Rural descent
VIETNAM'S communist authorities are nervous. After a decade of doi moi, or “economic renovation”, growth is faltering, foreign investors are bitterly disappointed, and corruption and crime are on the increase. Now the party leadership and the government are changing: the prime minister, Vo Van Kiet, and the president, Le Duc Anh, both in their 70s, are due to step down when the National Assembly meets on September 20th. Once Vietnam's new leaders emerge, they face the biggest nightmare of all for one-party states: civil unrest.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Rural descent”
From the September 13th 1997 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Fathers are doing more child care in East Asia
About time, too
Ice Age antelopes surge back from the brink of extinction
Even better, these peers of sabre-toothed tigers can help with carbon capture
Indonesia’s Prabowo is desperate to impress Trump and Xi
The new president’s first foreign tour was a shambles
Is India’s education system the root of its problems?
A recent comparison with China suggests that may be so
Meet the outspoken maverick who could lead India
Nitin Gadkari, India’s highways minister, talks to The Economist
The Adani scandal takes the shine off Modi’s electoral success
The tycoon’s indictment clouds the prime minister’s prospects