This week during my search for articles for region report, the article that caught my interest most was about the revolution happening in Algeria. The government and the people do not agree on who should lead. Algeria’s army chief of staff said he that he expects the judiciary or courts to prosecute what the people’s protests call the corrupt ruling elite and he pledged to support a transition. The transition is expected to lead to upcoming elections. People have been chanting slogans and carrying national flags during protests against the appointment of the interim president, Abdelkader Bensalah. The people are demanding radical changes to the political system and they want the changes now. But the Lieutenant General Gaid Salah’s comments were the strongest hint that the military will play a big role as kingmaker following weeks of protests. Meaning the military might play a role in swaying who actually is in power due to their political influence. This article is sort of confusing because the army claims they are backing the people and tackling the “corruption”, however the chief of staff openly said he backs the interim leader but the people actually want the current leader out of office. The people believe the current leader is part of the corruption, which is what the people are trying to get rid of. I feel like it’s very confusing for the people to figure out who is going to defend them to begin with, but then they don’t even know who they are fighting against. That just goes to show how corrupt their government truly is, by the fact that the people don’t even know who is supporting them and who is back stabbing them in the end. I wonder if a spretist leader will begin to rise up against this corruption or if there might already be one. The sad thing is, this is just one of many many corrupt governments in Sub Saharan Africa that is being brought to light.
