DOCSLIB.ORG

Newitt on Marcum, 'Conceiving Mozambique'

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Newitt on Marcum, 'Conceiving Mozambique' H-Luso-Africa Newitt on Marcum, 'Conceiving Mozambique' Review published on Thursday, December 17, 2020 John A. Marcum. Conceiving Mozambique. Edited by Edmund Burke III and Michael W. Clough. African Histories and Modernities Series. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017. 199 pp. $79.99 (e- book), ISBN 978-3-319-65987-9; $99.99 (cloth), ISBN 978-3-319-65986-2. Reviewed by Malyn Newitt (King's College London) Published on H-Luso-Africa (December, 2020) Commissioned by Philip J. Havik (Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT)) Printable Version: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=56036 This is a fascinating book that everyone interested in the modern history of Mozambique should have on their shelves. John A. Marcum is well known for his two-volume history of the Angolan revolution, The Angolan Revolution, published in 1969 and 1978 respectively, which has rightly become a classic. At the time of writing those volumes, Marcum thought about a parallel volume on Mozambique. For various reasons this was postponed, though he continued to gather information on the topic throughout his academic career. Eventually, toward the end of his life, he finished this long-postponed project, though at his death (in 2013) it still needed extensive editing, which was undertaken by Edmund Burke III and Michael W. Clough. Reading the book one can guess how the author’s ideas changed. At first it seems to have been designed as a companion to his Angola history, charting the early stages of Mozambican nationalism and the emergence of FRELIMO (Frente para a Libertação de Moçambique) under the leadership of Eduardo Mondlane. This phase was brought to an abrupt end in 1969 when Mondlane was killed by a parcel bomb and FRELIMO was taken over by Samora Machel and his radical supporters. This is the focus of the first two-thirds of the book, which then morphs into a somewhat abridged account of the transition to independence, the civil war (about which it says very little), and the experience of Mozambique after the Peace Accord. However, this part of the book, abbreviated as it is, certainly contains political dynamite and in some ways provides the dramatic climax to what has gone before. Marcum saw his book as a “starting point for national reconciliation” (p. v). Toward the end, in a short section headed “Hope,” he says “the underlying purpose of this book has been to suggest that an independent and probing review of the history of Mozambique’s struggle for independence can further the quest ... for a more open and free society.... It is time for the country to clear the political deck and free young minds from the delimiting outcomes of cruel history,” and he cites the example of Germany, which has courageously confronted its Nazi past (p. xx). To achieve these objectives, Marcum sought to provide an account of the early days of FRELIMO, which would be free from the party’s propaganda and was to uncover the detailed story of the party’s formation, growth, and conduct in the immediate post-independence period. Marcum’s technique as a historian was to tell the FRELIMO story through a series of biographies of the leading personalities. Although Mondlane is the central figure, the book gives a lot of attention to the careers of Adelino Gwambe, Paulo Gumane, Uria Simango, Filipe Magaia, Lazaro N’Kavandame, Seifeddine Leo Milas/Aldridge, Mateos Gwenjere, Marcelino dos Santos, and Samora Machel, as well Citation: H-Net Reviews. Newitt on Marcum, 'Conceiving Mozambique'. H-Luso-Africa. 12-17-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/7926/reviews/6983598/newitt-marcum-conceiving-mozambique Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Luso-Africa as to many figures of lesser importance. In the process, Marcum shows that Mozambican nationalism had many faces and many competing narratives. In particular, he gives a lot of attention to UDENAMO (União Democrrática Nacional de Moçambique) as the real founding organization of Mozambique’s nationalism, though he concludes that its leader, Gwambe, albeit working tirelessly on the international circuit, had flaws of character that prevented his nationalist movement gathering sufficient momentum in the turbulent and fast-moving world of African politics in the early 1960s. There has recently been a revival of interest in UDENAMO and Marcum’s book contributes significantly to this new perspective. Marcum himself is an actor in his own narrative (illustrated with two group photographs), and in a modest way this book is a memoir of his own participation in the politics surrounding the independence movements in Angola and Mozambique. He knew many of the people about whom he wrote and his contacts with American politicians placed him in a good position, as a quasi-insider, to explain how the direction of American policy evolved during and