Podemos: A Poisoned Gift to the People

There is no doubt that Podemos deserves a yellow card for its underhanded and vile stance. Ethicicide (the literal death of ethics) cannot be normalised. This party, although a few years old, in the last rat race, would have benefited greatly from the fall of Renamo and the rise of Venâncio Mondlane as one of the most relevant actors in domestic politics and a little more. Podemos emerged as an unexpected intruder in the old dance of Mozambican political giants. But, in the end, Podemos was never a new player, much less a party with aspirations of going so far, and an analysis of its genesis can corroborate this idea. The revolutionary spirit that had taken hold of a considerable electoral universe, would fall into the same rigged game given Venâncio Mondlane's inability to do anything greater, as everything indicated.

The party's meteoric rise to second place in the elections was not the result of a well-structured project or a cohesive leadership. It was a side effect of the people's desperation for change, driven by the credibility of Venâncio Mondlane, the true driving force behind Podemos's hopes. But by distancing itself from Mondlane, Podemos proved to be nothing more than a new group of old opportunists whose umbilical cord still lies within the ranks of Frelimo.

“It's a disgrace to see the human race in a rat race.”Mozambican politics has long since ceased to be a space for public service and has become a rat race, where each party seeks only their survival and personal advancement, without any real commitment to those who put them in power. Podemos, which should have been a new breath of hope, has shown itself to be just another competitor in this animalistic struggle for power, without any real project for change.

The attempt to purge legitimate deputies under bureaucratic pretexts revealed the improvised nature of its structure. The criteria for the electoral lists were nothing more than a mechanical exercise in fulfilling requirements, and not a conscious choice of representatives of the people. As in the Bob Marley song, Podemos was just another "rat" trying to get to the top, without structure or awareness of the game. "Oh, what a rat race! This is the rat race!" It's the same dirty race as always, and Podemos just joined it.

And when the moment of truth arrived, Podemos revealed its essence. It accepted defeat without resistance, without even showing solidarity with the victims of post-election repression. While the people who brought them to power died in the streets, Podemos disappeared, without any position worthy of a party that intended to be a voice for change. “Some a-gonna hate, some a-gonna praise,” and Podemos chose not to displease the real owners of the game. It remained silent, allowing the people to be used and discarded, demonstrating that, in the end, it was never on the side of the victims, but rather of the system.

Podemos was a poisoned gift to the Mozambican people, an artificially inflated balloon of hope that burst upon first contact with the country's political reality. “Don't forget your history; know your destiny.” The Mozambican people have lived through too many empty promises to fall for that trick again. Podemos wanted to chase the rats away, but forgot that, without strategy or strength, it ended up as just another disposable piece in the game.

Bob Marley, in Rat Race, already foresaw the cruel nature of the political game. While the parties race madly for the pot, the people are just a disposable springboard for their ambitions. Podemos, which could have been an agent of transformation, turned out to be just another rat in this race, seeking space at the banquet table of power. But what separates a successful rat from a disposable rat is cunning. And, by all indications, Podemos doesn't even have that.