Nicholas Kong
Myanmar, formerly Burma, was once the most prosperous country in Southeast Asia. Today, it is one of the world’s least developed nations. This tragic reversal is not the result of geography, culture, or fate. It is the consequence of a single, persistent force: military domination of the state.
Since 1962, Myanmar has been trapped in a self-perpetuating cycle of coups, civil war, economic mismanagement, and repression. Every attempt at democratic governance has been sabotaged by the armed forces, whose institutional survival depends on corruption, coercion, and control of the economy. Myanmar’s poverty and persecution are not accidental – they are engineered.
A Promising Beginning
On January 4, 1948, Myanmar gained independence from Britain under the Constitution of 1947. The new nation was founded on the Panglong Agreement, a broad political consensus between the Bamar majority and ethnic nationalities – including the Shan, Chin, and Kachin – who agreed to form a federal union. Power was divided among legislative, executive, and judicial branches at both the state and union levels.
Despite early internal challenges, Myanmar entered independence with immense promise. Rich natural resources, a strategic location, and a liberal economic policy made it the most prosperous country in Southeast Asia during the 1950s – even amid civil conflict.
The Military’s First Seizure of Power
That promise was destroyed on March 2, 1962, when General Ne Win overthrew the elected government and established the Union Revolutionary Council. The military immediately dismantled democratic institutions. The historic Student Union building – symbol of anti-colonial resistance – was blown up. Political parties were banned, leaders arrested, protests crushed, and the press silenced.
Ne Win nationalized vast sectors of the economy and placed military officers in charge through the Defense Services Institute (DSI). Free enterprise collapsed. Corruption flourished. The economy imploded.
In 1964, the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) was founded under the ideology of the “Burmese Way to Socialism.” A new constitution was approved in a sham referendum in 1973 and promulgated in 1974, entrenching a one-party socialist state. Myanmar became a country ruled by one man’s whims.
Worker strikes in 1974 and student protests over the regime’s disgraceful burial of former UN Secretary-General U Thant were met with brutal repression. By the 1980s, economic mismanagement, isolation, and endless conflict had reduced Myanmar to one of the world’s poorest nations.
The 1988 Uprising and Betrayed Hope
Currency demonetizations in 1985 and 1987 triggered nationwide unrest, culminating in the August 8, 1988 uprising. Millions demanded democracy. Ne Win resigned – but the military did not retreat.
On September 18, 1988, the army staged another coup, forming the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Though it held multiparty elections in May 1990, the junta was stunned when Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory.
Rather than transfer power, General Than Shwe sidelined SLORC chairman General Saw Maung, nullified the results, and rebranded the regime as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Military rule continued – more brutal, more corrupt, and more isolated.
Militarized “Reform” and Entrenched Control
Under SPDC rule, armed conflict expanded, corruption deepened, and economic hardship intensified. The 2007 Saffron Revolution – led by Buddhist monks – was violently crushed. In response to international pressure, Than Shwe introduced a new façade.
In May 2008, amid Cyclone Nargis – which killed over 130,000 people – the junta held another fraudulent constitutional referendum. The 2008 Constitution reserved 25 percent of parliamentary seats for the military and established the National Defense and Security Council (NDSC), effectively placing civilian authority under military veto.
Six of the eleven NDSC members were directly controlled by Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, appointed by Than Shwe before his retirement.
The Illusion of Civilian Rule
The 2010 election, boycotted by the NLD, brought the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to power. President Thein Sein introduced limited reforms – releasing political prisoners, easing censorship, and encouraging foreign investment – but the military retained control over security, foreign policy, and the economy.
In 2015, the NLD won a historic victory. Barred from the presidency by the constitution, Suu Kyi became State Counsellor, a de facto Head of the civilian government. Yet real power remained with the commander-in-chief.
The military also controlled vast economic empires through Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), operating without civilian oversight and financing repression.
Manufactured Crises and the 2021 Coup
During NLD rule, the military engineered international crises, most notably the brutal 2016–2017 crackdown on the Rohingya following attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. At least 6,700 civilians were killed, and over 700,000 fled to Bangladesh – isolating Myanmar diplomatically and weakening the civilian government.
After the NLD’s overwhelming victory in the November 2020 election, the military struck again. On February 1, 2021, Min Aung Hlaing staged a coup, arresting elected leaders to prevent constitutional reform and loss of economic control.
Collapse into a Failed State
The coup sparked mass resistance, the Civil Disobedience Movement, and armed rebellion nationwide. Sanctions, boycotts, and war followed. By 2025, more than 3.5 million people were displaced. GDP contracted sharply. A devastating earthquake compounded the crisis – while the junta elite enriched themselves.
From late 2023, the military suffered unprecedented battlefield defeats, losing control of nearly 80 percent of the country. China intervened to prevent collapse, pressuring ethnic resistance groups into ceasefires and supplying advanced weaponry. Airstrikes intensified against civilians as the junta prepared another sham election.
The Latest Farce
On December 28, 2025, the regime launched the first phase of a so-called election. It was neither free nor fair. The NLD and dozens of parties were dissolved. Political leaders remained imprisoned. Millions were excluded from voting. Even the military’s proxy party leadership was purged and replaced with Min Aung Hlaing loyalists.
This was not a general election. It was a general’s selection – designed to manufacture legitimacy, entrench military rule, and invite foreign backing from Beijing, Moscow, and New Delhi.
The Verdict of the People
Myanmar’s people understand the truth. Decades of recycled military dictatorship have delivered only poverty, war, and persecution. The silent strike of December 10, 2025, spoke louder than any ballot.
The root cause is clear. Until the military is removed from politics and the economy, Myanmar will remain poor – and persecuted.
Why Myanmar Remains Poor and Persecuted (Part II): Power, Profits, and Proxies
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