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Politics in Vietnam
Vietnam is a communist state, with the Communist Party of Vietnam playing the
central role in the politics of the country. Article 4 of the new Constitution,
approved in April 1992, reaffirms the leading role of the Communist Party of
Vietnam. There are no legal opposition parties in Vietnam, although several
opposition groups do operate from overseas, supporting demonstrations and civil
disobedience against the government. The Communist Party of Vietnam convenes
a National Congress every 5 years to formulate policies and decide the future
course of the country. The National Congress elects the Central Committee, which
in turn elects the Politburo. Politburo appoints the General Secretary, highest
position in the Party.
The National Assembly, a 498-member unicameral body, is elected through an
universal suffrage for a five-year term. According to the Constitution, the
National Assembly is the supreme organ of state and the only body with constitutional
and legislative power. The National Assembly decides the country's domestic
and foreign policies, the socio-economic challenges, and policies on defence
and security of the nation. It also appoints the President of the State, the
Prime Minister and the chief procurators of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam.
The Constitution of Vietnam guarantees all its citizens right to freedom of
speech, press, assemble, demonstration; right to freedom of religion; equal
rights between man and woman, the right to education and health care etc.
Vietnam Economy
Before the US-Vietnam war (1959-1975), Vietnam had a highly centralized economy
based on Marxist economic planning. After the war, Vietnam adopted a broad economic
trend called 'Doi Moi' (Renovation) to recover from the ravages of the war,
the loss of financial support from the Old Soviet Bloc. Later in 1986, the Communist
regime changed its economic policy and moved towards the reform of the private
sector similar to that seen in China. Since then Vietnam economy has improved,
visible in its GDP growth that grew at the rate of 8 % annually from 1990 to
1997.The trend continued from 2000-2002 at a rate of 7 percent. All this led
to changes in the Vietnam economy and made it the world's fastest growing economy.
Since the coming of new leadership in 2001, the authorities have committed
themselves to a more liberal economy of Vietnam. The July 13, 2000 US-Vietnam
Bilateral Trade Agreement helped Vietnam's export in a big way. The Vietnamese
government still continues to maintain tight reign on the banking system, state
owned enterprise and areas of foreign trade. In 1998, 38 percent of the population
lived below the poverty line by 2002 it was 29 percent. In 2006, Vietnam has
become the 150th member of WTO.
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