Burkina Faso: living the revolution through the internet

Hidden in a hotel in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, photojournalist Guillem Trius and I met journalist Serge Oulon on an autumn day in 2023. The country was living under an increasingly authoritarian military regime. With the challenge of regaining total control of the territory, disputed by jihadist groups, Ibrahim Traoré, 34 years old, presented himself as a revolutionary leader after a coup d'état in September 2022. Burkina Faso is a country marked by coups d'état and revolutions, in its attempts to flee the French sphere of influence since its political independence in 1960. The leader who went the furthest, the military man Thomas Sankara, led the country between 1983 and 1987, before being assassinated in a coup d'état that installed another military man in power, Blaise Compaoré, closer to Paris, who ruled with an iron fist until 2014.Was it possible that Traoré was the new Sankara? Oulon replied no. "Sankara was an intelligent person, who stimulated debates with politicians and his entourage. Traoré wants no contradiction. Sankara, moreover, did not place his family members in government. Traoré did". A few months later, Oulon was kidnapped at his home's door by ten armed men dressed in civilian clothes. A few hours later, intelligence agents took his mobile phone and computer. Almost two years later, last May, a publication by Reporters Without Borders gave us good news and bad news: he was not dead as we thought, but he was imprisoned in the capital, where he had suffered all kinds of torture.Since our interview with Oulon, Traoré's government has increased prison sentences for homosexuality, banned NGOs and political parties, and extended its stay in power until 2029. He recently declared that Africans do not need democracy, a position identical to that of some metropolises in supporting bloody dictatorships close to their interests. He continues to have support among Burkinabe people, but there are growing – private – criticisms of the extremely high level of repression. Two members of an anti-colonialist movement critical of France were detained for two years. Traoré's followers abroad, very active on social networks, have spent this time explaining the revolution's triumphs in videos that have garnered millions of views: Burkina Faso has rejected loans from the IMF and the World Bank, no longer sells gold to Western countries, and has taken full control of the mining sector. They plan, along with their allies, to abandon the CFA franc, the currency that ties the destiny of 14 African countries to the decisions of France and the European Central Bank.External control

This narrative, very popular, is a combination of half-truths and lies. Burkina Faso has been in an IMF adjustment program since September 2023. The main buyer of gold from Burkina Faso is Switzerland. The change in the mining code has led Burkina Faso to go from owning 10% of projects to owning 15%, and it only applies to new contracts. The debt has increased by 50% since Traoré came to power, and most loans now come from the CFA zone at an interest rate of around 7% per year. To the reports FMI's semi-annual, the local finance minister states they do not intend to leave the CFA. The economy has grown considerably due to the increase in gold prices, but this macroeconomic factor rarely generates income for the poorest Burkinabés, as most mines remain in the hands of foreign multinationals. The government still does not control the entire territory, and jihadist attacks are beginning to spread south, affecting Ghana and Benin. Almost four years after Traoré came to power, Burkinabés face another danger: being trapped by the revolutionary desires of the left elsewhere, which applauds the successes of the Burkina Faso government without having to suffer them.