INSIGHT | Demystifying Jose Rizal

The Chinoy Jose Rizal

By Jose Velez | Blogger

In my peripheral Southerner's view, Rizal was simply a Mestizo-Sangley ilustrado born to a family who made money from the cash crop boom of the 19th Century. He is a descendant of Dominador LamCo, a Chinese immigrant from Jinjiang, Quanzhu in China.

He was better educated than his countrymen because of the privileges of his class just like many of the Mestizos from Cebu's Parian District, a rich mestizo enclave in the 19th century.

In 1840, the port of Manila opened to world trade, years ahead of Cebu and Iloilo. It paved the way for the cash crop boom in Luzon. Just like the rest of the country, Mestizo Chinese traders were the ones who took most advantage of this opportunity as they were the only ones who had the capital needed to engage in plantation farming. Rizal's Chinese ancestors were among those who benefited from Spain's trade liberalization policy in the Philippines during the 19th Century.

Spain was forced to allow freer movements in trade by Filipinos especially the Mestizos after Mexico gained independence and stopped its subsidy to Manila. Those wealthy Chinese traders or their children married native wives and sent their mestizo children to Ateneo, San Carlos, Sto. Tomas and Europe to study. This was the social context to which Rizal was born.

Spanish authorities became more and more insecure as many Mestizos became wealthy. They became more repressive especially in Luzon where Indios (those who have no foreign blood) who comprise the masses became more militant and revolutionary angered by the execution of Filipino priests Gomez, Burgos and Zamora and later, said to have been inspired by the writings of Rizal. They were represented by the barefoot, bolo wielding Andres Bonifacio (as often depicted in many paintings and sculptures of the hero).

Spain martyred Rizal after Spanish soldiers executed him in Bagumbayan field (now Luneta).  The Americans, according to historian Renato Constantino helped promote Rizal as the country's national hero.They see in Rizal a more pacifist kind of hero. Others dispute this contention.

The question is, could Rizal walk the talk? Even in his writing, he debated with himself between peaceful reform and bloody uprising.  If Spain didn't throw him in prison and executed him, would he have become a hero? Or would he have vacillated between a a happy exile's life and a heroic one? Would he have pursued actively independence for the Philippines? Or compromised with mere reforms under Spain? Would he have fought the Americans or accommodated them?

All these speculations about Rizal are rendered moot and academic with his  death. All that we're left with is the moral superiority over Spain, who lost all justification to rule with the moral  bankruptcy of Rizal's execution. And that was Rizal's greatest legacy.