CORAZON AQUINO
Philippines (1933–2009)
The Mother of Philippine Democracy
After more than 20 years of the authoritarianism of Ferdinand Marcos – a dark period of Philippine history marked by rampant corruption, extrajudicial killings, and appalling extravagance – there was light. The People Power Revolution, a series of nonviolent demonstrations over a few days in February 1986, would finally force the brutal dictator from power and usher in the democratic Fifth Philippine Republic. Soon, the Philippines would welcome its first female president: Maria Corazon Aquino.
Born into a wealthy, politically prominent family based in Tarlac province, north of Manila, the young Corazon pursued her college education in New York, majoring in French, before returning to Manila to study law. There she met Benigno Aquino, Jr, then a promising politician, and they were soon married. Having discontinued her law education, she remained in the background, raising their five children.
In 1972, Marcos jailed her husband, who had become a prominent member of the opposition, and upon his release
