The country ruled by a zombie | Opinion

After suffering a severe stroke in 2013, Algerian President Abdelaziz Buteflika did not speak in public and was rarely seen in an official act. His appointment to a fifth term is the reason that triggered major street demonstrations, mostly among the young population, who has spent much of his life under the Buteflika government, in power since 1999.

Algeria has the advantage of being the main gas supplier of Spain, France and Italy, who see in this country an alternative to blackmail on the country. Energy exercised by Russia.

The current president played a leading role in the dirty war of independence imposed by France. Later, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and made Algeria the symbol of non-aligned countries.

A mbadive demonstration in 1988 against the increase in food destabilized the Algerian political system and forcefully aroused the Islamists, backed by the theocratic monarchies of the Persian Gulf.

As a result, the Algiers government suspended the elections and prescribed Islamists, who took up arms, a civil war until 2003, making about 200,000 dead.

During the war, the army wanted to show its more democratic face and supported the rise of Buteflika, which pacified the country, granted graces and perks as well as former political and military rivals unified.

In terms of foreign policy, the president has forged alliances with Russia, defended Syria within the Arab League and maintained excellent relations with Europe, despite the maintenance of a confrontation with its neighbor, Morocco.

Qatar has never forgiven his support for Bashar al-Assad. In 2011, he predicted that it would be Algeria's turn to revolt to overthrow the incumbent president.

Already recovering, starting in 2014, Buteflika – or his inner circle led by his brother Said and General Ahmed Saleh – began a purge of politicians and military, whose growing influence could have been dangerous to his figure .

For decades, the military exports a large part of its mineral and hydrocarbon exports, as well as large corporations and docile politicians. This is the basis of the status quo.

France could be behind the demonstrations, as it did in Libya, since the so-called social leaders are self-proclaimed from their territory, but nothing yet says that this is happening.

Neither does it seem that the prophecy of Qatar is fulfilling, since the mobilizations have no religious character. The mode of operation of Arab monarchies is to buy mercenaries and finance mosques to create a dissident and functional army that attempts to overthrow governments, as was the case in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.

The memory of the tragic civil war is very present in society, so that any protest is taken with caution by the collective unconscious.

However, young people are not so aware of the injury of this struggle, but they see that a corrupt system, maintained by businessmen, military and a dying president, aims to perpetuate itself without even replace the first president with another character but at least he can speak.

* Journalist, international badyst.