Madagascar
by Eva Razafinarivo
Between 2009 and 2013, Madagascar was in a period of political transition. It all started with a coup d’etat that allowed the former mayor of Antananarivo (capital of Madagascar) to be President of a transitional government. During this period, all the international aid was suspended. For a country whose national budget depends mostly on international aid, it was catastrophic. For example, the government could not even pay the salaries of the employees on time. Furthermore, it was said that the armed forces lent their guns to bandits to earn money. That’s why the country became insecure, especially in rural areas.
Moreover, the corruption has increased during this period. Consequently, people didn’t trust the justice system anymore, which was well-known to be corrupted.
The crisis was supposed to come to an end with the election of a new president. But it was not as simple as that. Actually, even if Madagascar has a new president and even if the actual government is recognized by the international community, the political situation remains fragile.
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Eva is a General English (GE30) student