Thai anti-democracy protesters are packing Bangkok streets for a second day this week, vowing to shut down the capital until the democratically elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra steps down and the government is replaced by unelected ruling councils. 

The protesters from Bangkok’s urban middle and upper classes are refusing to negotiate and are trying to derail the elections scheduled for 2 February.  That might be because even if the opposition bothered to contest the polls, they’d lose.  Yingluck’s party enjoys overwhelming support in the previously neglected poor and working class North, thanks to public investment in infrastructure and health programs.

On Tuesday, several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the Thai customs department to try to prevent staff from going to work.

“We have closed the entire department, but not customs checkpoints.  We will see how the situation develops,” said Customs director Rakop Srisupaat.

But one protester might have gone too far.  28-year old Singha Beer heiress Chitpas Bhirombhakdi is one of those demanding an end to Democracy so that an unelected aristocracy can reign.  She was quoted last month saying that many Thais lack a “true understanding” of democracy, “especially in the rural areas.”  That means YOU, North!

A boycott of Singha Beer is now spreading in the north, among the very people who would most enjoy a cold beer after a hard day’s work.