Post war reform of Vietnam

Upon taking control of the bomb-ravaged country on 2 July 1976, the Vietnamese Communist Party banned all political other parties and forced public servants and military personnel of the Republic of Vietnam into re-education camps. The Govt. also embarked on a mass campaign of collectivization of farms and factories. This caused an economic collapse and resulted in triple-digit inflamation. Reconstruction of the war-ravaged country was slow, and serious humanitarian and economic problems confronted the communist regime. Millions of people fled the country in crudely built boats , creating an international humanitarian crisis. In 1978, the Vietnamese army invaded cambodia (sparking Cambodian-Vietnamese War) which removed Khmer Rouge - who had been razing Vietnamese border villages and massacring the inhabitants - from power, installing a regime whose leaders rule unti the early 1990s. This action worsened relations with China, which launched a brief incursion into northern Vietnam (the Sino-Vietnamese War) in 1979. This conflict caused Vietnam to rely even more heavily on Soviet economic and military aid..    

Doi Moi (renovation)   at the sixth congress of the communist party of Vietnam in Dec 198, reformters, upset by the lack of economic progress after the Vietnam war, replcaed the old guard with new leadership. The reformers were led by 71 year-old Nguyen Van Linh, who became the Party's new General Secretary. Linh was a native of northern Vietnam who had served in the south both during and after the war.In a historical shift, the reformers implemented free-market reforms known as Doi Moi (renovation), which carefully managed the transition from a command economy to a socialist-oriented market economy.

With the authority of the state remaining unchallenged, private ownership of farms and companies engaged in commodity production , deregulation and foreign investment were encouraged while the state maintained control over strategic industries. The economy of Vietnam subsequently acieved rapid growth in agricultural and industrial production, construction and housing, exports and foreign investment.   

Other political parties :

Although only the Communist Party of Vietnam is  leegal, other parties exist : 1.People's Action party of Vietnam (PAP) 2. Vietnamese Progressive party (VNPP) 3.Vietnam Populist party (VPP) 4. democratic party of Vietnam 5. Viet Tan Vietnam Reform Party 6. Bloc 8406

Government and Politics :    

The socialist Republic of Vietnam is a single Party State.A new state constitution was approved in April 1992, replacing he 1975 version.The central role of the Communist Party of Vietnam was reasserted in all organs of Govt. , politics and society.

Only political organisations affiliated with or endorsed by the communist Partyare permitted to contest elections. These include : 1. the Vietnamese fatherland front, 2. worker and trade UnionistPartiesThe economist s say that the communist party at present run by "ardently capitalist communist."

The National Assembly of Vietnam is the unicameral legislatureof the govn. composewd of 498 members.

Human Rights :   

In its 2004 report on Human Rights Practices, the US department of State characterized Vietnam's human rights record as "poor" and cited seious abuses .