Mozambique

"Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development until the mid 1990s. The ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement between Frelimo and rebel Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo) forces ended the fighting in 1992. In December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim Chissano stepped down after 18 years in office. His elected successor, Armando Emilio Guebuza, promised to continue the sound economic policies that have encouraged foreign investment. President Guebuza was reelected to a second term in October 2009. However, the elections were flawed by voter fraud, questionable disqualification of candidates, and Frelimo use of government resources during the campaign. As a result, Freedom House removed Mozambique from its list of electoral democracies."

This is the CIA version, and it seems to leave very little more to be said. In fact, there is a great deal more, and it renders the CIA version somewhat shaded. Obviously the CIA does not want to applaud the Mozambique government for backing the "terrorists" of ZANU and ZAPU who fought to throw the last of the British out of Rhodesia, especially when you consider what a monster Mugabe has turned out to be since Ian Smith went the way of all colonies; but that struggle was valid and legitimate, and crucial in bringing down apartheid in South Africa as well – indeed, the fall of Rhodesia was a much more significant catalyst than the death of Steve Biko or the international sanctions that were being busted anyway. Nor does it wish to mention the fact that the Renamo guerrillas who fought the civil war in Mozambique were funded, trained and supported by the racist regime in Pretoria, with a little bit of help from Salisbury, Rhodesia’s capital. Something near to a million people died in that civil war, and yes the first President after independence, Samora Machel, ran a Marxist government, but strangely there were open elections in Mozambique where there were none in either South Africa or Rhodesia, and nothing in the Mozambique constitution prevented designated groups of people from sitting on certain park benches or using certain public lavatories or living in human conditions. Nor does it mention the transition from impoverished state in the 1970s to one of the world’s fastest growing economies today, which is impressive in itself, and then still more so when you consider the floods of 2000 and 2001, which turned into the drought of 2002. 50% of Mozambiquans, according to statistics published by the BBC, still live on less than $1 a day. Strange form of Marxism anyway; the current President is a millionaire businessman who made his money out of energy and transport – who knew they allowed individuals to run successful businesses in Marxist countries?


Marks for: 1975 (the year of independence)
 
Marks against: 2015 (the year in which marriage to their victims, rather than prison, became the standard punishment for rapists)

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