MOZAMBIQUE: A COUNTRY THAT CAN HARDLY ASPIRE TO DEMOCRACY

Afonso Almeida Brandão"

DAfter Samora Moisés Machel, the (mis)governments of the "Chuxalist" FRELIXO Party of Joaquim Chissano, Armando Guebuza, and Filipe Nyuse were the "gravediggers of Mozambique's Democracy." While Samora Moisés Machel fought in the jungles against Salazar's fascist regime, it is worth remembering that he would win the Battle for Democracy against Fascism in 1974 and 1975, and carried out the decolonization of the former Overseas State of Mozambique under the conditions available, opening Mozambique's gateway to the European Union and Southern Africa—not forgetting the Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOPS), perhaps even the CPLP. Having reached this point, it is timely to ask: what have the remaining (mis)governments of the FRELIXO Socialist Party left us? Joaquim Chissano's love for "Education," Armando Guebuza's "Ferocity," and Filipe Nyusi's "assault" on the Public Treasury and "blunders"? We know that truths are hard to hear and that they hurt. Samora Moses MachelAfter inaugurating the welfare policies we have in the country today, he would leave us with a guaranteed minimum income, but without its natural consequence, which would be the training and integration of assisted families into the labor market. He continued the Concrete Policy and based his economic policy on civil construction and the settling of families in the outskirts of cities, from south to north of Mozambique, to whom he promised homes of their own, along with the municipal corruption stemming from the policy of approved agricultural land for construction. And then came the sad legacy to the country with his future successors and FRELIXO (mis)governors, such as Joaquim Chissano, Armando Guebuza, and Filipe Nyusi, in addition to many other "half-baked" Frelimistas of equal caliber, whom most Mozambicans know well. In the end, these three former Presidents of the Republic of Mozambique would end up leaving us the swamp in which they themselves allowed themselves to be mired. Does anyone have any doubts about this unquestionable Reality?!... They all held absolute majorities (whether rigged or not!) and essentially deepened FRELIXO's corrupt power in business dealings with the Regime's companies, expanded the power of some businessmen in business dealings with the "friendly" intervention of the State, allowed the dominance of several companies that they all came to control, with the subsequent help of their "offspring" in the disastrous economy, and in the process destroyed some of Mozambique's best companies—of which MABOR is one example among many. And all this because they never had the oversight of the GCCC (Central Office for Combating Corruption), nor the cement or railway sectors, in addition to the bankruptcy of the financial system, culminating in the debacle and subsequent disappearance of several of these large and profitable companies. And FRELIXO did nothing more than leave Mozambique "the legacy of bankruptcy" and several external aid grants from European and international countries such as the USA, Japan, and China, in addition to the largest debt in our history. In the economy, FRELIXO's "Chuxalista" fixation on the Internal Market remained, even though it attempted privileged ties with Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, and Angola, in addition to accentuating Filipe Nyusi's temptation with South Africa, with Brazil, and now with Lula da Silva. Are these the demanding markets Mozambique was hoping for...? The three former Presidents of the Republicúpublic of our Country, “friendly collaborators” of the FRELIXO (dis)Governments, always “magic” their opening to the Communist and Socialist Left to gain access to Power, deepening in their 50 years of “perch” the control of the Frelimista family over the institutions of society at the expense of the State. Furthermore, these three Presidents not only committed blunder after blunder, but also committed numerous outrages as Heads of State of Mozambique. And this is not to mention the creation of a legal safety net designed to nullify or postpone the consequences of corruption—a corruption with which these people have coexisted quite comfortably, not to mention the case of Hidden Debts. Under pressure from these gentlemen, social policy became the banner that this "trio" maintained and continues to maintain now, with the (scandalous!) succession of Daniel Chapo, to keep the country asleep. And that's why they still rely on the "shady swindle" of "voting ballot theft," with the cronyism of leftist media outlets affiliated with the ruling party since 1975, such as the newspapers NOTÍCIAS, DIÁRIO DE MOÇAMBIQUE, DOMINGO, PÚBLICO, TVM, and RM, with the confusion generated by the Covid-19 pandemic, as our readers will surely recall. In the economy, FRELIMO has always lived "between various loves": concessions to the Left, with effects on growing government spending; the opportunity for some "friendly" companies to finance a significant portion of the media; a certain animosity toward private activity that is more independent of the government; and, naturally, the growing dependence on funds from the European Union and the International Community. FRELIXO as a Democratic Party does not exist; it is an electoral machine financed by the State and hundreds of "cronies." Neither does the Democratic Regime, especially since the system of democratic centralism was strengthened, in which chiefs choose the Indigenous people, and the grateful Indians elect the Chief. We hope that "the music" of Venâncio Mondlane's new Party will "bring order to the Assembly of the Republic," the so-called "house of Democracy," and also to our country... Because if the FRELIMO government cared about the future of the Mozambican people and economic growth, it would learn from the past. If it did, it would have learned that, over the last five decades, current results have been driven by three fundamental elements: foreign investment, industry, and exports. The national problem is that the (mis)governments of FRELIXO's "Chuxalistas" study little and know even less, and with a Minister of Economy who is a lawyer, one wouldn't expect much more. For example, one of the additional reasons why the Mozambican economy isn't growing is that we have not one economy, but two: the first, made up of modern, national and foreign companies, mostly exporters, staffed by reasonably qualified executives and workers; a second economy made up of very small companies (90% of all Mozambican companies) that survive in the Internal Market under the devastating effects of excessive competition and with low-skilled workers, in street markets, fairs, cafes, restaurants, bars, mini-markets, small shops, subsistence farming, some artisanal fishing, and various "odd jobs." This is an (?) economy that survives in the Internal Market, with no future as an economy that creates wealth and growth. It's a low-skill, low-wage economy, justified only by social reasons, but urgently needs to be transformed so that the economy as a whole can grow. These are the reasons why we argue that Mozambique urgently needs to change course to avoid collective suicide tomorrow. And invest in education, healthcare, and industrialization. Because, in the circumstances described, these are the two transformative elements of the economy and our society. We consider it essential to reduce the size of the poor sector of the economy, made up of small businesses, through investment in industry and the creation of better-paid jobs, because only the industrial sector can absorb low-skilled workers in repetitive tasks requiring less complex training. In addition, education, particularly for children, creates the conditions for medium-term growth, thus breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and ignorance that currently fuels the workforce of the poor sector of the economy. Of course, all of this would be possible if the FRELIMO Party aspired to deepen democracy, understood the reasons for the lack of economic growth, and studied the most appropriate solutions. This will never happen under the ignorant (mis)governance of Daniel Chapo's large "Chuxalista" family and their associated interests. THE TRUTHS — we repeat — ARE HARD TO HEAR AND HURT A LOT! FOR EVERYONE'S SAKE, WE ASK FOR PATIENCE AND URGENT CHANGES

2025/12/3