sparked at first sight. They married just 11 days after meeting.
"This woman helped me achieve everything I could only dream of," Ferdinand usually said. It's believed that Imelda was the one who pushed her spouse into big politics. As a result, in 1965, Ferdinand Marcos became president, promising the citizens, as usual, the moon. However, once Marcos took the presidential seat, all those promises seemed to have been forgotten.
Initially, the president's appetites were modest. Ferdinand Marcos took kickbacks for government contracts, stashing the money in banks in Liechtenstein. These banks were known for keeping the depositor's secrets. But then, so to speak, the president got a taste for it.
The dictatorship of money. On September 23, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of emergency in the Philippines. He abolished the constitution, dissolved the parliament, arrested the opposition, took control of the media and the courts. All civil rights and freedoms in the Philippines were temporarily suspended. During the 9-year "Achepena" regime, 34,000 union activists, teachers, student leaders, writers, and politicians were arrested. Many were subjected to torture and abuse. 3,240 people were killed, 398 disappeared without a trace. Essentially, Marcos wielded absolute power. Since a state of emergency was declared, all of his decrees immediately became law.
The President began to subjugate entire companies to himself, resorting to all sorts of tactics without hesitation. He seized the "Mil Arc" electric company, established his own monopoly in the sugar industry, took control of agriculture, transportation companies, and much more. Through his enterprises, he awarded state contracts, exempting them from taxes and simultaneously avoiding the obligation to pay employees the minimum wage. As a result, the earnings of ordinary workers and peasants plummeted to less than 1 dollar per day.
After the death of her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos, around 100 lawsuits were brought against her, and she was sentenced to 18 years in prison for fraud. However, she managed to stay free and even continue her political activities.
The enigmatic origin of her childhood and youth, the future first lady's history, is convoluted and contradictory. Most likely, Imelda herself edited her biography to hide unpleasant moments. For instance, she banned the sale of a book about her written by journalist Carmen Navarro Pedrosa. According to this book, Imelda grew up in extreme poverty. Her biological mother kicked her out of the house, and Imelda slept on packing crates in her relatives' garage. However, Imelda vehemently denied this, always emphasizing her noble origins.
This is quite significant because if you're always wealthy, there's no need to explain the source of your fortune. According to the official version, Imelda was born in 1929 into a well-off family. Her ancestors were wealthy landowners of Spanish-Filipino descent. Her father was a law professor and an arts patron. Her uncle was a presidential candidate named Orbert, and a cousin was Oldos Lopez. From an early age, Imelda radiated beauty and talent, studying vocal music at the conservatory. At 18, she won a beauty pageant in the capital city, Manila. However, tabloids claimed that the title wasn't earned entirely fairly, but that's beside the point.
Marriage to the dictator. According to the official biography, the love between Imelda and Ferdinand sparked at first sight. They married just 11 days after meeting.
"This woman helped me achieve everything I could only dream of," Ferdinand usually said. It's believed that Imelda was the one who pushed her spouse into big politics. As a result, in 1965, Ferdinand Marcos became president, promising the citizens, as usual, the moon. However, once Marcos took the presidential seat, all those promises seemed to have been forgotten.
Initially, the president's appetites were modest. Ferdinand Marcos took kickbacks for government contracts, stashing the money in banks in Liechtenstein. These banks were known for keeping the depositor's secrets. But then, so to speak, the president got a taste for it.
The dictatorship of money. On September 23, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of emergency in the Philippines. He abolished the constitution, dissolved the parliament, arrested the opposition, took control of the media and the courts. All civil rights and freedoms in the Philippines were temporarily suspended. During the 9-year "Achepena" regime, 34,000 union activists, teachers, student leaders, writers, and politicians were arrested. Many were subjected to torture and abuse. 3,240 people were killed, 398 disappeared without a trace. Essentially, Marcos wielded absolute power. Since a state of emergency was declared, all of his decrees immediately became law.
The President began to subjugate entire companies to himself, resorting to all sorts of tactics without hesitation. He seized the "Mil Arc" electric company, established his own monopoly in the sugar industry, took control of agriculture, transportation companies, and much more. Through his enterprises, he awarded state contracts, exempting them from taxes and simultaneously avoiding the obligation to pay employees the minimum wage. As a result, the earnings of ordinary workers and peasants plummeted to less than 1 dollar per day.
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