Mozambique, a country “on a knife edge” fifty years after its independence
On June 25, 1975, Mozambique freed itself from Portuguese colonial rule. Fifty years later, the southern African country remains one of the poorest and is experiencing a period of significant instability. A segment of the population, no longer afraid to protest despite reprisals, blames this widespread sclerosis on Frelimo, the party in power since independence.
On June 25, 1975, after five centuries of colonization and a ten-year war of liberation against Portugal (1964-1974), Mozambique gained independence. Fifty years later, the country and its president, Daniel Chapo, do not seem to be celebrating. O País, one of Mozambique's leading newspapers, barely published a tiny article to mark the anniversary, which it seemingly ignored.
The headline highlights the security measures in place to ensure the event would not be disrupted. Recent months have been marked by successive violence following the disputed election of Chapo, the candidate of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), which has been in power since independence.
In another article , the daily chooses to give the floor to Ossufo Momade, president of Renamo (National Resistance of Mozambique). This opposition party emerged from the armed guerrillas that waged sixteen years of civil war (1977-1992) against Frelimo, a conflict that left more than a million dead. “The country, given over to corruption and organized crime, has not yet achieved its total independence […]. Mozambique is a reference in the world as an unstable nation, especially in the post-election period, a country intolerant to the exercise of
Courrier International
