The éshéritéParti des déshérités de Madagascar (PADESM, "Party of the Disinherited of Madagascar") was a political party active in Madagascar from June 1946 into the First Republic (1960–1972). It was formed in reaction to the establishment and rapid political success of the Mouvement démocratique de la rénovation malgache (MDRM) political party, formed by Merina elites on a platform of independence from France. While nationalism - and therefore the MDRM - had widespread support from all ethnic communities, PADESM championed the empowerment and equitable government of coastal peoples, who had historically been subjugated by the Merina and feared the MDRM could ensure their return to political dominance upon independence. They actively recruited and campaigned along ethnic lines, initially including coastal peoples and the descendants of Merina slaves, but eventually excluding the latter entirely. The formation and political success of PADESM was actively fostered by the French colonial administration, which manipulated election results in favor of the coastal party.
The nationalist Malagasy Uprising of 1947 led the French colonial administration to dissolve the MDRM and temporarily suspend all other political parties, including PADESM. Tensions between the parties played out during the uprising through targeted acts of violence between supporters of the rival groups. An estimated 1,900 to 5,000 PADESM supporters were killed during the uprising by pro-MDRM nationalist fighters. After the nationalist movement was crushed in December 1948, PADESM experienced an increase in popularity, aided by continuing French support. The party won several key political elections in the 1950s. Nevertheless, as the process toward independence began, it became fragmented between conservative and progressive factions, with the latter splitting off in December 1956 to form the Parti sociale démocrate (PSD, Social Democratic Party). With this split and independence in 1960, PADESM became moribund.
PADESM has had a lasting impact on political life in Madagascar. Philibert Tsiranana, leader of the PSD, went on to become Madagascar's first president upon independence in 1960. Many other major political figures in Madagascar have connections to PADESM and PSD, including former president Didier Ratsiraka and former prime minister Jacques Sylla. More broadly, the formation of PADESM cemented ethnic rivalries within Malagasy politics, linking the interests of specific ethnic groups with particular political parties.
History
Founding and ideology
At the first post-war constituent assembly convened in Paris in November 1945 to draft the constitution of the French Fourth Republic, Madagascar was represented by two doctors named and . They formed the Mouvement démocratique de la rénovation malgache (MDRM) political party together with future writer Jacques Rabemananjara in early 1946. All three leaders were the descendants of Hova Merina who had been politically prominent in the former royal court. The party's platform was built on national independence from France and garnered mass support that cut across geographic, ethnic and class divisions. In November 1946 the trio were elected to represent Madagascar as deputies (députés) in the French National Assembly.
In reaction to the founding of the MDRM, which many non-Merina feared would revive Merina political hegemony, the Party for the Disinherited of Madagascar (Parti des déshérités de Madagascar, PADESM) was formed in June 1946 by members of coastal communities formerly subjugated by the Merina empire, as well as highland-based descendants of former Merina slaves. Militant leader Mahasampo Raveloson was key in the creation of the party. Other founding members included Philibert Tsiranana (who became Madagascar's first president after independence), Albert Sylla (who became Minister of Foreign Affairs under Tsiranana, and whose son, Jacques Sylla, would go on to become Prime Minister of Madagascar under Marc Ravalomanana), and Albert Ratsiraka and Pascale Velonjara, respectively father and father-in-law of future president Didier Ratsiraka.