A national dialogue was announced and a “torch of unity” lit, but many Mozambicans are suspicious about the government’s attempts to address bitter divisions exposed in the last violence-scarred election.
President Daniel Chapo announced the dialogue in March after taking charge of the country of 33 million people that was for weeks engulfed in demonstrations against the results of the October vote in which scores of people were killed.
It will be spearheaded by an 18-person commission that will tour the country to hear the concerns that burst into the open at the election, ranging from youth joblessness to alleged state cronyism.
All political parties have seats and three places reserved for civil society are to be filled by July.
But glaringly absent from the process so far has been the charismatic opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, who fired up the protests by insisting he won the vote and the official results were rigged.
“Excluding Mondlane also means excluding his people,” said analyst Andre Mulungo of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights.
The politician, popular with young people, delivered the ruling socialist Frelimo party the strongest challenge of its 50 years in power and rearranged the political landscape with his passionate campaign, brushing aside the traditional opposition.
Not having him on the commission overseeing the planned dialogue undermines the process, said Mulungo, adding: “The risk of these people feeling unrepresented and not recognising the outcomes of this dialogue is high.”
‘Enormous disappointment’
By the time Mondlane called an end to weeks of protests, around 390 people were dead, according to civil society group Plataforma Decide that tracked the toll.
Most were protestors caught up in a violent police crackdown that also left scores of people wounded and hundreds jailed, it said.
The turmoil — the worst civil unrest since the end of the civil war in 1992 — stalled the economy of the gas-rich but impoverished country, costing half a million dollars and 50,000 jobs, according to government figures.
“There is still enormous disappointment among people regarding the authorities’ brutality,” said political analyst Joao Feijo. “The state must assume responsibility for the damages caused.”
Frelimo will approach the dialogue with the intention of reinforcing its position, Feijo said.
“I think it will fail because Frelimo is not prepared to step away from power,” he added.
Wilker Dias from Plataforma Decide said the process was “exclusionary” because young people were not represented. The opposition “is a victim of the regime”, he said.
It’s over?
Mondlane has for weeks been seeking approval to register his new party Anamalala, which means “It’s Over”, in reference to a campaign promise to end government corruption and abuse.
Supporters, many inspired into political activism by his campaign, remain hopeful.
“I think he and we started a fight that has to succeed, and we continue to place our trust in him,” said Candido Guambe.
For another young activist, Celia Mucondo, the dialogue is a waste of scarce resources. “The state is failing to manage our problems,” she said, adding that money spent on the process would make the country’s situation “worsen even further”.
Adding to scepticism that the process will result in any real change is that it is likely to last for months, even up to the next municipal elections in 2028.
There is also little enthusiasm for Chapo’s “unity torch” that was lit in April and is touring the country, due to arrive in Maputo on June 25, on the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence from Portugal.
“You don’t unite people with torches,” said Mulungo. “They are united with good governance, inclusion, and by eliminating exclusion and marginalisation.”