after the Kennedy administration. Marcum’s portrait of Mondlane is possibly the most important part of the book. This is no hagiography. Marcum, who knew Mondlane well, was aware of his shortcomings and of the consequences of the poor decisions that he sometimes made. In particular, Marcum judges him severely for his blindness in trusting Milas whose extraordinary career as a political con man began when Mondlane picked him out for high office in FRELIMO, apparently solely on the basis of Milas’s academic qualifications. Mondlane stood by Milas in spite of the expulsions and splits in the party that were the result of his activities. Mondlane’s association with Milas gave some credence to accusations that he was too close to the Americans and even that he was being manipulated by them. Marcum does not shy away from this topic but explains in detail how Mondlane did indeed seek support in the United States, partly to secure education scholarships for Mozambicans but also because he thought he could persuade the United States to give active backing to FRELIMO and the cause of Mozambique’s independence. This could only be done by developing close ties with influential American personalities and organizations and his ultimate failure to do so paved the way for the takeover by Marxist hard-liners. According to Marcum, Mondlane was no ideologue. Indeed, he is clear that Mondlane had little sympathy for hard-line Marxism. Mondlane’s core belief was in the power of education. Notably, Marcum calls this Mondlane’s “obsession” and he shows how this was responsible for some of Mondlane’s doubtful decisions (p. 123). It also led to one of the deepest splits in the movement as many students for whom Mondlane had obtained scholarships deserted the movement when they feared they would be forced to return and join the armed campaign. Marcum has dug deeply into the records to discuss the controversial figures in FRELIMO’s early days and to chart the many splits and desertions that plagued the movement. His conclusion is that, before his life was brutally cut short by a bomb, Mondlane’s position within the party was rapidly weakening. He quotes a conversation Mondlane had with Bill Sutherland which showed that he knew he was expendable and that the hard-line Marxists would “try to push me aside as the thing goes on.... I am ready for that” (p. 173). Nevertheless, he believes that Mondlane’s great contribution to FRELIMO was the international Citation: H-Net Reviews. Newitt on Marcum, 'Conceiving Mozambique'. H-Luso-Africa. 12-17-2020. https://networks.h-net.org/node/7926/reviews/6983598/newitt-marcum-conceiving-mozambique Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Luso-Africa credibility it acquired through being led by a highly articulate and educated man whose intellectual stature placed him in another league from figures like Gwambe. The splits and desertions that occurred in FRELIMO and the appearance of apparently well-supported rival movements like the renewed UDENAMO, the UNEMO (União de Estudantes Moçambicanos) student’s organization, and COREMO (Comité Revolucionário de Moçambique) never resulted in a contested nationalism as happened in Angola. This was in large part attributable to Mondlane’s leadership. FRELIMO held the center stage in Mozambique until the Portuguese revolution handed over power to the movement Mondlane had founded. Marcum does not discuss the reasons why Mondlane has remained an iconic figure in Mozambique even though he never sympathized with the Marxist direction the FRELIMO imposed on the country. It initially appeared that Mozambique had been spared the bitter civil conflict that accompanied Angola’s transition to independence. However, what is now clear is that the early divisions in FRELIMO, the splits and desertions, were accumulating layers of opposition to FRELIMO that would appear after independence when RENAMO (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana) was able to cash in on widespread discontent with FRELIMO’s rule. Earlier in the book, he documents the way the leaders of FRELIMO, even during Mondlane’s presidency, had used assassination to remove their rivals, a clandestine policy that has continued to this day. However, it is the section simply called “Revenge” where Marcum describes in distressing detail how FRELIMO, once it wrested power from the nerveless hands of the Portuguese MFA (Movimento das Forças Armadas), took revenge on those who had once belonged to the movement but who had been driven out in various purges and splits. Many of these dissidents had returned at the end of the war and naively tried to form a political movement (Partido da Convenção Nacional, PCN) to oppose FRELIMO. The horrors Marcum describes are difficult but essential reading for anyone still inclined to view FRELIMO and its leaders as they were described in party propaganda and in the books written by “committed” academic authors like Allen Isaacman and Barry Munslow.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hidden Processes of Reconciliation in Mozambique: the Entangled Histories of Truth-Seeking Commissions Held Between 1975 and 19821
