Senegal under Abdoulaye Wade

This essay sums up Abdoulaye Wade's forty years at the helm of Senegal's socialist regime, which fell precipitously to attrition in the February 2000 presidential election. To put it mildly, the Senegalese had high hopes for Abdoulaye Wade after 26 years in opposition. But after a few years in power, this hope turned into disillusionment for the majority of Senegalese. Above all, with the presidential family taking over the running of the Republic. A sort of "family-state" in which certain members played a leading role. To achieve this, Abdoulaye Wade first managed to oust his former allies, before playing the Caligula, and finally working his son Karim Wade with the help of the politico-religious mafia. And the weary Senegalese, in a state of advanced dereliction born of a decade of liberal bamboozling against a backdrop of scandals, were fed up with the situation.