Keïta regime, 1960-1968
Modibo Keïta was elected the first president. He quickly established a one-party state, adopted an independent African and socialist orientation with close ties to the East, and implemented extensive nationalization of economic resources. The government announced a socialist plan for development, introducing socialist policies with a focus on economic development aimed at achieving social changes, especially transforming rural populations and communities.
The only legal political party became the Sudanese Union – African Democratic Rally (Union Soudanaise – Rassemblement Démocratique Africain, US-RDA). Those who tried to create a political opposition were arrested and sentenced. Prior to independence, Keïta and the US-RDA campaigned against colonial and authoritarian rule, advocating for a democratic system in its place. This, however, did not happen and rather it became a Marxist-Leninist state. Keïta adapted the Marxist-Leninist ideology for African socialism, moving past the development of capitalism and instead opting for immediate strict control over foreign investments and involvement in the economy.
The government introduced a national civil service programme, service civique rural, to help the development of Mali as a socialist and self-sustaining independent country. The service targeted men in rural Mali aged 18–21 and in the early 1960s—when almost 60% of Mali's population was under age 25—had assembled around 40,000 young men. The national civil service outlined a 2-year programme of education and training to prepare the men for the handling of their own duties in their communities as peasant farmers. As part of the programme, men were taught methods of modern agriculture while working on state owned farms, and they took lessons in literacy and were taught the socialist values that the Malian government expected from them. The programme saw the use of young people as labourers for the state which led to significant desertions and a declining number recruited. Some people saw comparisons between the national civil service and forced labour under colonial rule. A 1962 report from The International Labour Organization deems the national service scheme unlawful as it did not follow the Forced Labour Convention that had made it illegal in 1957. Another report from 1962 states that the Malian government had submitted only 1 of 11 annual reports to the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations regarding labour conventions that had been signed and ratified by Mali previously.
Keïta viewed education as essential to the development of Mali as a socialist state. At the time of independence, 93% were illiterate in French, 90% illiterate in Arabic, and very few people were given a Western education. Those who did receive a Western education were part of the elites after independence. France used education in Mali to create an elite loyal to France and for the exploitation of people and resources. At the time of independence, there were 12 professors, 10 doctors, 3 pharmacists, and 3 veterinary doctors in Mali. In 1964 the government passed the Educational Reform Law which introduced 9 years of mandatory education across Mali. By 1964 the number of school-age Malians in education had more than tripled the pre-independence numbers with 24% in school and the number of people in secondary education had increased from 434 students in 1962-1963 to 1,325 by 1966-1967. Keïta had support from the Soviet Union in improving education, founding the Higher Administrative School of Bamako, the first institution of higher education in Mali, and created education centres for agriculture and medicine. Education was used to promote socialist ideology and was adapted to fit the national aims of Keïta's economic and political policies. The education system was changed to focus on African history, culture, and needs rather than that of France. Teaching materials focused on African socialism were introduced in schools. Despite the increases in the number of people in education, numbers were still restricted due to the lack of teachers and resources.
In 1962 Keïta created the Bank of the Republic of Mali (La Banque de la République de Mali) which was responsible for minting its own currency, the Malian franc. Keïta believed that Mali having its own currency was a sign of sovereignty, stating in a speech "political power is always and necessarily accompanied by the sovereign right of minting money, that monetary power is inseparable from national sovereignty". It was revealed that the Malian franc would be equal to the CFA franc, the currency used in the Franc zone. The Franc zone was created by France for continued monetary influence over former French colonies. Nationalising the banking industry gave the Malian government more control, reducing economic dependence and influence from foreign countries including France. Protestors of the Malian franc were arrested and sent to prison. Throughout the 1960s, inflation increased, the economy declined, and so the Malian franc in 1967 was devalued by 50% against the CFA franc to prevent further inflation rates and further economic decline. In December 1967, Keïta announced an agreement between Mali and France that would later lead to Mali's re-entry into the West African Economic and Monetary Union in 1984.
Opposition and critics of President Keïta and the US-RDA government were met with violence and imprisonment. Political opponents of the government were arrested, and some were sent to Kidal, a desert town in northern Mali, and imprisoned there. Fily Dabo Sissoko, who founded the Sudanese Progressive Party (Parti Progressite Soudanais) as a political opponent of the US-RDA, was imprisoned in Kidal and died there, supposedly under the orders of Keïta, though this is not confirmed.
Keïta oversaw the nationalisation of various sectors of the economy to help the development of Mali as a socialist state. To further control the economy and the development of industrialisation, Keïta created state-owned enterprises. These enterprises spanned across different industries including textiles, food processing, tobacco, cotton, and radio manufacturing. On 19 November 1968, following progressive economic decline, the Keïta regime was overthrown in a bloodless military coup led by Moussa Traoré, a day which is now commemorated as Liberation Day.
