The Sudanese military’s deposing of President Omar al-Bashir is a step in the right direction towards Sudan’s better future. But it’s only a small step, because those replacing Bashir are too much like him.

The coup follows five months of protests over rising living costs. While necessary subsidy reductions have caused some of the suffering here, Bashir has rightly been blamed for his 29-year mismanagement of the economy and his fostering of embedded corruption as a source of power. Fixing this malady will require a quick transition to the democratic rule of law. Only that course can attract much-needed foreign aid and direct investment (which has plummeted over the past 10 years). And only that course can lead to the kind of economic reforms that will be necessary to spark economic growth and boost Sudan’s top export industries: agriculture and gold.