The 7 seasons of the past perfect government spoken by Egídio Vaz

Paulo Vilanculo"

Several digital media outlets are reporting on the proposal to extend the presidential term from 5 to 7 years, while maintaining the one-term rule in Mozambique. The proposal, attributed to MP Egídio Vaz and presented within the framework of the National Inclusive Dialogue, to extend the presidential term in Mozambique from five to seven years, while maintaining the limit of a single re-election, arises in a context where a large part of society continues to demand reforms capable of strengthening transparency, accountability, the independence of institutions, and the effective participation of citizens, and not necessarily the prolongation of the time rulers remain in power. This has opened a more sensitive debate within Mozambican democracy, leading to skeptical unease about whether altering the rules governing the exercise of power represents institutional improvement or a mechanism for political consolidation.

The particularly suggestive metaphor of the "seven seasons of the past perfect of governance" is a fitting example. The choice of expression is not accidental. The astronomical season refers to the changes or variations in climate, temperature, and day length that occur due to the tilt of the Earth's heliocentric axis in its revolution around the Sun, and how this affects the climate globally and regionally. In this text, the image of the seasons represents the different cycles of gravitation or revolution of governance, while the "past perfect" symbolizes actions already completed and whose results can be evaluated by society. The past perfect is a verb tense that indicates a past action that gives the idea of ​​a complete and finished fact, divided into two forms, simple and compound. In the simple form, it is formed by a single verb (e.g., They ate "yesterday"). The compound form is formed by an auxiliary verb + the main verb, indicating an action that began in the past but may be repeated or extended to the present (e.g., "He has been working very hard"). The seasons of the cycles, while the past perfect tense refers to completed events, whose governmental results can already be judged by history.

Since independence, it has often been observed that, within the prevailing vicious political systems, institutions always seem to function to preserve those who govern and not to serve those who are governed. Since national independence, Mozambique has gone through different political and economic phases, all marked by promises of structural transformation. More than fifty-one years later, the country continues to face profound challenges: persistent poverty, growing unemployment that no longer affects only the youth, social inequality, degradation of public services, recurring corruption, and a high degree of economic dependence. From this perspective, it seems that Egídio Vaz wants to propose the resurrection of the past 51 years of independence, where governments neither nourished the many (the people) nor satisfied the few who governed—hence the idea of ​​the chameleon. The "resurrection" of the temporal space represents a kind of quest to reclaim the promises of the past, in which, instead of addressing the shortcomings observed over decades of governance, the aim is to create conditions to prolong the same political model and maintain the same problems that have not yet managed to satisfy even the tiniest part of the population's expectations, where fifty-one years later many continue to not benefit from the fruits of independence, while a small elite concentrates political and economic advantages.

Now, the "resurrection" suggests the prolongation of past political practices, marked by unfulfilled promises and the concentration of development benefits in restricted groups. Proponents of extending the term might argue that seven years allows for greater governmental stability, better implementation of structural programs, and less pressure from electoral cycles. The criticism doesn't simply reject seven years as a chronological period. The target of the reflection is different. The implicit message is clear to the sycophants and lackeys that, before thinking about prolonging the future to take advantage of the people's bellies, they should dispense with evaluating the past governance. Egídio Vaz's proposal encourages us to understand that they will "eat" 14 years, that is, stretch the current 5 years of celebrations to 7, and then double it. In other words, the elections scheduled for 2029 would be moved to 2031, and the second term would end in 2039 (...). By resorting to the metaphor of the "seven seasons of the past perfect of governance," the proposal should not be seen merely as a change in the season of time or in the constitutional one.

What kind of governance, then, believes that solving the people's problems lies in increasing the time available to govern? If every five years of half a century haven't produced the expected results, what objective guarantee is there that seven years alone will transform the quality of public policies?The answer lies not in the amount of time granted to power, but in the quality of leadership, institutional responsibility, and the trust that rulers manage to build with citizens. The central question, therefore, is whether the experience accumulated over decades justifies granting even more time to the same governance models or whether, on the contrary, it recommends the renewal of leadership and public policies. Time, in itself, has never been synonymous with competence, efficiency, or commitment to the collective interest. Indeed, effectiveness should not be seen as synonymous with temporal extension. Naturally, any proposal for constitutional revision can be legitimate within a State governed by the rule of law, provided it results from broad national consensus, transparent public debates, and robust democratic mechanisms. However, reforms of this nature cannot be evaluated solely from a legal perspective. They carry an ethical, political, and historical dimension that demands careful consideration. In consolidated democracies, changes to the rules governing the exercise of power are usually analyzed cautiously precisely to prevent short-term interests from prevailing over republican principles.

The astronomical analogy focuses on the Earth (the rulers) and the people on the Sun (in this text, the sun represents the governed people), reminding us that everything should revolve around the latter. This logic, frequently observed in political practice, is that the people represent the Sun around which the rulers should gravitate, but often it is the population that seems to revolve according to the interests of the ruling elites. In a mature democracy, the center of political action should not be the ruler, but the citizen. Given this context, the discussion about extending the presidential term seems to shift the focus away from national priorities. Constitutions exist to protect the State and citizens, not to accommodate temporary strategies for maintaining power. Regardless of each citizen's political position, a constitutional reform of this nature must obey the principle of public necessity and not the circumstantial convenience of political actors. Democratic alternation does not exist merely to change people; it exists to prevent prolonged power from producing institutional complacency, weakening oversight mechanisms, and reducing the critical capacity of society.

Ultimately, what's needed is a deeper reflection than simply counting years. More than extending the political calendar, Mozambique faces the challenge of improving the quality of governance. The real debate may not be between five or seven years, but between governments that produce concrete results and governments that accumulate unfulfilled promises; knowing for whom one governs, with what results, and under what level of accountability to the citizens. After all, history demonstrates that the legitimacy of a government is not measured by the length of its mandate, but by its ability to respond to the needs of the people, strengthen democratic institutions, and leave a legacy of sustainable development. The population will measure the legitimacy of rulers not by the time they remain in office, but by the results effectively achieved during their short time in power. Thus, before asking for more time to govern, it is essential to demonstrate that the time already granted has truly been put at the service of the people. Before discussing the length of mandates, it would be more urgent to discuss the results produced by the mandates already served. Extending the term of office without a profound transformation of institutions may only prolong unresolved structural problems, instead of creating conditions for genuine political renewal.

2025/12/3