60 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
60 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
**Socialist Burkina Faso** refers to [Burkina
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Faso](Burkina_Faso "wikilink") from 1983 to 1987, which had a government
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led by [Thomas Sankara](Thomas_Sankara "wikilink").
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## Positives
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- The country was renamed from Upper Volta (a name given by the
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[French Empire](French_Empire "wikilink")) to Burkina Faso, meaning
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'land of incorruptible people'. A new national flag and anthem were
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also given, written personally by Thomas Sankara.
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- The rights and properties of tribal chiefs as land reform was
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enacted, giving peasants huge amounts of land and freeing them from
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tribute payments and forced labour.
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- Land reform combined with state-sponsored irrigation programs and
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fertiliser provision led to the average wheat production for
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the Sahel region increasing by 250% from 1,700kg of wheat per
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hectare to 3,900kg of wheat per hectare. This not only led to food
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self-sufficiency, but food surplus.
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- Mass vaccination programs led to 2.5 million Burkinabé being
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vaccinated against polio, meningitis and measles in a week.
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- Brick factories were created to help build houses in effort to end
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urban slums.
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- 7,000 tree nurseries were created that helped lead to 10 million
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trees being planted to help reforest the Sahel desert.
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- All regions of the country were soon connected by a vast road- and
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rail-building program. Over 700 km (430 mi) of rail was laid by
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Burkinabé people to facilitate manganese extraction in "The Battle
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of the Rails" without any foreign aid or outside money.
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- Female genital mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy were
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banned.
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- Women were appointed to high governmental positions and encouraged
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to work outside the home and stay in school even if pregnant.
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- Contraception was promoted by the state and husbands were encouraged
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husbands to go to market and prepare meals to experience for
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themselves the conditions faced by women.
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- The government fleet of Mercedes cars were sold off and the Renault
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5 (the cheapest car sold in Burkina Faso at the time) became the
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official service car of government minister.
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- The salaries of well-off public servants (including Sankara's) and
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forbade the use of government chauffeurs and first class airline
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tickets were forbidden.
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- The first supermarket in the country was opened, being converted
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from an old military supply store.
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- Well-off civil servants were forced to pay one month's salary to
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public projects.
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## Negatives
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- The system of courts known as 'Popular Revolutionary Tribunals' were
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corrupt and oppressive.
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- The armed militias known as 'Revolutionary Defense Committees'
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quickly became corrupt and were used for personal gain by members, a
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failure so bad even Sankara acknowledged it.
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- Given Sankara's taking of power through a coup and failure to
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properly decentralise power, he was [easily
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vulnerable](Hydra_Hypothesis "wikilink") to being deposed in another
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coup.
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- Unlike other Marxist-Leninist governments, the government failed to
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reduce the country's large illiteracy problem, having fired
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thousands of teachers after large strikes. |