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Madagascar’s president, Andry Rajoelina, has become the latest leader to feel the wrath of a youth frustrated by corruption and bad governance.
Over the past three weeks, thousands poured into the streets of the Indian Ocean island nation’s capital, Antananarivo, initially to demonstrate against chronic shortages of water and electricity.
But the disaffection soon morphed into anti-government protests with demands for the resignation of Rajoelina, 51. He reportedly left the country, evacuated with the help of former colonial power, France.
WATCH: Bloomberg’s Ondiro Oganga reports on the latest from Madagascar.
It’s become a familiar pattern. From Nepal and Morocco to Indonesia and Kenya, frustration over inequality and unemployment has boiled over in the past year.
Madagascar is the world’s top producer of vanilla, though it depends on tourism to create jobs and earn foreign currency. It boasts minerals including cobalt, nickel and graphite. China is its biggest trade partner, investing widely in infrastructure.
But the country of 32 million people remains one of the poorest on Earth.
The island has experienced a series of unconstitutional power shifts since independence in 1960. Indeed, the putsch is reminiscent of Rajoelina’s own rise via a 2009 coup, when the army helped him oust then-leader Marc Ravalomanana.
At least 22 people have been killed in the so-called Gen Z Mada protests largely mobilized on social media.
Protesters demonstrate in Antananarivo yesterday.
Photographer: Luis Tato/AFP/Getty Images
In a bid to pacify the masses, Rajoelina sacked his cabinet and appointed an army general as prime minister. A formerly loyal army unit has since declared its support for the protesters.
In a public address on the presidency Facebook page yesterday, Rajoelina suggested he planned to cling on.
It remains to be seen whether Madagascar’s youth-led demonstrations will succeed in their efforts to unseat him and emulate the toppling of Nepalese Prime Minister Sharma Oli and Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in Bangladesh.
Yet as long as leaders fail to address the root causes of such anger, theirs is unlikely to be the last attempt to bring about violent change. — Helen Nyambura
Global Must Reads
Japan’s main opposition parties will meet today to weigh the possibility of rallying behind Yuichiro Tamaki and uniting against Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi in a vote that could scupper her bid to become prime minister. The possibility of a change of administration without an election points to the increasing fragility of the LDP’s long-term grip on power, as an array of smaller opposition parties tap into disillusioned younger voters.
Yuichiro Tamaki.
Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg
Trump’s first administration pushed the International Monetary Fund to approve a record $50 billion bailout for Argentina aimed at halting a currency rout that was threatening the president’s old friend, Mauricio Macri. Seven years on, the IMF still hasn’t gotten its money back and the US leader is expected to formally announce another lifeline for the volatile Latin American economy — this time worth $20 billion — to help his new ally Javier Milei win midterm elections on Oct. 26 when they meet at the White House today.
France’s Sébastien Lecornu will address parliament as prime minister today, a make-or-break moment for his fledgling government in its effort to pass a budget and bring some stability. Reappointed on Friday, just four days after resigning amid political infighting, the 39-year-old will deliver the closely watched policy speech to the National Assembly at 3 p.m. Paris time.
China has threatened furtherretaliatory measures against US curbs on its shipping sector after sanctioning American entities of a South Korean shipping giant, an escalation in a long-standing dispute over maritime dominance that’s been exacerbated by reciprocal tariffs and export controls. Read how new contours of global commerce are starting to emerge as governments redraw trade alliances and companies seek other markets to avoid the highest US tariffs since the 1930s.
The Ever Basis container ship steams past Qingdao Port in China in July.
Source: Bloomberg
India’s deeply held opposition to genetically modified seeds is coming under increased pressure in what could be positive news for trade talks between New Delhi and Washington. The government is cautiously considering moves that would pave the way for a looser position on what has been a sticking point in negotiations: India’s reluctance to import agricultural goods from the US, where GM corn and soybeans are common.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated his department is shuffling the flow of money through its system in order to allow for military staff to get paid — a maneuver that his predecessor had suggested might not be possible.
The US is now collecting tariffs on imported timber, lumber, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture, duties that threaten to raise the cost of renovations and deter new home purchases.
President Nicolás Maduro will shut Venezuela’s embassy in Norway after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
A US-sanctioned liquefied natural-gas plant in Russia’s Arctic region has pressed on with fuel shipments as Moscow seeks to circumvent Western restrictions and test Trump. The Arctic LNG 2 export plant appears to be loading its 10th shipment since late-June, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy plans to meet with Trump in Washington on Friday to discuss air defense, long-range weaponry and energy as Russia intensifies strikes on his nation’s electricity system.
And Finally
The far-right mayor of Lima announced that he’ll run for Peru’s presidency in April 2026, kicking off a race for the top job days after lawmakers ousted yet another president. A devout Catholic who says he practices celibacy, Rafael López Aliaga is a polarizing figure who wields a brash, aggressive style of politics. He currently leads early polls, with about 10% in a field that includes more than 30 prospective candidates, but frontrunners have traditionally struggled to sustain momentum in Peru, and the race will test his ability to build support in a nation that elected a far-left president in 2021 — and which has shown itself willing to depose its leaders with uncommon regularity.
Rafael López Aliaga.
Photographer: Connie France/AFP/Getty Images
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