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A New Mozambican Political System in the Making: an Interview with Mdm Politican Lutero Simango

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A New Mozambican Political System in the Making: an Interview with Mdm Politican Lutero Simango INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 02/2014 ROSA LUXEMBURG STIFTUNG SOUTHERN AFRICA A NEW MOZAMBICAN POLITICAL SYSTEM IN THE MAKING: AN INTERVIEW WITH MDM POLITICAN LUTERO SIMANGO FREDSON GUILENGUE In 2009 Mozambicans watched the birth of a new political party, the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (Movimento Democrático de Moçambique – MDM). In only four years the party has managed to gain control of three strategic municipalities. In the last municipal elections in 2013, it emerged as a serious challenger to the ruling FRELIMO,1 one year ahead of the national elections. Meanwhile, very little is known about MDM’s political orientation and the reasons behind its rise. To gain greater insight into MDM’s political thinking, Fredson Guilengue, project manager at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung – Southern Africa (RLS), interviewed the head of the national parliamentary group of MDM, Lutero Chimbirombiro Simango (LS). Lutero was born in 1960 and is the older brother of Daviz Simango, president of MDM. While Daviz2 resides in Beira, Lutero is based in the capital city of Maputo. Their parents Uria and Celina Simango were assassinated.3 Uria Simango was one of the founding members of 1 For a detailed account see Guilengue, F. (2014, February 12). Mozambique’s 2013 elections: The end of liberation movement politics? Pambazuka news, issue 665. 2 Daviz (born in 1964) joined RENAMO in 1997, rose within its ranks and became mayor of Beira (Mozambique’s second largest city when RENAMO for the first time carried the day in the Mozambican municipal elections of 2003. After having been dismissed by RENAMO’s President Dhlakama on the eve of the 2008 municipal elections, Simango stood as an independent candidate and still won the mayoral post. Soon afterwards, Simango and other RENAMO dissidents who had supported him as an independent candidate formed the MDM. 3 In 1974 Simango established a new political party the "National Coalition Party" (Partido de Convenção Nacional, PCN). After Mozambique’s independence in 1975 he was arrested, abducted and executed in secret (as were his wife and other dissidents) on the orders of the first Mozambican government (FRELIMO). See Nkomo, B. Uria Simango: Um homem, uma causa. Maputo: Edições Novafrica, 2004. Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung 1 FRELIMO and its vice president from the party’s inception in 1962 until the time of the assassination of its first president Eduardo Mondlane in February 1969. He was then ousted in an internal power struggle in which Samora Machel and Marcelino Dos Santos took control of the party. RLS: When did you take your first steps into politics? LS: There was always a political creature inside me. But I also always attached considerable importance to academic training. I think it’s the academic training that kept the “political creature” at bay. Somewhere between 1974 and 1975 our parents were taken away from us. I only started accepting that they were not coming back to us in 1976. It was during this period that the “political creature” started to develop. During the same period many people I knew had been arrested for their political convictions and detained at the military headquarters in Matacuene. During one of my visits there I also had the privilege of being introduced to André Matsangaissa4. In 1977 some rebel groups rose against the FRELIMO regime. I had access to these groups and I also took part in their meetings. I even remember considering joining such groups. But my desire to pursue my studies was stronger. This coupled with the fact that I had loved listening to the radio expecting an announcement that mum and dad were coming back home. I effectively started in politics in 1990 with the new constitution that gave Mozambicans the possibility to form political parties. My decision was also influenced by the fact that my parents had been politicians and because we belong to a family of missionaries. Being a missionary doesn’t always simply mean being religious but also open to serve. It is part of our family values and I think our father also felt it. RLS: MDM started in 2009 created and supported by RENAMO, PCN and FRELIMO dissidents. To what extent is the party unique or different? LS: I don’t like to use the term dissidents because it sounds too heavy. “Dissidents” implies people constantly hunting for power, which is not the case. It’s incorrect to say that MDM was born of discontentment with FRELIMO, RENAMO and PCN. I think there are moments when all of us feel that we have to contribute to our country and it is in these moments that new windows open. I