AREMA (Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution)
마다가스카르 혁명전위 (AREMA)
A Malagasy party founded by Didier Ratsiraka in 1976 when he established the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, originally named the Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution. Although Madagascar was not formally a one-party state, it dominated the politics of the Second Republic; it lost power in 1993 and returned in 1997. It split after Ratsiraka's exile in the political crisis of 2002, and has changed its name several times while keeping the acronym AREMA.
In depth
According to the Malagasy source, AREMA is a Malagasy party created by Didier Ratsiraka in 1976. According to the French source, Ratsiraka, who received power from the Military Directorate in 1975, published a Charter of the Malagasy Socialist Revolution (the "Red Book"), was elected President of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar after a referendum, and founded the Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution (AREMA). The English source dates its founding to 19 March 1976.
Madagascar was formally not a one-party state but a single-coalition system in which only parties belonging to the Front for the Defence of the Revolution were allowed; in practice AREMA dominated the Second Republic. The English source says the party espoused Marxism–Leninism and scientific socialism and was particularly close to the Workers' Party of Korea. Ratsiraka was re-elected in 1982 and 1989 but faced a double opposition from the left and from liberals, and after a transition from 1991 he lost the 1993 election to Albert Zafy.
Ratsiraka returned to power in early 1997 by winning the presidential election under the banner of AREMA, renamed Vanguard for the Renovation of Madagascar, and Pierrot Rajaonarivelo was elected national secretary in November 1997 to reorganise the party. It won the 1998 legislative and 2001 Senate elections, among others, but the dispute with Marc Ravalomanana after the December 2001 presidential election led to a political crisis, and Ratsiraka left the country in July 2002.
The party then split into Rajaonarivelo and Ratsiraka factions; it won only 3 seats in 2002, lost its seats after boycotting the 2013 elections, but was not dissolved. According to the English source it changed its name several times while keeping the acronym AREMA, and in 2020 adopted the Malagasy name Antoko Revolisionera Malagasy (Malagasy Revolutionary Party).