Mathieu Kérékou

Mathieu Kérékou (French pronunciation:[ma.tjøke.ʁe.ku]; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as president of the People's Republic of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and the Republic of Benin from 1996 to 2006.

After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 18 years under an officially Marxist–Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of 1990. He was defeated in the 1991 presidential election but was returned to the presidency in the 1996 election and controversially re-elected in 2001.

Kérékou was born in 1933 in Kouarfa village,^[3] in north-west French Dahomey. After having studied at military schools in modern-day Mali and Senegal,^[3] Kérékou served in the military by joining the French Army in 1960.^[4] Following independence, from 1961 to 1963 he was an aide-de-camp to Dahomeyan President Hubert Maga.^[5] Following Maurice Kouandété's coup d'état in December 1967, Kérékou, who was his cousin,^[5][6] was made chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council.^[5] After Kérékou attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970,^[5] Maga made him a major, deputy chief of staff, and commander of the Ouidah paratroop unit.^[5][6]

Kérékou seized power in Dahomey in a military coup on 26 October 1972,^[3] ending a system of government in which three members of a presidential council were to rotate power (earlier in the year Maga had handed over power to Justin Ahomadegbé).^[7]

Durante sus dos primeros años en el poder, Kérékou solo expresó nacionalismo y afirmó que la revolución del país no se "cargaría copiando ideologías extranjeras... No queremos comunismo, ni capitalismo, ni socialismo. Tenemos nuestro propio sistema social y cultural dahomeyano". Sin embargo, el 30 de noviembre de 1974, anunció la adopción del marxismo-leninismo por parte del Estado. ^{[ 8 ]} Un año después, el país pasó a llamarse República de Dahomey y República Popular de Benín ; los bancos y la industria petrolera fueron nacionalizados. El Partido Revolucionario Popular de Benín ( Parti de la révolution populaire du Bénin , PRPB) se estableció como el único partido gobernante. En 1980, Kérékou fue elegido presidente por la Asamblea Nacional Revolucionaria; se retiró del ejército en 1987. ^{[ 9 ]}

Se ha sugerido que el giro de Kérékou hacia el marxismo-leninismo estuvo motivado principalmente por consideraciones pragmáticas, y que él mismo no era un radical de izquierda; la nueva ideología ofrecía un medio de legitimación, una forma de distinguir el nuevo régimen de los que lo habían precedido, y se basaba en principios unificadores más amplios que la política étnica. El régimen de Kérékou inicialmente incluyó oficiales tanto del norte como del sur del país, pero con el paso de los años, los norteños (como el propio Kérékou) se volvieron claramente dominantes, socavando la idea de que el régimen no se basaba en la etnicidad. ^{[ 7 ]} Al adoptar oficialmente el marxismo-leninismo, Kérékou también pudo haber querido ganarse el apoyo de la izquierda del país. ^{[ 10 ]}

El régimen de Kérékou fue rígido y enérgico en la consecución de sus objetivos ideológicos recién adoptados desde mediados hasta finales de la década de 1970. En 1974, bajo la influencia de jóvenes revolucionarios —los «Ligueurs»—, el gobierno emprendió un programa socialista: nacionalización de sectores estratégicos de la economía, reforma del sistema educativo, creación de cooperativas agrícolas y nuevas estructuras de gobierno local, y una campaña para erradicar las « fuerzas feudales », incluido el tribalismo . A partir de finales de la década de 1970, el régimen abandonó gran parte de su radicalismo y adoptó una línea socialista más moderada a medida que Kérékou consolidaba su control personal. ^{[ 11 ]}

Its relations with France and other African governments in the region deteriorated because of the Marxism claimed by the Beninese regime and the support offered to the Polisario Front for the liberation of Western Sahara. The French government of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing feared the spread of Marxism in West Africa and decided to react. He was joined by Félix Houphouet-Boigny (Ivory Coast), Gnassingbé Eyadéma (Togo), Joseph-Désiré Mobutu (Zaire) and Hassan II (Morocco), who, in addition to the diplomatic isolation and attempts to destabilize Benin economically, decided to organize an attempted coup d'état. This was Operation Shrimp, entrusted to the French mercenary Bob Denard, on 17 January 1977, but it failed completely.^[12][13] He also campaigned against Vodun, which he considered backward, although at the same time, he retained the services of marabouts.^[14]

