A bloody youthquake in Mozambique is another sign of the crumbling of the old order in Africa | Estêvão Chavisso

R.A bullet has separated on the face of the young man, and his teeth were scattered in a pool of blood on the concrete ground. With more shots in the air, the happy sounds of thousands of people gathered in the middle of Mapoto on January 9 turned to screaming. In my video camera, I continued filming, even when I also started running.

We knew this might happen. Three months ago, Mozambekan He went to the polls in the elections I have already changed the course of my history.

Frilimo, the party that has ruled Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975, faced the loss of power for the first time. Of course, the organization that maintained an iron fist for half a century will not leave it easily. When the results were announced in October, Frelemo’s candidate, Daniel Chapo, was The winner announced With 70.7 % of the vote. IDP observers, including the European Union mission “Violations during the unjustified change and change of election results,” but they did not say who believed that he won.

The Constitutional Council in Mozambique, the highest electoral body, later reduced the victory of Chapo to 65 %, without providing any other explanation about the cause. What is clear is, regardless of who should have won, in any real democracy that these elections were canceled in view of the violations, which civil society groups believe in the voter registration process. Once Chapo was announced, the winner, Thousands moved to the streets to protest – As far as the repression began.

During the next three months, the repercussions were covered, during which 314 People died and 633 He was shot, according to the Civil Society Group, Platforma decided. Two of these deaths were senior advisers to Venâncio Mondlane, the opposition candidate who mobilized Farmo’s feelings. Mondel received 24 % in the elections that refused her legitimacy.

After his allies were killed -An estimated 10-15 bullets were fired at them because it traveled on a main road to Mapoto-Mondlan escaped from the country, but its popularity only grew. Broadcasting from secret sites, use social media to Call the thousands to the streets. The response was like anything unprecedented in the post -independence history, as the protests were frequently attending the capital. The borders and ports were bannedEnormous The damage to the economy.

A week before the opening of his opponent, Mondlan returned from exile. He poured tens of thousands on the streets to welcome him, mobilizing Mapoto’s narrow alleys while following his caravan. the The police disperse the demonstrators With tear gas and shooting. This was when I saw the young man shot in front of me.

Look at broader views, events in Mozambique It is part of the trend: a wave of anti -government protests sweeping an area where the young population is no longer affected by the edge of the liberation era. Throughout South Africa, these parties have long been circulated to nostalgia to the front lines when Africans raised the restrictions of colonialism or the rule of the white minority. But most of the population is smaller than to remember those days, and in any case they have more urgent concerns about the high economic inequality and unemployment.

In neighboring South Africa, the African National Congress She lost her majority in the elections last May For the first time since the fall of the apartheid. The Potswana Democratic Party has been in power since independence in 1966, He was defeated in the November elections last year. And in Namibia, Hizb ut -Tahrir Swapo clung to the majority But she has suffered from the worst results of Parliament since independence. But violence was more clear in Mozambique.

As a socialist liberation party, in 1962, Freeimo launched a bloody struggle for a decade against the brutal colonial regime in Portugal. The first post -independence president, Samura Machyle, is still respected among the whole of Africa today. But as often, once in power, the editors forgot where they came from. The party, who has promised every citizen a brighter future for half a century over one of the poorest countries in the world. More than half of the population, approximately 19 million people, live below the poverty line.

It was not necessary to be this way. It is once one of the fastest growing economies in the world, Mozambique is blessed with natural gas, rubies and other metal wealth. But the “development” of these origins was suffering from corruption scandals. The so -called Tuna bond scandal It is one of the worst worst Africa, and has led to the failure to pay the debt that prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to suspend budget lending in 2016. The so -called one foreign investment in Africa is $ 20 billion. However, even Indoye, the government -funded National Development Agency, says more than 70 % of the population in the north live under food poverty. The poor young people motivated to join an armed rebellion there.

The larger population composition was Gamechanger throughout South Africa, as young voters (relatively) gave a chance. The new President of Botswana, Douma Boko, a 55 -year -old lawyer. Mondlan, the 51 -year -old priest, uses social media (in contrast, Freeimo still depends on old government television to broadcast his message). Almost daily, I run my WhatsApp messages to watch Mondlane broadcasts; On Facebook, he talks to the fans in short sharp videos becoming a virus quickly.

Mondlan has his critics. Some accuse him of being less than essential – vital policies to rebuild a nation that has high unemployment rates – and says that he simply benefits from indispensable youth. (He said that he will determine the taxes of companies that benefit from the wealth of Mozambique resources Reference To make the new Dubai. But their dominant abstinence was “”Anamalaala(The term Makhuwa used by Mondlane, this means “ended” for Fleemo).

After Mondlan returned to Mapoto, his parallel inauguration was held as “the head of the people.” Watch thousands on Facebook. He promised to call for protests again if a series of demands are not fulfilled, including the release of detainees to show them against the election results. Although we do not know what his political fate will be, what helped unleash unambiguously. A new political generation rises.

• Estêvão Chavisso is a journalist based in Mozambique, where he is the coordinator of Losa, the National News Agency in Portugal

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