Vol 55 No 22 | BURKINA FASO Pressure mounts on Zida 7th November 2014 The public is unhappy with Compaoré’s replacement by one of his Praetorians and many fear for the fate of their revolution In the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of President Blaise Compaoré last week, no one knew who was in charge. Gradually, towards the end of the country’s most tur...
Vol 55 No 22 | BURKINA FASO The warning from Ouagadougou 1st November 2014 The overthrow of Blaise Compaoré sends a powerful message from the street to other leaders planning to extend their rule One of Africa's canniest operators, Blaise Compaoré, was forced out of power on 31 October as over 100,000 protestors in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso demanded his exit. Un...
Vol 55 No 13 | BURKINA FASO The knock-out stage 27th June 2014 First it was President Blaise Compaoré's opponents who filled up the 35,000-capacity Stade du 4 Aôut in Ouagadougo on 31 May, and then it was the ruling Congrès...
Vol 55 No 7 | BURKINA FASO Tight spot for Blaise 4th April 2014 Compaoré is running out of options. If he stays on, mass protests will continue but if he leaves, he may lose his money and could face trial President Blaise Compaoré is in growing political difficulty. Mass protests greet any attempt to prolong his rule, something he would attempt by amending Article 37 of the C...
Vol 55 No 3 | BURKINA FASO Blaise wants compromise 7th February 2014 The three main defectors from President Blaise Compaoré’s ruling Congrès pour la démocratie et le progrès (CDP) launched their own political party...
Vol 55 No 2 | BURKINA FASO Rising up against Compaoré 21st January 2014 Mass demonstrations and party defections signal that 26 years of Compaoré are enough for many people in Burkina but will it be enough to unseat him? Tens – the opposition says hundreds – of thousands of people took to the streets of the capital and other towns over the weekend in the biggest protests for years again...
Vol 54 No 10 | BURKINA FASO Keeping up with the Compaorés 10th May 2013 The President’s control of national politics may be sure and his international backing stronger than ever but his succession strategy is risky President Blaise Compaoré must leave office by the end of 2015, when his constitutional term of office ends. Yet he and his brother François, his sister Antoinette and the clan of ...
Vol 54 No 10 | BURKINA FASO Pillars of the regime 10th May 2013 President Blaise Compaoré is married to Chantal Terrasson de Fougères, a protégée of the late Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. She runs several businesses and charities.
Vol 54 No 10 | BURKINA FASO The economic underpinnings 10th May 2013 Burkina Faso is enjoying a mining boom which provides the ruling clan with wiggle room. Gold is now the leading source of export earnings, followed by the traditional main export, ...
Vol 52 No 9 | BURKINA FASO Beau Blaise loses it 29th April 2011 After his regional mediation, President Compaoré is now threatened by a national crisis of his own making Almost before Blaise Compaoré had a chance to celebrate the installation of his friend Alassane Dramane Ouattara as President of neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire, he had to deal with...
