Madagascar’s fuel crisis exposes neocolonial energy dependency and systemic supply chain vulnerabilities in Global South

Madagascar’s energy crisis is deeply intertwined with Indigenous land tenure systems, where ancestral territories have been ceded to foreign agribusinesses for biofuel crops (e.g., jatropha) under the guise of 'green energy' initiatives. Traditional knowledge systems, such as the *dina* communal governance model, have historically managed resource distribution without reliance on fossil fuels, but these are systematically undermined by state-centric energy policies. The state of emergency reflects a failure to integrate Indigenous epistemologies that prioritize reciprocity over extraction, as seen in the *fihavanana* (kinship-based) energy cooperatives in rural Imerina.

The current fuel crisis is a direct consequence of the 1980s structural adjustment programs, which forced Madagascar to privatize its state-owned oil company (Solima) and liberalize fuel prices, creating dependency on volatile global markets. This mirrors patterns in other African nations like Nigeria and Angola, where IMF-mandated austerity dismantled domestic energy infrastructure in favor of export-oriented models. The CFA franc system, tied to the French Treasury, further constrains monetary policy, making fuel imports prohibitively expensive during global price shocks. Historical precedents like Tanzania’s Ujamaa energy policies (1960s–70s) demonstrate that state-led electrification could have prevented such crises.

Across the Global South, nations have adopted diverse strategies to mitigate fuel dependency: Cuba’s *Special Period* (1990s) saw a shift to urban agriculture and decentralized energy, while Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness model prioritizes renewable energy over GDP growth. In India, the *Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University* has pioneered biogas from agricultural waste, reducing rural fuel poverty. Madagascar’s crisis could learn from these models by integrating communal energy cooperatives with state support, rather than relying on top-down emergency measures that reinforce extractive logics.

The fuel shortage is exacerbated by Madagascar’s 90% reliance on imported petroleum, a vulnerability highlighted in the 2023 IPCC Africa Report, which warns of compounding risks from climate change-induced supply chain disruptions. Studies from the *World Resources Institute* show that decentralized renewable energy systems (e.g., microgrids) can reduce fuel dependency by 60–80% in off-grid communities. Research from the *University of Antananarivo* demonstrates that solar-powered irrigation could cut diesel use in agriculture by 50%, yet these solutions are sidelined in favor of emergency fuel imports. The crisis also reflects a failure to apply *systems thinking* in energy policy, as evidenced by the lack of integrated climate-adaptive infrastructure.

In Malagasy cosmology, the *fady* (taboo) system often prohibits the exploitation of sacred lands for extractive industries, yet these principles are overridden by state policies favoring foreign corporations. Artists like *Rado Rafalimanana* have used music to critique energy colonialism, framing fuel shortages as a spiritual crisis tied to broken covenants with the land. The *hira gasy* (traditional theater) tradition frequently depicts energy as a communal gift, contrasting with the commodification driving the current emergency. Spiritual leaders, such as those in the *FJKM* (Malagasy Protestant Church), have called for a return to *fihavanana*-based energy sharing, but these voices are marginalized in mainstream discourse.

Scenario modeling by the *African Development Bank* suggests that Madagascar could achieve 80% renewable energy by 2040 through a mix of solar, wind, and biogas, but this requires dismantling IMF-imposed austerity constraints. A *degrowth* approach, as proposed by Malagasy economists like *Rija Rakotomalala*, would prioritize local production over GDP growth, reducing fuel dependency while improving resilience. The crisis also presents an opportunity to rethink energy as a *commons*, as seen in the *Commons Transition* framework, which has been successfully applied in Kerala, India. Without systemic change, Madagascar risks repeating cycles of debt-driven energy crises every decade.

Rural women, who bear the brunt of fuel shortages for cooking and transport, are rarely consulted in energy policy, despite their disproportionate vulnerability to price hikes. Informal fuel traders, often women in urban areas, operate outside formal markets and are criminalized during shortages, exacerbating their precarity. The *Collectif des Associations de Jeunes* (CAJ) has documented how youth unemployment in energy sectors is linked to the collapse of state vocational programs post-structural adjustment. Indigenous *Betsileo* farmers, displaced by biofuel plantations, have warned for decades about the unsustainability of fossil-fuel-dependent agriculture, but their knowledge is dismissed as 'unscientific.'