The Ivory Coast is West Africa's most stable and prosperous state, and President Felix Houphouet-Boigny is one of Africa's most prosperous rulers. Houphouet-Boigny has ruled Cote d'Ivoire since its independence in 1960 and by inviting his opponents into dialogues, sometimes involving literally thousands of people, he has managed to blunt his opposition. The process has deep roots in African tradition and has been regarded by well-informed commentators as providing a watershed in the country's political life. Often, these dialogues air issues that may dominate discussions over the next few years.
Nonetheless, the Cote d'Ivoire is a one-party state dominated by the Parti democratique de la Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), of which the president remains indefinitely the unquestioned leader. Since 1980, multicandidate elections have been conducted; each constituency has had a number of candidates to choose from, each of whom belonged to the PDCI. It must be acknowledged that this system has worked extremely well and is the one-party system that most closely approaches democracy.
Finely balancing his administration to reflect the country's tribal makeup continues to be a considerable problem for Houphouet-Boigny. Nevertheless, he has always managed to do this successfully, and no tribal group has complained of underrepresentation. Since the very essence of domestic politics is tribal, this has contributed to the country's stability.
Houphouet-Boigny has always endeavored to pursue an independent foreign policy, particularly concerning the Middle East and South Africa. Relations with Israel were normalized in 1986 after a 13-year hiatus, and Cote d'Ivoire has since been the recipient of considerable agricultural and technological assistance from Jerusalem.
On the question of apartheid, although the policy is condemned outright, since 1971, Houphouet-Boigny has consistently applied his philosophy of dialogue to South Africa in the belief that this constitutes the best method for apartheid's eventual elimination. He has openly struck to this belief, despite being the butt of occasionally sharp criticism from other black African governments, many of which have persistently condemned him as a traitor, while availing themselves of the opportunities his dialogues have offered. Certainly, the bout of diplomatic activity undertaken by former South African President P.W. Botha seems to bear out the veracity of Houphouet-Biogny's policy. His stand was further reinforced by Moussa Traore, the Malian president and current chairman of the Organization of African Unity, who has stated that in his latter capacity, he too would be unhappy to meet with South Africa's leader.
Aids and Drugs
Another controversial issue growing within Cote d'Ivoire is AIDS. Health Minister Alphonse Djedje Madi has finally admitted that the AIDS problem in Cote d'Ivoire is critical, laying to rest the fiction that the country has suffered only about 100 cases overall. About 40 percent of the country's prostitute population has AIDS, and the disease is reported to be widespread in both heterosexual and homosexual communities.
Recently, the president responded to the growing use of Cote d'Ivoire as a transit point for the shipment of heroin and other hard drugs from Asian to
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