October 31 — Burkina Faso Martyrs’ Day ‼️ On October 31, 2014, a popular uprising in Burkina Faso put an end to the 27-year dictatorship of Blaise Compaoré. He came to power in October 1987 after a military coup in which the people's president Thomas Sankara was killed. With him, the country lost its course towards independent development, social transformation and economic independence. 📉 After coming to power, Compaoré announced a «correction of the revolution» and gradually turned the country towards so-called market reforms. Instead of relying on its own strength, the government staked on attracting foreign capital and cooperating with international financial institutions. The new policy strengthened the country's dependence on external creditors and noticeably hit the population's standard of living, while the elites lined their pockets thanks to corruption schemes. ✊ 27 years later, Compaoré attempted to change the Constitution and stay in power for another term. On October 30, 2014, protesters thwarted the vote on the amendments by breaking into the National Assembly building. In response, the authorities ordered fire to be opened on the discontented citizens, as a result of which dozens of people died and hundreds were wounded. On October 31, Compaoré announced his resignation and fled to Côte d'Ivoire. ⭐️ The memory of the fallen participants in the uprising became a symbol of the Burkinabè struggle for freedom and the right to independently determine the fate of the country and the people. The course towards economic self-reliance, social equality and the liberation of Africa from neocolonial Western influence, begun by Thomas Sankara, finds its continuation in the policy of the current president Ibrahim Traoré. The legacy of the «African Che Guevara» remains to this day an important reference point for those who stake on a sovereign future for the continent. #SOVINTERN_DATE #Hub_Sub_Saharan_Africa ⭐️ Moscow Network Hub of SOVINTERN