It was hoped that the nationalizations of the 1970s would help develop the economy, but it remained in a very poor condition. Kérékou began reversing course in the early 1980s, closing down numerous state-run companies and attempting to attract foreign investment.^[7] He also accepted an IMF structural readjustment program in 1989, agreeing to austerity measures that severely cut state expenditure.^[7][10] The economic situation continued to worsen during the 1980s, provoking widespread unrest in 1989. A student strike began in January of that year; subsequently, strikes among various elements of society increased in frequency, and the nature of their demands grew broader: whereas initially they had focused on economic issues such as salary arrears, this progressed to include demands for political reform.^[10]

En el período de reformas hacia la democracia multipartidista en África a principios de la década de 1990, Benín se adentró en este camino tempranamente, y Kérékou se vio obligado a hacer concesiones al descontento popular. La transición temprana y relativamente fluida de Benín puede atribuirse a la particularmente sombría situación económica del país, que parecía excluir cualquier alternativa. ^{[ 7 ]} En medio de crecientes disturbios, Kérékou fue reelegido presidente por la Asamblea Nacional en agosto de 1989, ^{[ 9 ]} pero en diciembre de 1989 el marxismo-leninismo fue abandonado como ideología de Estado, ^{[ 15 ]} y se celebró una conferencia nacional en febrero de 1990. La conferencia resultó ser hostil a Kérékou y declaró su propia soberanía; a pesar de las objeciones de algunos de sus oficiales a este giro de los acontecimientos, Kérékou no actuó en contra de la conferencia, ^{[ 7 ]} aunque calificó la declaración de soberanía de la conferencia como un "golpe civil". Durante la transición que siguió, Kérékou siguió siendo presidente pero perdió la mayor parte de su poder. ^{[ 10 ] [ 16 ]}

Durante la Conferencia Nacional de 1990, que fue televisada a nivel nacional, Kérékou habló con el arzobispo de Cotonú , Isidore de Souza , confesando su culpa y pidiendo perdón por los errores de su régimen. Un observador lo describió como una «extraordinaria muestra de teatro político», cargada de simbolismo y significado cultural; en efecto, Kérékou buscaba el perdón de su pueblo. Tal gesto, tan inusual para los líderes africanos de la época, podría haber debilitado fatalmente la posición política de Kérékou, pero lo realizó de tal manera que, lejos de acabar con su carrera política, sirvió para redimirlo simbólicamente y facilitar su rehabilitación política, al tiempo que le «garantizaba inmunidad judicial». Kérékou aprovechó astutamente el momento y el contexto: «Tanto cultural como teológicamente, era imposible rechazar el perdón en estos términos». ^{[ 11 ]}

World Bank economist Nicéphore Soglo, chosen as prime minister by the conference, took office in March, and a new constitution was approved in a December 1990 referendum. Multi-party elections were held in March 1991, which Kérékou lost, obtaining only about 32% of the vote in the second round against Prime Minister Soglo;^[17] while he won very large vote percentages in the north, in the rest of the country he found little support.^[7] Kérékou was thus the first mainland African president to lose power through a popular election.^[7][18] He apologized for "deplorable and regrettable incidents" that occurred during his rule.^[9]

After losing the election in March 1991, Kérékou left the political scene and "withdrew to total silence", another move that was interpreted as penitential.^[11]

Kérékou reclaimed the presidency in the March 1996 election. Soglo's economic reforms and his alleged dictatorial tendencies had caused his popularity to suffer.^[9] Although Kérékou received fewer votes than Soglo in the first round, he then defeated Soglo in the second round, taking 52.5% of the vote.^[6][17] Kérékou was backed in the second round by third place candidate Adrien Houngbédji and fourth place candidate Bruno Amoussou;^[6] as in 1991, Kérékou received very strong support from northern voters,^[19] but he also improved his performance in the south.^[6] Soglo alleged fraud, but this was rejected by the Constitutional Court, which confirmed Kérékou's victory.^[20] When taking the oath of office, Kérékou left out a portion that referred to the "spirits of the ancestors" because he had become a born-again Christian after his defeat by Soglo. He was subsequently forced to retake the oath including the reference to spirits.^[21]

