Didier Ratsiraka

Madagascar's legislative branch is a bicameral parliament, which is then divided into the Senate and National Assembly. The local governance forms another major part of government and politics of Madagascar. Judicial power lies in the hands of the courts and the apex court is known as the Supreme Court. A multi-party system along with an electoral system that establishes the other aspects of Madagascar government and politics. The first president of Madagascar, was Philibert Tsiranana who lost power and control in 1972. After this event happened, military rule followed and continued for the next three years until 1975. That same year is when the foreign minister Didier Ratsiraka, became the president of Madagascar. This event was a pivotal turning point in the politics of Madagascar. Under the presidency of Didier Ratsiraka, the economy of Madagascar underwent a drastic fall and experienced a major economic crisis which resulted in a call for international aid. Madagascar’s current president is Hery Rajaonarimampianina, who was chosen as president in January 2014 in an election that was seen as a major step towards restoring democracy. At the time of taking office, President Rajaonarimampianina called for national unity and reached out to political rivals, to seek for help in returning the country to its past glory. President Rajaonarimampianina remains still in power but lacks the support for implementing reforms, with popular discontent taking the form of increasing…

Why is Madagascar so poor? Madagascar is among the world's poorest countries despite its biological and cultural richness due to: Kleptocratic rule Under the kleptocratic rule of French-backed dictator Didier Ratsiraka, government officials stole millions of dollars in funds ear-marked for aid and development activities. More generally, corruption is extremely costly to developing economies. Corruption breeds poorly performing economies by discouraging private sector development, scaring off…