Furthermore, while the middle class is often at the forefront of political change, other sometimes play an equally important role. The confrontation between red shirts and yellow shirts in Thailand is a good example. Thaksin Shinawatra and the Thai Rak Thai successfully gained support among poor, marginalized Thai from rural areas, particularly from the northeast of Thailand. When the 2006 coup removed Thaksin from power, party supporters were able to mobilize this group. During subsequent years, they maintained a strong presence in the streets of Bangkok. In the Philippines, the urban poor also participated in the People Power movement that first ousted Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, and forced the resignation of President Joseph Estrada in 2001. Although more difficult to organize and mobilize, the working class and rural poor sometimes participate in key demonstrations and movements that contribute to political change.
Overall, economic development has contributed somewhat to democratization in the region. The middle class has been ambiguous in its preference for democracy but, over time, has demanded reform and pushed for political change in several cases in Southeast Asia. Occasionally, it has been joined by business groups that were eager to diversify political representation and gain more power against business rivals tied to authoritarian regimes. Nevertheless, there is no straightforward relationship between economic development and democracy in the region in part because other factors are equally important to explain political change or its absence.