consider that the formation of MDM resulted from a new window of need to save democracy and defeat bipolarization. But above all it was necessary to rebuild hope in Mozambique. It was a window based on these three pillars that was the critical factor behind the formation of the party. MDM doesn’t only comprise people formerly belonging to those parties but also young people who had never been politically militant. I think MDM is a Mozambican political party that serves Mozambicans but, above all, it is a political party with no military history. It’s not a militarised product. It’s a product of civilians with a democratic mind and development orientated. If you pay attention to the political discourse, you will notice that while some assume to be the custodians of independence, others consider themselves the fathers of democracy. We are fine with both assumptions but we insist that now we have to focus on a development agenda. We want to talk about housing, employment, health, education and how to manage our natural resources. We come with a new way of doing politics. 4 André Matsangaissa (1959 - 1979) was a founder member and the first commander-in-chief of the Mozambique National Resistance – MNR, today RENAMO. 2 Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung RLS: What do you think about the allegation by Chichava (IESE 2010) that MDM belongs to the Simango family and that it has two presidents (Daviz Simango in Beira and Lutero Simango in Maputo)? LS: I think Chichava’s opinion is very unfortunate and he has done the Mozambican people and the international academia a disservice. I believe the results of his investigation are both misleading and single- sided. It reflected tension within MDM caused by our former general secretary using arguments on information provided by this person. The argument that MDM has two presidents is baseless. Everybody knows that there is a president and I am the head of the parliamentary group. Yes we are siblings but before that we are citizens. I am not aware of any legislation in Mozambique impeding two individual with the same parents being part of the same organization. Therefore, it would have been a different debate if he had said that my appointment as the head of the parliamentary group was based on nepotism. My appointment resulted from an internal reflection that took my political experience as Member of Parliament into consideration. There is no way one can say that the party belongs to the two brothers of the family because we have obtained seats in all municipalities of the country except Mutarara and Macia. We are now governing four towns. If it was a family party how would we have been able to build this capacity countrywide! RLS: According to Cahen (Plural 2013) MDM is a centre-right Christian party. Why have you opted for this ideological orientation? Wasn’t your strategy to distinguish yourselves from FRELIMO (perceived to be leftist with a history of ideological radicalism) and from RENAMO (clearly a right wing party)? LS: I would not say we are centre-right Christian. Let’s only say centre-right because if we said centre-right Christian we would exclude non-Christians. The reason is very simple. When we discuss the nature of a typical Mozambican we would need the capacity to evaluate his socialisation. A Mozambican is, by nature, individualistic. We all lead independent lives: we possess our properties, goods, machambas (a small plot of land), our yards, our trees, etc. When you visit my home, I can go to my chicken coop and offer you a chicken. I also have the honour of taking you there and saying, “My dearest friend, please select the chicken you would like to eat.” This is what we would call ownership - individual ownership. In Mozambique or in Africa in general, there is no so-called collective life on management of goods. Collectivisation should not be imposed upon people, it must occur naturally. Collectivisation doesn’t exist amongst Mozambicans. I have my machamba and my own goods, but I still have the liberty to share with you even though the goods are mine. This ownership is a property. At the end of the day everyone has personal possessions. I don’t know whether you call it capitalism or market economy but it’s about property and property rights. It is a concept involving capital and profit. MDM believes in a market economy and private property. We have to encourage people to have private property. We have to encourage people to have their own houses. This also involves each one of us having our own land. This is capitalism classically speaking. On the other side, we are Africans. For us nothing just happens. There is always a greater power. This thing is God. The Christians would call it Christ and the Muslims would say it is the prophet Muhammad. I don’t believe atheists exist. Every human has a belief system. When I am neither Christian nor Muslim I believe in the spirits.
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