Reformist or revolutionist: which one was Rizal?

Pepe Alas

Dec 30

^{Quora (Ryan Fernández).}

Aside from the neverending retraction debate, another Rizal polemic is the issue of whether or not he was a revolutionist. Many insist that he was, but there is also a huge sector saying that he was simply a reformist.

First of all, we can never really tell what exactly was on Rizal's mind, for he was a man of many contradictions. For instance: if we review his writings, particularly his articles in La Solidaridad, we can safely assume that he was simply a reformist. However, his literary output, particularly his novels, will tell us otherwise.

He had one letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt telling the latter that if there is no more hope to what he's fighting for (reforms), then he would be forced to support violent means to oppose the Spanish Crown. But during his trial, he issued a manifesto declaring his stand against the very revolution that he was supposed to support. And during his trial, he confessed that he didn't want to support the revolution (of Andrés Bonifacio) because he felt that Filipinos were not yet ready for an armed struggle against Spain.

Eh di ang ibig niyá paláng sabihin, cung cayá na ng Filipinas na mag-rebelde laban sa España, susupórtahan niyá itó. He contradicted his earlier manifesto.

That testimony of his actually made him lose the trial. He was thus found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of rebellion, sedition, and conspiracy.

Rizal must have been walking on eggshells. But what is clear now is the vagueness of it all: he couldn't seem to have made up his mind if he was a reformist or a revolutionist. And this indecision of his has confused many historians about his stand. Some like the late Renato Constantino thought of Rizal simply as a reformist. Others such as Guillermo Gómez Rivera think he was a revolutionist.

If you ask my opinion if he was a reformist or a revolutionist/rebel, all I can say is that he was an indecisive patriot. His goal was clear: the betterment of his country from backwardness. Yun ñga lang, muc-háng hindí niyá alám cung paano exacto macácamtan ang caniyáng adhicáin para sa Filipinas. And that, I believe, was his greatest failure.

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