    Africa Development, Vol. XLI, No. 4, 2016, pp. 153–180 © Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2017 (ISSN: 0850-3907) Hidden Processes of Reconciliation in Mozambique: The Entangled Histories of Truth-seeking Commissions held between 1975 and 19821 Maria Paula Meneses* Abstract The southern Africa region has witnessed, over the last 50 years, several episodes of violent conflicts, and Mozambique is no exception. The dominant perspective of the Global North on transition to democracy insists on reinforcing a eurocentric version of modernity, symbolized by a linear transition towards a single legal system and nationhood. This dominant international model of justice reproduces violence in the form of epistemicide and privatization of violence. If courts cannot end civil wars, what are the alternatives? This article, which is focused upon Mozambique and based upon interviews and archival data, aims to explore the extent to which the multiple, almost invisible and silenced processes of national reconciliation can find expression within methodologies of national reconciliation processes. Specific emphasis is placed upon the analysis of initiatives (in the 1970s and 1980s) to deal with ‘traitors of the revolution’ in open organized meetings that produced little-known practices of national reconciliation. It is in such a context where the limits of the discourse about ‘universal jurisdiction’ and criminalization of perpetrators of violence are arguably best understood, and where alternatives can find their strongest manifestations and most radical expressions. Résumé Au cours des 50 dernières années, la région de l'Afrique australe a connu plusieurs épisodes de conflits violents, et le Mozambique ne fait pas exception.
    [Show full text]
  • Mozambique: Prospects for Stability
    UNHCR Centre for Documentation and Research WRITENET Paper No. 11/2000 MOZAMBIQUE: PROSPECTS FOR STABILITY By Patrick Chabal King’s College London February 2001 WriteNet is a Network of Researchers and Writers on Human Rights, Forced Migration, Ethnic and Political Conflict WriteNet is a Subsidiary of Practical Management (UK) E-mail: [email protected] THIS PAPER WAS PREPARED MAINLY ON THE BASIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, ANALYSIS AND COMMENT. ALL SOURCES ARE CITED. THE PAPER IS NOT, AND DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE, EITHER EXHAUSTIVE WITH REGARD TO CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY SURVEYED, OR CONCLUSIVE AS TO THE MERITS OF ANY PARTICULAR CLAIM TO REFUGEE STATUS OR ASYLUM. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF WRITENET OR UNHCR. ISSN 1020-8429 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................1 1.1. UNOMOZ AND AFTER .................................................................................1 1.2. DEMOCRATIZATION AND THE RETURN TO STABILITY ....................................2 1.3. THE REGIONAL CONTEXT..............................................................................3 2. POLITICAL ISSUES.........................................................................................4 2.1. THE ROLE OF THE OPPOSITION ......................................................................4 2.2. ETHNIC AND REGIONAL QUESTIONS ..............................................................5 2.3. LAND REFORM
    [Show full text]
  • History Repeating? Colonial, Socialist and Liberal Statebuilding in Mozambique
    History repeating? Colonial, socialist and liberal statebuilding in Mozambique Meera Sabaratnam, London School of Economics June 2012 Prepared for “International Statebuilding: Concepts, Themes and Practices”, A Routledge Handbook, Editors: David Chandler, University of Westminster and Timothy D. Sisk, University of Denver Abstract External statebuilders have been notoriously bad at making sense of the historical experiences and trajectories of state-society relations. As such, there is often the working assumption that externally-driven post-conflict statebuilding is substantially changing the dynamics of rule in a polity through the import of liberal ideas. Yet in practice this is often not the case. This chapter looks at three successive attempts at statebuilding in Mozambique and draws out interesting elements of continuity between them in terms of political authority, political economy and public administration practices. These are the colonial New State from 1930-1974, the socialist post-independence state from 1975-1989, and the liberal post-conflict restructuring from 1990 onwards. The discussion concludes that internal and external elites’ unwillingness to address or re-structure some fundamental relationships between the state and the population sustains the tensions generated by strategies for political rule and development. This is especially evident where ‘liberal’ statebuilding practices have tended to have distinctively ‘conservative’ effects in terms of state-society relations, replicating rather than transforming power and authority. 1 External statebuilders have been notoriously bad at making sense of the historical experiences and trajectories of state-society relations. As such, there is often the working assumption that externally-driven post-conflict statebuilding is substantially changing the dynamics of rule in a polity through the import of liberal ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Stephen A. Emerson. the Battle for Mozambique: the Frelimo-Renamo Struggle (1977-1992)
