Mozambican opposition, alternative politics or a flock of storks on missed flights?

Paulo Vilanculo "

This article delves into the crisis of political parties, their internal conflicts and leadership disputes, which paint a picture of an opposition that is flying in circles, without direction, without people and without a project. The article analyses the recent crisis within the PODEMOS party, highlighted by the failed election of its Secretary-General, as a reflection of the structural and strategic weaknesses that plague the Mozambican opposition in general. How can we believe in an opposition that, at decisive moments, gets entangled in petty disputes and forgets its greater commitment to the people? What kind of opposition do we want in Mozambique? Recently, Mozambique was the stage for yet another political spectacle that, instead of establishing a solid alternative to the current government, highlighted how much the opposition parties remain hostage to their own contradictions. The internal war that unfolded around the election of the new Secretary-General of the “PODEMOS” party ended abruptly, without any conclusion or clarity, like a play whose actors lost the script halfway through the play. Instead of a democratic and edifying outcome, there was an embarrassing silence and a sober ending that raises more questions than it offers answers. The attempt to elect a new Secretary-General, far from being an exercise in internal democracy, turned out to be an arena of inflated egos, excessive ambitions and a total lack of programmatic cohesion. Each wing of the party seemed to speak a different language, while the party members watched in bewilderment as a project that had not yet left its political infancy was imploded. The image that remains is that of a party without a compass, without clear leadership and without a defined ideological line, in other words, a boat adrift in an already turbulent sea. The failure to elect the Secretary-General is therefore more than an internal episode. It is a symptom of a deeper crisis that is affecting several opposition parties: the difficulty in establishing themselves as true alternatives, with leaders committed to collective causes and not just to personal careers. The crisis in PODEMOS, although caricatured and still in its infancy, is a miniature reflection of the storm that is ravaging more established parties such as RENAMO. There, too, chaos reigns disguised as internal debate. The fight to remove Ossufo Momade by an internal group that wields an "iron fist" against his leadership reveals not only a legitimate dispute for renewal, but above all a political culture that prefers confrontation to construction, fragmentation to consensus. At a time when the country is experiencing profound social, economic and political crises, the absence of a solid, serious and mobilizing opposition only strengthens the status quo. The Mozambican opposition continues to be, in many cases, a space for political survival rather than for national transformation. Without organized pressure, without clear proposals and without leaders who inspire confidence, Mozambican democracy will continue to limp along, with a façade of pluralism and an increasingly skeptical people. Meanwhile, the people, who are waiting for answers to their real needs, remain orphaned from legitimate representation. The Mozambican opposition has become, in many cases, a caricature of itself: parties without strategy, leaders without principles and structures without people. If the struggle for internal power continues to be the focus of their energies, all that will remain will be the echo of hollow acronyms, increasingly distant from the popular hope that they once intended to embody. The Mozambican opposition, at this rate, seems more like a patchwork quilt cobbled together by individual ambitions than a battlefield for collective ideals. The consequence is predictable: popular discredit and erosion of the already fragile trust in political pluralism. It is known that storks are migratory birds, often seen as symbols of hope or renewal. But in the Mozambican political context, they seem to represent more erratic figures, who appear in flocks during election periods and disappear when it is time for hard work and base building. We need parties that organize themselves as true democratic institutions, with the capacity for self-criticism, a programmatic structure and strategic vision. On the other hand, the case of the New Democracy Party and the usurpation of its presidency during Vitano Singano’s imprisonment for around six months is another tragic reflection of the structural fragility of the Mozambican opposition parties. Instead of a gesture of solidarity or institutional defence of its imprisoned leader, what we saw was an opportunistic dispute for power. Some party members took advantage of Singano’s forced absence to reconfigure the leadership in their own way, without legitimate internal debate or clear mechanisms for provisional succession, just a silent behind-the-scenes struggle, which exposed the PND to ridicule and public doubt, revealing a logic of short-term power, where the position of the presidency is worth more than the values that should sustain it. Unfortunately, what we see with PODEMOS is that the opposition parties have become a bunch of disoriented “storks”, flapping their wings in circles, not knowing where to fly. PODEMOS has not yet shown itself to be different from this cyclical and opportunistic pattern. Just like disoriented storks that fly over the political space without direction, the opposition parties demonstrate more of a survival instinct than a capacity for change. Between internal struggles for power, such as those faced within RENAMO against Ossufo Momade and within the PND during the arrest of Vitano Singano, it becomes clear that the opposition prefers to fight itself rather than firmly and strategically confront the party in power. Ultimately, the struggle for power within the opposition parties has turned out to be a veritable war, in which each protagonist sees himself as a savior, but acts as a usurper in a minefield of vanities where collective projects are swallowed up by personal ambitions. Instead of alternatives, erratic figures, fragile structures and leaders driven by personal vanity emerge. In this scenario, the Mozambican people remain orphaned by serious and coherent political representation, and democracy loses its real meaning. The opposition, portrayed in this way, runs the risk of becoming a flock of empty acronyms – a bunch of storks flapping their wings in circles, incapable of building a new path for Mozambique. RENAMO, PODEMOS and other opposition parties seem to be hostages of an opposition that does not know how to oppose itself responsibly. Instead of presenting themselves as programmatic alternatives, all parties become stages for ideological gladiators fighting for fragile thrones, while the audience, the people, watches, once again, disillusioned.

2025/12/3