People's Republic of Benin
 | This article has no wikilinks to other Leftypedia articles. (August 2023) |
| This article may require cleanup to meet Leftypedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: Unsourced claims. (April 2024) |
The People's Republic of Benin (French: République populaire du Bénin) was a Marxist–Leninist state in Africa that existed from 1975 to 1990.
Criticism
A joke in Benin at the time was that the ruling ideology was “Laxism-Beninism”, as the state did little in the way of promoting leftist ideas throughout its existence. Mathieu Kérékou, the leader of the state from the coup that founded it to its end, has pursued policies typically attributed to socialism such as nationalization, however did exhibit many other behaviors worthy of being called opportunistic. Soon after taking power he feuded with student radicals that largely formed the basis for the popularity of a leftist movement within the country. It seems his declaration of pursuing a Marxist–Leninism path was partly based on appeasing said radicals rather than actually seeking to achieve socialism, on top of receiving assistance from the Eastern Bloc.[1]
References
- ↑ African Foreign Policies by Stephen Wright