Kérékou was re-elected for a second five-year term in the March 2001 presidential election under controversial circumstances. In the first round he took 45.4% of the vote; Soglo, who took second place, and parliament speaker Houngbédji, who took third, both refused to participate in the second round, alleging fraud and saying that they did not want to legitimize the vote by participating in it. This left the fourth-place finisher, Amoussou, to face Kérékou in the run-off, and Kérékou easily won with 83.6% of the vote.^[17][22] It was subsequently discovered that the American corporation Titan gave more than two million dollars to Kérékou's re-election campaign as a bribe.^[23]

During Kérékou's second period in office his government followed a liberal economic path. The period also saw Benin take part in international peacekeeping missions in other African states.^[24]

Kérékou was barred from running again in 2006 on two counts. The constitution not only stipulated an absolute two-term limit, but also required that presidential candidates be younger than 70; he turned 70 in 2003, during his second term. Kérékou said in July 2005 that he would not attempt to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. "If you don't leave power," he said, "power will leave you."^[25] There was, however, speculation that he had wanted it to be changed, but faced too much opposition.^[26]

On 5 March 2006, voters went to the polls to decide who would succeed Kérékou as President of Benin. Yayi Boni defeated Adrien Houngbédji in a run-off vote on 19 March,^[17] and Kérékou left office at the end of his term, at midnight on 6 April 2006.^[24]

Born and baptized in the Catholic faith, although he was a lapsed adherent, Kérékou allegedly converted to Islam in 1980 while on a visit to Libya, and changed his first name to Ahmed,^[27][28] but he later returned to the use of the name Mathieu. This alleged conversion may have been designed to please the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and obtain financial and military support.^[29] Alternatively, the conversion story may have been a rumor planted by some of his opponents in order to destabilize his regime. He subsequently became a born-again Christian.^[30][31] Some Vodun believers in Benin regarded him as having magical powers, explaining his ability to survive repeated coup attempts during his military rule.^[30]

Nicknamed "the chameleon" from an early point in his career,^[32] Kérékou's motto was "the branch will not break in the arms of the chameleon".^[3][11] The nickname and motto he adopted were full of cultural symbolism, articulating and projecting his power and ability. Unlike some past rulers who had adopted animal symbolism intending to project a violent, warlike sense of power, Kérékou's symbolic animal suggested skill and cleverness; his motto suggested that he would keep the branch from breaking, but implicitly warned of what could happen to "the branch" if it was not "in the arms of the chameleon"—political chaos.^[11] To some, his nickname seemed particularly apt as he successfully adapted himself to a new political climate and neoliberal economic policies in the 1990s.^[32]

In 1999, he visited Baltimore and apologized on behalf of Benin's role in the Atlantic slave trade.^[33]

He used the campaign slogan, "Experience in the service of youth."^[34]

Tras dejar el cargo en 2006, Kérékou se mantuvo alejado de la política y pasó tiempo en sus residencias de Cotonú y Natitingou , en el noroeste de Benín, su región natal. En 2014 sufrió una crisis de salud y fue trasladado a París para recibir tratamiento. Aunque se recuperó, continuó padeciendo problemas de salud y falleció en Benín el 14 de octubre de 2015 a la edad de 82 años. ^{[ 35 ]} Su muerte fue anunciada en un comunicado por el presidente Thomas Boni Yayi . No se especificó la causa de la muerte. ^{[ 36 ]} Se declaró una semana de duelo nacional. ^{[ 35 ]}

• Allen, D., Allen, C., Radu, M., Somerville, K., Allan, G., & Baxter, J. Benin (Burns & Oates, 1989).
• Fredriksen, John C. ed. Biographical Dictionary of Modern World Leaders (2003) pp 252–253.
• Strandsbjerg, Camilla. "Continuity and Rupture in Conceptions of Political Power in Benin, 1972-2001." Cahiers detudes africaines 1 (2005): 71-94.
• Strandsbjerg, Camilla. "Kerekou, God and the ancestors: religion and the conception of political power in Benin." African Affairs 99.396 (2000): 395-414.