Fifth Time Isn’t a Charm for Algeria’s President
A restive young population wants jobs and generational change.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Photographer: Ryad Kramdi/AFP/Getty Images
When the Arab Spring rolled across North Africa in 2011, it seemed almost to skip over Algeria. Although the country was ripe for revolution — like its neighbors, it had the combustible combination of chronic youth unemployment and corrupt, repressive leadership — the protests there were almost desultory in comparison with demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt.
As a result, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika did not suffer the fate of his fellow autocrats in Tunis and Cairo. Whereas Islamist parties won elections in Egypt and Morocco, Bouteflika’s National Liberation Front remained entrenched, backed by his traditional allies in the military and the intelligence services.