    Stephen A. Emerson. The Battle for Mozambique: The Frelimo-Renamo Struggle (1977-1992). West Midlands: Helion and Company Limited, 2014. 288 pp. $35.00, paper, ISBN 978-1-909384-92-7. Reviewed by Michel Cahen Published on H-Luso-Africa (January, 2015) Commissioned by Philip J. Havik (Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical (IHMT)) The British historian Malyn Newitt wrote the And the guns would remain silent” (p. 34). It ap‐ following about The Battle for Mozambique: pears that he does not address the 2013-14 crisis. “Steve Emerson has written the most comprehen‐ Of course, a fully developed “new” civil war did sive account of the civil war in Mozambique that not materialize in Mozambique during these two has yet been attempted,”, and he underlines his years, but local violent skirmishes probably led to statement by explaining that “Emerson’s account several hundred deaths. Renamo was, surprising‐ is largely a military history” (p. 1). If one accepts ly, able to swiftly recover an armed wing, which that a war’s history may merely be the story of a could not be, twenty-one years later, the mere mo‐ battle, Newitt’s observation is correct and can be bilization of some veteran guerrilla soldiers reinforced when he stresses that one of the quali‐ equipped with rusty Kalashnikovs. Indeed, cur‐ ties of the book is the extensive use of interviews rently some Renamo fghters appear to be young with former participants, as well as the sheer men. On October 15, 2014, political competition number of facts, some of them “told” for the frst between Frelimo and Renamo—and the Movi‐ time.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics and Contemporary History in Mozambique: a Set of Epistemological Notes
    Politics and Contemporary History in Mozambique: A Set of Epistemological Notes JOÃO PAULO BORGES COELHO Department of History, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane 1. Looking at the Contemporary History of Mozambique in the domestic setting, what strikes one, perhaps even more than questionable historiography, is the scarcity of historiography. The reason for such a situation could be sought, at least partially, in the colonial legacy of difficult access of the majority of the population to more than basic education, in particular the virtual absence of Africans in higher education during the colonial days; to this we could also associate the lack of history courses at the university before independence.1 These factors would act together to create a sort of scarcity of historians and a weak historical tradition, with the consequent lack of substantial historiography. Of course, from another angle we could add that History as an academic disci- pline is not fashionable in the current context of neoliberal transformation of the university, where courses seen as prone to assure jobs are the most popular; or that the situation could be the result of government disinvestment in higher education due to financial constraints or ideological neoliberal creed. At least directly, History has been consistently moving away from the ‘market’. Finally, we could minimise the argument of scarcity altogether, appealing to the series of ‘informal’ historical accounts lately swarming the shelves of the bookshops, mostly written by nationalist veterans and taking the form of biographies or histori- cal testimonies. This would show that – at least outside the university institutional walls –History is doing fine.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Decolonising Images? the Liberation Script in Mozambican History Textbooks, Pp
    Decolonising images? The liberation script in Mozambican history textbooks, pp. 1-27 Decolonising images? The liberation script in Mozambican history textbooks DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2223-0386/2020/n24a1 Rosa Cabecinhas Martins Mapera Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal Universidade Zambeze, Beira, Mozambique [email protected] [email protected] ORCID No.: orcid.org/0000-0002-1491-3420 ORCID No.: orcid.org/0000-0002-7476-2986 Abstract In this article we examine the textbook narratives of the colonial past and the nation-building process in Mozambique, a Southern African country which gained its independence in 1975. One of the priorities after independence was to redesign the state apparatus and social system in order to decolonise people’s minds, foster patriotism and