Mozambique is in turmoil following a disputed election that has sparked widespread protests. Anger over unemployment, corruption, and police brutality has fueled unrest, with over 100 people killed. Frustrations with the ruling Frelimo party’s alleged vote-rigging have led to violent clashes and social upheaval. Protesters demand change as economic hardships worsen. With neither side willing to compromise, the crisis reflects broader discontent sweeping across African cities, signalling that Mozambique’s unrest may not stand alone.
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From The Economist, published under licence. The original article can be found on www.economist.com
© 2024 The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved.
The Economist
The aftermath of a rigged election is threatening a social revolt ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Fallen electricity poles, burnt tyres and scattered stones lie in the narrow streets of Maxaquene, a neighbourhood in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. They tell of the protests that have rocked the nation of 35m people since a disputed election in October. “So many people want to change the country,” says Jaime, a student, shopkeeper and first-time protester. He is angry about unemployment, corruption and police brutality.
The violence in Mozambique, in which more than 100 people have so far been killed, is particularly bad. Yet the underlying frustrations are widespread. In cities across Africa, many young people feel like Jaime. In Botswana, Ghana and Senegal voters angry about corruption and the cost of living turfed out incumbent leaders this year. Where that option was unavailable, such as in Kenya, they have taken to the streets.
Mozambique’s ruling party, Frelimo, has been in charge since independence from Portugal in 1975. The electoral commission says that its candidate, Daniel Chapo, won 71% of the vote in October. Nobody believes that. International observers say the ballot was marred by irregularities. The independent candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, who officially scored 20%, claims he was the real winner and has called for a revolution. Though he has offered little evidence, his supporters are taking him at his word. A protest against vote-rigging has turned into a social revolt.
There was a time when the way to overthrow an undemocratic African government was by launching a rural rebellion. Mr Mondlane, a part-time pastor with a populist touch, is one of a new breed of politicians who instead harness the frustrations of young people in cities. To them he is simply “VM7”, after Cristiano Ronaldo, a champion footballer who wears the number-seven shirt and styles himself “CR7”. His live Facebook broadcasts, delivered from a hiding place abroad, have become popular viewing. He keeps things interesting by announcing new tactics, from jamming traffic to banging saucepans.
His followers have gone further. Angry crowds have attacked police stations, court houses and Frelimo party offices. In one town they broke open the prison and set scores of inmates free. Several times protesters have closed the main border crossing with South Africa. “Those in power cannot govern the country any more,” says a civil servant. As the state’s authority evaporates, opportunists have set up informal toll gates to shake down drivers.
The protesters believe the economy is rigged against them, just as surely as the election was. The average Mozambican is poorer than nine years ago (and, with an annual income of barely $600 per person, poorer than almost anyone else in the world). Many consider Frelimo, which sees itself as the party of the people, a conspiracy of the corrupt. A decade ago officials in Maputo plotted with bankers in London and a shipbuilding company in Lebanon to borrow more than $1bn in secret, pocketing millions of dollars in kickbacks along the way. The economy crashed when the hidden debts were revealed in 2016. Some of the money was used to buy overpriced fishing trawlers, which now lie rusting in the harbour; an auction to sell them this month did not attract a single bid.
Politicians profit from the foreign capital that flows into the country and the natural resources that flow out. “Frelimo is not a political party, it’s a scheme to make business,” says João Feijó, a sociologist. The northern province of Cabo Delgado has become a thoroughfare for smuggling rubies, heroin and timber, and a base for the local franchise of Islamic State, which recruits among those shut out of riches. In 2021 TotalEnergies suspended a vast gas project there after jihadists massacred hundreds of civilians. Protesters in the province have toppled a statue of Alberto Chipande, the man whose finger supposedly fired the first shot in Mozambique’s war of independence, and who now has fingers in several businesses.
Frelimo’s leaders have offered no response to the crisis except bullets. On December 11th Amnesty International, a rights group, said security forces had killed at least 110 people since the protests began. Among the victims are children shot dead while walking home from school or queueing for bread. Police chiefs have said that protesters are terrorists and accused them of using children as human shields. Still the demonstrations grow. People are so appalled by the arrogance of the government that they have “started losing their fear”, says Quitéria Guirengane, an activist.
A crescendo may come around Christmas, when the constitutional court is expected to validate the election results. The judges say they have received death threats, without saying from whom. In October an opposition lawyer, who was preparing submissions to the court, was gunned down in his car. Mr Mondlane has told his followers to cancel their festive plans so that they can take to the streets when Mr Chapo’s victory is confirmed.
Neither side is in the mood for compromise. Mr Mondlane has said that even a rerun election would not satisfy him. The outgoing president, Filipe Nyusi, has hinted at talks without conceding that there is anything to talk about. The mood in the army is unclear. Neighbouring governments, some of which have also had dodgy elections, have been silent, even though the crisis is hurting regional trade.
Even if the election dispute is solved, fixing a broken economy will be harder. The growth of cities and the spread of smartphones and education have raised hopes that have not been fulfilled. Governments across Africa are grappling with similar problems. The eruption in Mozambique will not be the last.
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