Twenty-five years after apartheid, disenchantment grows in South Africa – 29/04/2019



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The election in April 1994 of its first black president, Nelson Mandela, has raised tremendous hopes among a population affected by decades of repression under apartheid. Twenty-five years later, many are disappointed.

"You have asked us to change South Africa (…) our plan is to create jobs, promote peace and reconciliation and guarantee the freedom of all," proclaimed May 9 this year. year the new head of state your position

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Five legislatures later, its African National Congress (ANC) still firmly holds the reins of the country.

But the euphoria of the promises of a "better life for all" left room for disappointment and anger in the general election campaign called for May 8th.

History In this February 1990 photo, President Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie appear in greeting the crowd at a football stadium in Johannesburg (AP).

History In this February 1990 photo, President Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie appear in greeting the crowd at a football stadium in Johannesburg (AP).

The country's statistical data do not favor governments that have succeeded the Nobel Peace Prize. Since 1994, social differences have widened and South Africa has become one of the world's most unequal societies. according to the World Bank.

Between 2011 and 2015, 3 million South Africans fell into poverty, according to the organization.

Despite the emergence of the middle clbad, 20% of black households live in extreme poverty, compared to only 2.9% of white households, according to the South African Relations Institute (IRR).

Isolated by the international community because of apartheid, South Africa had to take advantage of its return to the globalized economy.

Celebrations South Africans attend events organized on the occasion of Freedom Day, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the end of apartheid (AP).

Celebrations South Africans attend events organized on the occasion of Freedom Day, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the end of apartheid (AP).

But that did not happen like that. After a good first period between 1994 and 2006, with a growth of 5.6%, the South African economy stagnated with the financial crisis of 2008 and since then, it had difficulties to take off (+ 0.8% in 2018). ).

Unemployment plagues the continent's leading industrial power and currently affects 27% of its workforce, up from 20% in 1994.

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Beyond the numbers, corruption has become rampant in the state dome and in state-owned enterprises since the presidency of Jacob Zuma (2009-2018).

Social tensions, fueled by inequalities, have put the rainbow nation with whom Mandela dreamed to the test. The question of land ownership, for example, irritates both the black majority and the white minority.

Figure Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu (left) greet Black rights activists in South Africa (AFP).

Figure Archbishop Emeritus and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu (left) greet Black rights activists in South Africa (AFP).

South Africa also records high crime. Last year, more than 20,000 people were killed, 57 a day.

Contrary to popular belief, the homicide rate per 100,000 population has declined since apartheid. In 1994, the country, on the brink of civil war, recorded 74 daily killings.

In the "townships", the population still deprived of electricity, water and decent housing no longer hides their frustration.

"Life was better before (during apartheid) because whites cared for us", he summed up for AFP a black shepherd from a poor neighborhood in the town of Coligny (north), Bella Lemotlo.

Heir The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, one of the leaders who follow the legacy of the late Nelson Mandela (AFP).

Heir The President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, one of the leaders who follow the legacy of the late Nelson Mandela (AFP).

"Since we blacks are in power, we cry, we lie to each other and tell ourselves that we live in freedom, it is not freedom …"

In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa summed up this disillusionment in a speech to Parliament. "Our democracy has flourished (…) but the road to true freedom is long and we have seen the divisions of our society grow," he said. "The task ahead is considerable."

Source: Agence AFP, AP and Clarín

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