strengthen national cohesion. We have conducted a discourse analysis of the verbal and iconic content of two Mozambican history textbooks, which are exclusively dedicated to national history: one published during the single- party or “socialist” phase; and the other published in the multi-party or “neoliberal” phase and currently in use. For this purpose, we developed an analytic framework to unveil how the textbooks’ written and visual repertoires, and the combination thereof, convey (or otherwise) a diverse and inclusive vision of the nation. Our fndings reveal that although there have been changes in the types of language and images used, the general account of Mozambican history remains identical, emphasising the need for national unity under the leadership of the ruling political elite and recounting the History of Mozambique from the perspective of a single Liberation script, that completely overlooks the agency of women.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Heritagization of the Liberation Struggle in Postcolonial Mozambique
    Draft 3, 29 Agosto 2017 The Heritagization of the Liberation Struggle in Postcolonial Mozambique Albino Jopela Kaleidoscopio - Research in Public Policy and Culture [email protected] Abstract Since Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal in 1975 only three historical sites have been declared National Monuments. All three sites, Matchedje, Chilembene and Nwadjahane, which were declared in 2008, are related to the country‟s struggle for national liberation and they are commonly designated „liberation heritage‟. This can be situated and understood as part of the current nation-building project initiated in 2005 when the former (until 2014) president Armando Guebuza came into power. Ever since then there has been a selective revitalization of state-driven heritage projects, with Government institutions and the ruling Frelimo Party focussing on the memorialisation of the liberation struggle, especially the „struggle heroes‟. While some Mozambicans certainly support the government‟s initiative in setting up monuments, memorials and promoting „national unity‟, many others have contested the specific „politics‟ of representation and memorialisation that underline current heritage projects. This paper examines the politics of heritagization of the liberation struggle in postcolonial Mozambique. 1. Setting the scene Whilst collaborating with the National Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Direcção Nacional do Património Cultural - DNPC) of Mozambique between 2005 and 2009, I was involved in several projects related to the conservation of immovable cultural heritage. One of these projects was the production of a national inventory of 115 monuments and sites to be declared sites of „national interest‟ under the designation of „national heritage‟. According to the justification put forward by the then Ministry of Education and Culture the purpose of this was to, „provide special protection by the state to sites and monuments of exceptional value‟ (Macamo 2008: 2).
    [Show full text]
  • The Urban Space of Mafalala: Origin, Evolution, and Characterization
    The Urban Space of Mafalala: Origin, Evolution, and Characterization NUNO SIMÃO GONÇALVES Universidade de Coimbra Universidade Eduardo Mondlane Abstract: In this article, I consider the origin and urban evolution of Mafalala. Mafalala’s interaction with the colonial city generated synapses that fostered the creation of unique cultural environments from which emerged notable personalities of national artistic, sports and political importance. The material and immaterial heritage condensed in Mafalala is immense and encapsulates a considerable part of the history of Mozambique. Keywords: Mozambique; Maputo; Architecture; Urban studies The Mafalala is probably Maputo’s most famous neighborhood, an almost legendary urban space that tends to be associated with the emergence of Mozambican identity and is hence valued as an emblem of African political and cultural opposition to Portuguese colonial rule.1 The creation of Mozambican literature as a national project is deeply rooted in the work of writers and poets such as José Craveirinha and Noémia de Sousa, who portray Mafalala as a 1 This article results from the project “De S. Paulo de Luanda a Luuanda, de Lourenço Marques a Maputo: capitais coloniais em tempos pós-coloniais” (PTDC/CLE- LLI/122229/2010 - FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER- 019830), which was financed by Fundos FEDER through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade and by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. 125 Gonçalves prominent landscape of the new nation (Trigo 53-57). Several notable Mozambican artists, sports personalities, and politicians were born and raised there. Mafalala is nonetheless a relatively new neighborhood inhabited by descendants of migrants from the most diverse origins, who developed their particular forms of sociability and a multicultural landscape.
