Burkina Faso’s Reverberating Crisis
The long-ruling president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, was corrupt, exclusionary and increasingly autocratic before his abrupt fall from power late last month. But he did have the law on his side in his showdown with the street demonstrators who ultimately pushed him from office — and that fact reveals flaws in African democracy that affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the continent.
Legally, the protesters did not have much to stand on. Not only did the president’s attempt to extend his term in office by changing the Constitution follow legal procedures, but his decision late last month to renounce that effort and promise to resign at the end of his mandate in November 2015 seemed to address the demonstrators’ original concerns.… Seguir leyendo »