On May 22, The Economist published a bombshell article about Việt Nam’s top leader, General Secretary Tô Lâm, highlighting his vision and the challenges he faces in promoting Việt Nam’s socioeconomic development. The article sparked much interest and debate domestically and internally in the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).
A few days later, Việt Nam blocked the article and prohibited it from domestic circulation. While it was generally a positive feature, many netizens pointed out that the cover of the issue, which features two bright yellow stars as To Lam’s eyes, might have been too much for the CPV’s taste. It is unclear if it was To Lam himself who ordered the censorship—the CPV’s decision-making process is known to be opaque.
Tô Lâm coined the term “the era of national rise” to describe his vision for Việt Nam, which included boosting private sector development, encouraging scientific research and innovation, and sweeping domestic reforms to ensure bureaucratic efficiency.
Despite his seemingly more liberal views about the economy, one thing is clear: improving Việt Nam’s political and social progress is not on his checklist. Long-standing authoritarian guardrails, including domestic and foreign media censorship, are still prevalent in Việt Nam. And this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
Hence, what The Economist really revealed about Việt Nam is not about who Tô Lâm is, but rather what Việt Nam is not ready to do: embrace a truly free and open society.
Tô Lâm as a Reformer
Tô Lâm rose to power after a power struggle over General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng’s succession in 2024. Despite coming from a national security background as the minister of public security, many regard him as an unexpected reformer and progressive.
Nikkei Asiahas compared his government streamlining to that of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an informal government advisory agency that used to be headed by billionaire Elon Musk. Tô Lâm’s vision for Việt Nam’s convoluted and corrupt bureaucratic system? Start running it like a business: merging redundant departments and agencies, retiring employees who are no longer efficient, and boosting pay to a scale comparable to the private sector.
That problem is that Tô Lâm is no Elon Musk. He is a man who comes from a lifetime of being in the government and understanding the intricacies of Việt Nam’s political system.
Long before Musk became politically relevant in the current U.S. administration, Tô Lâm had already carried out streamlining efforts on his home turf, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), during his tenure as the minister of public security. It is clear that Tô Lâm understands that Việt Nam’s bloated bureaucracy is a major drag on both government spending efficiency and overall economic progress.
Before Tô Lâm, the leaders of the CPV focused much more on domestic affairs. Since Tô Lâm came to power, he has met regularly with foreign leaders and businessmen. In my conversations with businesspeople in the country - Vietnamese business owners as well as representatives of major multinational corporations - they have shown a great sense of optimism that the unexpected savior of the nation is finally here.
A Future of Pluralism?
Tô Lâm’s “era of national rise” is usually dubbed “Đổi Mới 2,” a reference to the second version of the economic boom that followed Việt Nam’s first Đổi Mới movement in the 1980s. During that time, Communist leaders recognized the failure of the draconian Soviet-style central economic planning and moved towards a market economy.
During the initial phase of Đổi Mới, debate emerged over the concept of political pluralism—the idea that Việt Nam should adopt a multiparty system. However, this was quickly shot down by the Communist Party gatekeepers. Many high-level government officials who supported pluralism were quietly sidelined, including Trần Xuân Bách, the first de facto chief of staff of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Despite Tô Lâm’s effort to modernize Việt Nam, he has done little to advance social and political progress, which are unlikely his top priorities, given his emphasis on economic growth. Việt Nam has a long way to go in this aspect, especially when there is much less (if any) foreign pressure from the United States under the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of State, under the leadership of Secretary Marco Rubio—who is known to be a Trump loyalist—is cutting almost all pro-democracy programs abroad. The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is also on the chopping block. This signals the end of the U.S. decades-long support for democratizing efforts overseas, significantly reducing pressure on authoritarian governments like Việt Nam.
However, Việt Nam recently announced laws that would make it easier for the Vietnamese diaspora to obtain dual citizenship, which is likely designed to attract more global talent back to the country. Attracting global talent is especially important amid Việt Nam’s push to enhance innovation and technological advancement.
Tô signals Việt Nam’s willingness to open its doors to the Vietnamese diaspora, he has publicly sympathized with those who used to stand on “the other side” of the Vietnam War - the Vietnamese people who used to support the South Vietnamese regime and also the refugees from the Communist takeover, whose descendants are most likely abroad.
Suppose Tô Lâm wishes to attract Vietnamese talent successfully. In that case, there will come a time when the Communist Party will have to accept the fact that young Vietnamese people, especially those who were born, raised, or lived in Western countries, will not be happy with empty slogans, propaganda, and especially censorship. They want to be able to read and engage with a plurality of opinions on social media, including The Economist and other foreign media, regardless of whether they agree with these journalists or not.
Even if the government of Việt Nam decides to block access to these websites (such as Reddit, which is banned in Việt Nam), the tech-savvy young people will find a way to get over the firewall - and they might even be more curious about the forbidden content.
It would be unwise if the government continued to impose a regime and system designed by an older generation of wartime leaders who are no longer around - something that Tô Lâm himself seems to understand deeply with his reforming efforts on his party.
Son Nguyen is a writer specializing in Vietnam's modern history and authoritarian state-building. He also writes about contemporary social issues and domestic politics. He has a degree in History.
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