    [Show full text]
  • Landmines and Spatial Development Appendix I History of Conflict
    Landmines and Spatial Development Appendix I History of Conflict ∗ Giorgio Chiovelliy Stelios Michalopoulosz Universidad de Montevideo Brown University, CEPR and NBER Elias Papaioannoux London Business School, CEPR December 4, 2019 Abstract This appendix provides an overview of two key periods in the recent history of Mozambique that are intimately linked to landmine contamination. The appendix is not intended to be a comprehensive reconstruction of the War of Independence or the subsequent Civil War. Its aim is to highlight, in a concise way, the events that led Mozambique to be a classified as \heavily mined" at the end of hostilities in 1992. We start by going over the war of independence (1964−1974) and then discuss the ensuing civil war (1977 − 1992). Going over the historical narrative is useful, as it highlights the underlying causes of the widespread usage of landmines. It also puts in context the gigantic effort to clear the country from the thousands of minefields after the peace agreement. We conclude by describing socioeconomic conditions at the end of civil war in 1992. ∗Additional material can be found at www.land-mines.com yGiorgio Chiovelli. Universidad de Montevideo, Department of Economics, Prudencio de Pena 2440, Montevideo, 11600, Uruguay; [email protected]. Web: https://sites.google.com/site/gchiovelli/ zStelios Michalopoulos. Brown University, Department of Economics, 64 Waterman Street, Robinson Hall, Providence RI, 02912, United States; [email protected]. Web: https://sites.google.com/site/steliosecon/ xElias Papaioannou.
    [Show full text]
  • MOZAMBIQUE: a FADING U.N. SUCCESS STORY Jeremy M
    MOZAMBIQUE: A FADING U.N. SUCCESS STORY Jeremy M. Weinstein Jeremy M. Weinstein is a doctoral candidate in political economy and government at Harvard University and a graduate student fellow of the Center for International Development. This article is based in part on research he conducted in formerly Renamo-controlled areas in central and northern Mozambique. As Mozambique enters its tenth year of peace following a brutal and destructive civil war, the signs of continued democratic transformation and pro-market economic reform appear rosy, at least at first glance. Donors and the international community have quietly lauded Joaquim Chissano’s recent announcement that he is “not disposed” to seek a third term as president of this former Portuguese colony of 17 million on the southeast coast of Africa. Together with President Frederick Chiluba’s similar announcement in Zambia a few months ago, it looks to many like an indication that these two African democracies are maturing and consolidating the gains that they have made in recent years. Mozambique’s continued place atop the list of the world’s fastest- growing economies has been seen as another signal that commitment to the “Washington Consensus” will provide the funds required to bring infrastructure, schools, and health care to the rural majority. It is no wonder, then, that Mozambique finds itself highlighted as a success story for the United Nations in conflict-ridden Africa. Many credit Mozambique’s remarkable transformation to the UN’s efforts to sus- tain the drawn-out peace negotiations, demobilize more than 90,000 soldiers, rebuild a unified national army, and foster the rise of a legiti- mate, peaceful opposition.
    [Show full text]
  • Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM)
    Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM): an analysis of a new opposition party in Mozambique Title: Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM): an analysis of a new opposition party in Mozambique Author: Adriano Nuvunga & José Adalima Edition: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Design & Layout: é-Design Printing: CIEDIMA Copies: 500 © FES - 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express permission, in writing, of both the author and the publisher. Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM): an analysis of a new opposition party in Mozambique STUDIES ON POLITICAL PARTIES AND DEMOCRACY Adriano Nuvunga & José Adalima About the authors: Adriano Nuvunga is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique and PhD student at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. José Laimone Adalima is a Lecturer/Researcher at the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (Eduardo Mondlane University). He is a PhD student in Anthropology (University of Pretoria/ South Africa). FRIEDRICH - EBERT - STIFTUNG MDM - an analysis of a new opposition party in Mozambique Adriano Nuvunga & José Adalima 1. Introduction The formation of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) as a breakaway party from the former rebel movement, RENAMO, shocked the political system. It appeared that the MDM was strong enough to break the bipolarization that had characterized Mozambican politics since the democracy- founding elections of 1994. In fact, this was one of the party’s key objectives as put forward by its leadership soon after the party’s formation in March 2009.
    [Show full text]