Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Independence
The prime minister of newly independent Mauritius was, not surprisingly, Sir See-
woosagur Ramgoolam. He remained in office for the next 13 years and continued to com-
mand great reverence until his death in 1986, since then a host of public buildings have
been named in his honour.
The political landscape has largely been dominated by the trio of Anerood Jugnauth, the
Indian leader of the Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM), the Franco-Mauritian Paul
Bérenger, with his leftist Mouvement Militant Mauricien (MMM), and Navin Ram-
goolam, son of Sir Seewoosagur and leader of the Mauritian Labour Party. The former
two parties formed their first coalition government in 1982, with Jugnauth as prime minis-
ter and Bérenger as finance minister. In the years that followed, the two men were in and
out of government, sometimes powersharing, at other times in opposition to each other,
according to the complex and shifting web of allegiances that enlivens Mauritian politics.
In 1995 and again in 2005, Navin Ramgoolam beat the MSM-MMM coalition with his
Alliance Sociale coalition.
On the economic front meanwhile, Mauritius was undergoing a minor miracle. Up until
the 1970s the Mauritian economy could be summed up in one word - sugar. Sugar repres-
ented more than 90% of the country's exports, covered most of its fertile land and was its
largest employer by far. Every so often, a cyclone would devastate the cane crop, or a
world drop in sugar prices would have bitter consequences.
From the 1970s the government went all out to promote textiles, tourism and financial
services, much of it based on foreign investment. Soon Mauritius was one of the world's
largest exporters of textiles, with Ralph Lauren, Pierre Cardin, Lacoste and other famous
brands all manufactured on the island. Income from tourism also grew in leaps and
bounds as the government targeted the luxury end of the market.
The strategy paid off. The 1980s and 1990s saw the Mauritian economy grow by a re-
markable 5% a year. Unemployment fell from a whopping 42% in 1980 to less than 6%
by 2000 and overall standards of living improved. Even so, rates of unemployment and
poverty remained high among the Creole population (people of mixed Afro-European ori-
gin), many of whom also felt frustrated at their lack of political power in the face of the
Indian majority. These tensions spilled out onto the streets of Port Louis in 1999, triggered
by the death in police custody of the singer Kaya, an ardent campaigner for the rights of
the disadvantaged Creole population. The riots brought the country to a standstill for four
days and forced the government to make political concessions.
