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Skyline von Bangkok Skyline von Bangkok. Panorama von Chinatown. Bangkok, Changwat Bangkok, Thailand, 26.01.2024
Thailand set to hand out $13 billion to citizens
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced Monday that citizens will be able to register for a digital wallet handout starting in August that will give about $275 each to 50 million people. It’s the latest in a series of populist policies put forward by the ruling Pheu Thai party, which cut a deal with the military to take power last year.
The idea is to offer folks an incentive to download the new digital wallet. Digital currencies are issued by a country’s central bank and function just like the fiat money you use every day. There are pilot programs in the EU, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and many other countries.
The government claims this handout, equivalent to roughly 66% of the average monthly income in Thailand, will help grow the economy by about 1.6%. The program is restricted to Thais who earn less than $23,000 a year (about three-quarters of the population) and they’ll have to spend it in small shops near their homes. But the Bank of Thailand has concerns – as do many economists, as it will push the debt-to-GPD ratio past 66% and increase the fiscal deficit.
That may be a risk Srettha is willing to run, considering his approval rate hovers around 12.85%. His efforts to pass popular policy, including a recriminalization of cannabis, and legalization of same-sex marriage, have done little to erase the stain Pheu Thai acquired by siding with the military to push out the Move Forward party, who won the largest share of seats in 2023. We are watching whether handing out cash can reverse his slide.Thailand's newly appointed Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa reacts during a family photo session with new cabinet ministers at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2024.
US ally Thailand moves forward with BRICS membership
On Sunday, Thailand said Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa had delivered an official letter to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, outlining Bangkok’s intention to join the BRICS alliance, which has gained a reputation as an anti-Western forum in recent years. Thailand holds non-NATO major ally status with the United States, but Maris said it hopes joining the Chinese- and Russian-led group will help it “play a more active role in South-South cooperation.” Things may not come together by the next BRICS summit in October, but Bangkok’s bid is likely to work out.
Is Washington worried? Hardly. For all its ambitions of pushing the dollar out of its dominant trade position and aligning the Global South to mutual political goals, BRICS can’t match actions to rhetoric. The organization doesn’t even have a permanent secretariat to coordinate its activities, and its members often don’t see eye to eye.
Thailand isn’t the first US ally to join (Brazil was), and in January, BRICS expanded to include another major non-NATO ally, Egypt, as well as close US partners Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
So what’s the point? The impotence of BRICS makes joining a low-stakes gambit with some potential upside. It might help Thailand curry favor with China, its largest trade partner and most worrying military threat. But, if not, what has Bangkok really lost?Students at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens
Hard Numbers: Segregation is back, Thai activist dies in jail, French “Fly” freed, New US arms sale to Israel
19.8: Over the past three decades, the share of US public schools where 90% of the students are non-white has nearly tripled to 19.8%, according to a UCLA report. Experts say the rise of charter schools and expansion of school choice is partly to blame for this de facto segregation. The data, crunched by the UCLA Civil Rights Project, come on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the landmark Brown vs. Boardof Education case in which the US Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation at schools.
110: A young Thai activist jailed for demanding reform of the country’s uncriticizable monarchy has died after a 110-day hunger strike. Twenty-eight year old Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom had been jailed under Thailand’s severe lèse-majesté laws after asking people’s opinion of the monarchy in public spaces in 2022.
2: A manhunt is underway in France after two masked gunmen ambushed a prison van and freed a notorious drug dealer nicknamed “The Fly.” The incident is the latest in a trend of rising narco-related crime in Europe, as authorities seize record volumes of cocaine entering the EU while rival gangs fight for turf and clientele. Of course, when it comes to jailbreaks, the cinema-obsessed French gangster Rédoine Faïd remains the master of the craft.
1 billion: The Biden administration reportedly told lawmakers it’s moving forward with a new sale of roughly $1 billion worth of arms to Israel, including tactical vehicles and ammunition. This news comes as the administration continues to butt heads with Israel over the Rafah operation, and just days after President Joe Biden put a hold on a shipment of bombs to the Jewish state as concerns rise over the mounting death toll amid the war with Hamas in Gaza.
Tourist stand in front of Peak Bolivar at the Sierra Nevada in the Andean state of Merida July 30, 2008.
Hard Numbers: Venezuela loses its glaciers, Renewables hit 30, MTG flames out, Thailand smokes cannabis industry, Kenya bulldozes flood-prone homes
6: It may surprise you that Venezuela, located just north of the equator, has glaciers. Well, it had glaciers. The country has just become the first in modern history to lose all of its Andean mountain glaciers, which once numbered six in total. Global warming has caused the last of them, the Humboldt Glacier, to shrink so much that it is now a mere “ice field.”
30: But here’s some good news on the global warming front: Renewable sources reached 30% of total global energy production in 2023. Hydropower is still the reigning renewable champ, accounting for about half of all clean energy – but solar and wind have expanded dramatically over the past decade.
1.2 billion: Thailand’s cannabis industry, projected to reach $1.2 billion by next year, just got smoked. The country’s government has decided to re-list the leaf as a narcotic. The move reverses a decision two years ago to decriminalize recreational pot use. Supporters of the re-listing say that decriminalization was hastily done with poor regulations and has exacerbated youth addiction. Opponents say it will crush small businesses and that it’s unfair so long as alcohol and cigarettes remain legal.
75: As deadly rains continue to swell rivers and cause catastrophic flooding, the Kenyan government is now bulldozing homes in flood-prone areas and giving their owners the equivalent of $75 to move elsewhere. The government had given residents in high-risk zones a deadline to leave or face eviction. Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at some residents who tried to stop the bulldozers in the capital of Nairobi.FILE PHOTO: Thai LGBT community participates in Gay Freedom Day Parade in Bangkok, Thailand November 29, 2018.
