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Algeria
Boumediene and the Socialist Experiment
Council of the Revolution, 1965-75
After the coup, all political power was transferred to Boumediene
and his military-dominated Council of the Revolution. The constitution
and National Assembly were suspended. Boumediene was named president
and prime minister, and his associates were named to the twenty
other cabinet positions. No political institution other than the
FLN existed for the next ten years. The objectives of the regime
were to reestablish the principles of the revolution, to remedy
the abuses of personal power associated with Ben Bella, to end
internal divisions, and to create an "authentic" socialist society
based on a sound economy. Boumediene's support came from the military
and technocratic elite who believed in his gradual reformist program.
Support for the new authoritarian system was not universal, and
several coups were attempted in the first few years of Boumediene's
regime. By the early 1970s, however, Boumediene had consolidated
his regime and could focus on the pressing economic problems.
The Boumediene years were characterized by ardent socialism and
state-controlled heavy industrialization, funded largely by energy
exports. Dependence on France during the colonial period and the
subsequent loss of capital, skill, and technology meant that Algeria's
very survival in the postindependence period appeared to depend
on rapid and extensive industrialization. Boumediene's industrialization
program was highly centralized and involved the nationalization
of almost all industrial and agricultural enterprises (see Government
Role , ch. 3). By the early 1970s, almost 90 percent of the
industrial sector and more than 70 percent of the industrial work
force were under state control. The agricultural sector was relatively
neglected at the time.
In the political realm, authority remained as concentrated as
it did in the economic sphere. Aside from local and regional assemblies,
administrative bodies that were essentially subordinate to the
directives of the FLN, all political participation had been suspended
following the coup. Boumediene had sacrificed free political exchange
for regime stability and state consolidation. By 1975 the factional
infighting had ceased and the internal situation had stabilized.
In June 1975, the regime announced plans to resurrect public political
institutions and draft a national constitution. The country was
about to return to a constitutional system, Algeria's second national
republic.
Data as of December 1993
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