Tension remains high in Madagascar as young protesters express mixed feelings following a military takeover that ousted President Andry Rajoelina. The coup came after weeks of youth-led demonstrations over electricity and water shortages that evolved into a broader call for political change.
Olivia Rafetison, leader of the Movement Gen Z Collective, recalled how military officers joined their movement earlier in the month.
“He said: ‘we’re for the people, we’ll help you, we are by your side’. Malagasy were coming together for the same cause,” she said.
However, the situation changed rapidly. Just days later, Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who had joined the protests, declared that the army was now in control.
“It went from ‘protecting the people’ to taking power,” said Rafetison, 28. “I’m not saying I’m against it … But I am a little conflicted.”
Randrianirina was sworn in as president on Friday, three days after assuming control. He announced that the military would govern alongside a civilian administration for up to two years before organizing elections.
Rafetison and other Gen Z activists, while initially welcoming the army’s protection, now worry that their demands may again be ignored. “He said ‘we’re listening to you,’” she recalled after meeting the colonel. “I hope they follow up. Because this isn’t the end of the struggle: we’re really fighting for system change, not to swap one president for another.”
Madagascar’s population is among the youngest in the world, with an average age of 19. Many young people blame decades of poor leadership by older politicians for widespread poverty and underdevelopment. Despite President Rajoelina once being hailed as a youthful reformer after taking power in a 2009 coup at 34, his rule failed to deliver basic services or economic growth.
According to the World Bank, the country’s GDP per capita has nearly halved since independence from France in 1960, making Madagascar one of the few nations worse off economically over that period.
In Antananarivo, poverty remains visible on the streets. “Everyone is taking advantage of the system; they don’t care. Even if the population dies of hunger, it’s nothing to them,” said Alicia Andriana from the Association of Dynamic Malagasy Students (Assedu-Mada).
Although she welcomed the army’s intervention, Andriana said the real goals of the protests—access to water, electricity, and affordable food—remain unmet. “We asked for water, electricity, for every family to have enough to eat,” she said. “The coup leaders need to put in place a new system that can change life in Madagascar.”
Not all members of the Gen Z movement support the military’s actions. A Facebook group, Gen-Z Tonga Saina, with over 18,000 followers, warned that the army “protects the interests of the system, not the people.”
Transparency International’s Vice Chair, Ketakandriana Rafitoson, who helped organize some of the initial protests, said coups are never ideal but acknowledged that “an apparent unwillingness of political leaders to address grievances,” followed by violent repression and the president’s flight, left few options.
“An organized armed unit was in practice the only institution able, quickly, to stop the bloodshed and reopen civic space,” she said.
Still, Madagascar’s young activists insist they will hold the new government accountable. “We can’t be certain they (the military government) will listen, but we can hope,” said 23-year-old campaign spokesperson Tolotra Andrianirina.
And if they don’t?
“We’ll get back on the streets,” he warned. “We did it once; we can do it again if necessary.”