Thailand Moves One Step Closer to Marriage Equality
Thailand’s House of Representatives approved a bill aiming to secure legal recognition of same-sex marriages, a historic first in Southeast Asia. It passed with overwhelming support: 400 votes in favor and 10 against. The bill will ensure all couples equal rights under the law in key areas like marital tax savings, property inheritance, medical rights, and child adoption.
Thailand is known for being one of the few safe havens for the LGBTQ+ community on a continent with historically restrictive laws. Thai law lagged public opinion, with polls showing as many as 96.6% of respondents supporting same-sex marriage legalization. The country is known internationally for its thriving, public social scene, as well as by many media watchers for their hugely popular queer “Boy Love (BL)” dramas and RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff.
Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai party capitalized on this gap between policy and public opinion. The opposition Move Forward Party – fueled by a progressive wave of young voters – campaigned on the issue during their most recent election cycle. Move Forward won the most seats in parliament but was shut out after Pheu Thai struck a deal with conservative and military-aligned parties.
Many assumed a continuation of the status quo was imminent. Voting on same-sex marriage legislation was a low-risk, high-reward move for Pheu Thai that would appease progressives angered by the sidelining of Move Forward and draw positive international attention without any pushback from their base.
The bill still requires approval from the Senate and an endorsement from the king. Thailand will then follow only Taiwan and Nepal (kind of) as countries that allow same-sex unions in Asia.Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thailand’s former PM to be paroled
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to be granted parole after serving just six months of an eight-year jail sentence.
A brief history: Having dominated Thai politics for a generation, Thaksin – a populist billionaire – lived in self-imposed exile for 15 years after he was ousted by the military in 2006. Convicted in absentia of graft and abuse of power in 2008, he returned to Thailand just before last autumn’s election after striking a deal with the military establishment party that originally ousted him.
The progressive Move Forward Party won the election by rallying the youth and promising change. But Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party was closely behind and allied with the military establishment to appoint Pheu Thai’s candidate as prime minister.
Pheu Thai is effectively controlled by the Shinawatra family – Thaksin’s daughter was made the party chair last year – and although Thaksin has not signaled he will seek office, he will likely serve as a powerful figure behind the scenes.
What this means for Thailand: When Move Forward won last year, it looked like Thailand was on track for change. But now, with Pheu Thai in power, Thaksin poised to play kingmaker, and even the planned re-criminalization of weed – which Move Forward fought to legalize – it looks like the status quo has returned to the Land of the Smiles. Unless, that is Move Forward uses its rallying power to get its followers out on the street.
Thailand, Bangkok, 2024/01/17. A tuktuk drives past a cannabis dispensary in the Nana district.
Pot politics: Thai government aims to overturn cannabis legalization
Passing the ganja in Thailand may soon be illegal – again. On Tuesday, Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said the government plans to seek Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s approval next week for a draft bill to ban the use of recreational cannabis.
Historical high hopes. Thailand had some of the harshest anti-drug laws in the world. Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirankul (the former health minister), of the Bhumjaithai Party, campaigned on decriminalizing marijuana to reduce prison overcrowding and ease poverty. The result? Cannabis was legalized in June 2022, making Thailand the first Asian country to do so.
Conservative potshots. Srettha made limiting marijuana use for medicinal purposes a focal point during last year’s elections, and last month, Cholnan said using recreational cannabis “for fun is wrong.”
Youthful dreams up in smoke. Anutin’s pitch of decriminalizing the plant made the BJT Party stand out from its counterparts, especially among young voters. But the fast-aging population (18% are senior citizens) is on edge – and the country’s conservative coalition government came to power promising to reverse the liberalization. Offenders will face fines or prison terms of up to a year.Israelis protest in front of the Ministry of defense to free hostages taken by Hamas terrorist on October 7th 2023.
Hard Numbers: Gaza hostage talks continue, Brazilians bake, Thais toke, Record-scratch in Madagascar election
50: Negotiations to release some of the Hamas-held hostages in Gaza continued Wednesday, as Qatari mediators reportedly sought the release of 50 civilians in exchange for Israel agreeing to a three-day cease-fire. Hamas kidnapped more than 230 people during its Oct. 7 rampage. For more on the challenges facing hostage negotiations, here are comments from somebody who knows a thing or two about the subject.
100: More than 100 million people in Brazil are sweating it out amid one of the country’s worst heat waves in recent memory. Nearly 3,000 towns and cities are currently under heat alerts as temps climb above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Experts say the El Niño climate phenomenon is partly to blame. We say it’s a great excuse to watch the sweltering 1955 Brazilian neo-realist classic “Rio, 40 Degrees.” (Celsius, celsius!)
6,000: Thailand’s Parliament is looking to roll up the country’s nascent cannabis industry, as weed shops bloom across the country. Last year, Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalize cannabis, but in the absence of clear rules for a legal marijuana industry, more than 6,000 weed dispensaries have opened. Fearing widespread addiction, lawmakers have rewritten draft laws to restrict recreational use, and focus on medicinal applications.
10: At least 10 of 12 opposition candidates are boycotting Madagascar’s presidential election, which is set to take place Thursday. They’re all rivals, but their main beef now is with President Andry Rajoelina, who they say should have been stripped of his Malagasy passport when he took French citizenship in 2014. They also say Rajoelina, a 49-year-old former DJ running for reelection, has packed the courts with allies and weakened the electoral authorities. Weeks of protests have met with violent crackdowns. With a boycott of this size, will the election even be seen as legitimate?