Kabataang Makabayan


Kabataang Makabayan, also known by the acronym KM, is a clandestine socialist youth organization in the Philippines. It was banned by the Philippine government in 1972 when then-President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and has remained underground since then.

History

Kabataang Makabayan originated from the Students' Cultural Association of UP in the University of the Philippines and was initially organized as the youth arm of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 by Jose Maria Sison, Nilo Tayag and others. Sison envisioned the youth group as revolutionaries who would establish a country led by the working class instead of oligarchic politicians. It was established on November 30, 1964, Bonifacio Day, to emphasize the continuity of Andres Bonifacio's 1896 Philippine Revolution. Nationalist Senator Lorenzo Tañada gave the closing speech at the KM's first national congress and was a consultant and honorary member.
When Sison re-established the Communist Party of the Philippines in 1968 as a consequence of the First Great Rectification Movement, the New People's Army was organized as its military wing; Kabataang Makabayan then became the NPA's youth arm. It was also one of the groups that established the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.

First Quarter Storm

Kabataang Makabayan was at the forefront of the First Quarter Storm, a period of civic unrest in the Philippines consisting of a series of violent demonstrations, protests, and marches against the government of Ferdinand Marcos from January until March 1970. The protests and subsequent violence they inspired collectively became a major factor that led to the declaration of Martial Law in 1972.
Philippine government sources estimate that Kabataang Makabayan had 10,000–30,000 members at the height of its strength.