Madagascar’s government, led by President Andry Rajoelina, said on Sunday (12 October) that a coup attempt is underway, after the army’s elite Capsat unit claimed control of the armed forces and called for the president’s resignation following anti-government protests that have already left 22 dead.
In a statement, the presidency denounced “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force”, ensuring that Rajoelina “remains in the country and continues to manage national affairs”. Meanwhile, Capsat — which claims to control the entire army — joined demonstrations led by Generation Z in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo.
Coup d’état in Madagascar: the reasons for the protests against the government
Since the end of September, thousands of people have taken to the streets in different parts of Madagascar, giving rise to the largest wave of protests that the island, located in the Indian Ocean, has seen for over fifteen years. What began as a display of anger at the shortage of basic necessities it also became a personal challenge for Andry Rajoelina to continue holding the power of the president.
Tensions have risen after the arrest of two important local politicians who had organized a peaceful demonstration in Antananarivo to protest against the chronic supply problems of electricity and water. Many interpreted the detention of the two politicians as an attempt to silence dissent, sparking a reaction from civil society groups and the birth of an online youth movement called “Gen Z Mada”.
Protests have continued ever since extended beyond Antananarivoinvolving eight other cities on the island, still in turmoil. In the capital, clashes occurred near Lake Anosy and the Mahamasina stadium, where young people responded to tear gas and rubber bullets fired by the police with stones. Waving banners, protesters denounced the blackouts and accused the government of do not guarantee fundamental rights of citizens.
Gen Z Mada coordinated the activities through social media, such as Facebook And TikTokuntil the creation of a committee, following a meeting with representatives of civil society and local politicians. Other groups, in fact, joined the protest: various trade union organizations, including the largest in the country, the Malagasy trade union solidarityexpressed their support. October 9th was the day of general strike: Most public sector unions participated to support Gen Z and denounce the difficulties.
Him too agricultural engineers they took to the streets with banners, demanding that the rural communities (who represent 80% of the Malagasy population) are no longer neglected. Leading them was the president of their union and deputy of the opposition Fivoi party, Antoine Rajerison, who denounced useless projects such as the Antananarivo cable carbuilt at the price of the country’s debt for 150 million euros“while in the countryside the farmers have nothing”.
The protesters did not publish an official manifesto, but what began as an explosion of anger at public services has now turned into a broader demand for political change. Many young people, forced into precarious and poorly paid jobs, ask for resignation of the presidentholding them responsible for the problems they are facing.
++++++Rajoelina initially tried to appease the protesters, for example by dissolving the government led by Prime Minister Christian Ntsay, calling for dialogue with young people and promising that World Bank would have financed interventions to deal with power outages.
When these measures failed to stop the demonstrations, his tone changed: behind the promises of dialogue, the president chose to start a systematic repression. Furthermore, in a speech broadcast live on his page FacebookRajoelina claimed that the protesters would be “exploited to provoke a coup d’état” and that some foreign forces they are funding the movement with the aim of bringing down the presidency.++++
The difficulties of Madagascar
The Malagasy political crisis is the result of a series of interconnected difficulties, which make Madagascar one of the poorest countries in the world: according to the World Bank, the 75% of the population lives below the poverty line.
The economic crisis is worsened by a weak judicial system, widespread corruption and poor ability to attract investments.
Just about a third of the 30 million inhabitants have access to electricity, according to the International Monetary Fund. The services, managed by public company Jiramasuffer daily outages that last for hours: activists blame the energy crisis on widespread corruption within the state-owned electricity company.
The country also has one long history of political instability and popular uprisings since its independence from France in 1960. In 2009the demonstrations forced the then president Marc Ravalomanana to leave power, paving the way for the intervention of the Capsat military who installed it Andry Rajoelina for his first term. Rajoelina was then re-elected in 2018 and again in 2023although both consultations were marred by opposition protests and accusations of irregularities.
