Since 2020, eight African countries, in efforts to implement national reconstruction, have successfully removed their previous leaders from power, with Madagascar being the most recent after nearly a month of youth-led protests that began on Sept. 25.
“Hope is reborn in Madagascar,” said Malgasey activist MJ Anton via Instagram. “But this breath of unity, as pure as it is, will not be enough without an intelligent, lucid, patient structuring.”
On Oct. 13, as demonstrations denouncing increased water and electricity shortages and political corruption intensified in Madagascar, the Personnel Administration and Technical and Administrative Services Corps (CAPSAT)– the most powerful unit of the country’s Armed Forces– announced its support for the protestors and seized control of all military forces. This turning point caused former President of the High Transitional Authority of Madagascar Andry Rajoelina to flee the country.
CAPSAT Colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as the country’s interim president on Oct. 17.
“We are committed to a break with the past,” Randrianirina said during the swearing-in ceremony.
Madagascar’s new leadership joins a growing trend, as Africa has seen a surge in military forces taking over the government among larger efforts to drive the continent and its countries toward ensured foreign, economic and democratic stability.
“Our primary mission is to profoundly reform the country’s administrative, socio-economic and political systems of governance,” Randrianirina continued. “This long-awaited reconstruction will take place under our leadership and coordination.”
Youth Call for Change: ‘We Don’t Want Corruption or Nepotism’
Young protestors were motivated to mobilize for several reasons.
According to the World Bank, 75.2% of Madagascar’s national population in 2022 was considered poor, and the UN reports at least 1.3 million people on the island suffer from malnutrition.
Due to fragile infrastructure and fluctuating water levels, outages and shortages can last hours, and sometimes, days in the country.
In 2023, Madagascar ranked 145 out of 180 countries for corruption in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. One instance of governmental misconduct on the island that year was when chief of staff Romy Voos Andrianarisoa was found guilty of seeking bribes for mining licenses from British mining company Gemfields. This is just one of many accounts of corruption from the country’s government.
Thousands of Malagasy youth, many who organized under the name Generation Z Madagascar, took to the streets in frustration as these situations weren’t improving or changing, but often saw officials and their families enjoying the luxuries of wealth, having access to quality education.
“We don’t want corruption or nepotism,” Gen Z Madagascar wrote. “No monopoly or leaders who control all exports by asking entrepreneurs for money to allow exports.”
Organizations like the UN and the African Union have condemned Rajoelina’s ousting, with the former referring to it as unconstitutional and the latter suspending the country from the bloc, both considering it a coup d’état. In a bulletin posted to Instagram, Gen Z Madagascar rejected that notion, justifying the leadership change as just and necessary.
“It is a legitimate regime change, it is a popular revolt,” the activist organization wrote. “The result of a historic consensus within Malagasy society on the need for regime change, this transition is legitimized by the people and their representatives, and recognized by the institutions guaranteeing legality.”
The Gen Z organization had a list of five demands refusing injustice, corruption and inequality: Rajoelina’s resignation; the construction of new governance upholding democracy, accountability and justice; universal access to basic needs like water, electricity, health care, education and employment; an effective resistance and denouncement to corrupt systems and elites; and the establishment of a democratic national dialogue between all active forces in the nation.
Young activists in Madagascar hope to move away from mistakes past governments have made, and hope that Randrianirina and future leaders will take into consideration the public’s needs and interests while governing with fairness and transparency.
“It is no longer a question of overthrowing, but of rebuilding; no longer appointing leaders, but of sharing responsibility,” Anton said. “The army that joins the people must be framed by the reason of the people, not the temptation of power.”
Reform or Repeat?: ‘We Refuse to Have Our Revolution Confiscated’
During his first speech as president, Randrianirina, the transitional leader spoke to the needs of the young protestors.
He condemned the use of violence from security forces during these demonstrations as a violation of human and constitutional rights, while also agreeing that the country’s government needed uncompromising reformation.
In promises made during his address, Randrianirina vowed to help build a government that possessed the qualities dissenters hoped for.
“We place good governance, a culture of transparency, accountability, efficiency and the principle of zero tolerance at the center of our actions,” he said. “This chaotic situation has awakened the conscience of a bold youth who hope for a brighter, more secure future for themselves and future generations.”
Despite making these promises and recognizing the fight to build a country that is sustainable for future Madagascan citizens, Randrinirina has already disappointed young activists less than a week after he was appointed interim president.
On Monday, Oct. 20, the military official and politician chose businessman and consultant, Herintsalama Rajaoarivelo, as Madagascar’s new prime minister. Randrinirina said he made his decision based on Rajaorivelo’s experience and “connections with the international organizations that work with us.”
Gen Z Madagascar denounced the decision, as Malagasy people were not included in the decision— an action that overlooks the transparency they asked for and were promised.
The organization is wary of this appointment, as Reajaoarivelo was heavily involved with past regimes. He served in various international trade and private sector groups, which caused him to work closely with Rajoelina, Naina Andriantsitohaina and Mamy Ravatomanga— people in positions of power who have been accused of corruption, censorship and money laundering respectively.
The activist organization classified this decision as one that upholds faulty systems— not one that breaks them.
“This decision, taken without transparency or dialogue, contradicts the spirit of rupture and refoundation that the people demanded on the street,” the group wrote. “Gen Z Madagascar does not claim power, but claims the right to know, to understand, to monitor.”
Although Madagascar’s shift in leadership was a victory for dissenters across the African nation, activists note there is still work to be done to ensure its people don’t suffer the same conditions they’ve been subject to for decades.
Madagascar attained independence from France 65 years ago. Younger generations want to see a country that is liberated from greed and corruption– a country that can uphold true freedom for generations to come.
“We will not let old practices go under a new face,” Gen Z Madagascar wrote. “We refuse to have our revolution confiscated.”