Mozambique | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

Mozambique experienced almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony before it became independent in 1975. The country has had a difficult time in developing, largely due to economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war. The ruling party, the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), formally abandoned Marxism in 1989 and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. Political stability and sound economic policies have encouraged recent foreign investment.

Mozambique is in southeastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania. It is slightly less than twice the size of the state of California. Indigenous ethnic groups such as the Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, and Sena comprise 99.6 percent of the approximately 18.8 million people living in Mozambique. The remaining population comprises Europeans, Euro-Africans, and Indians. Approximately half of the population adhere to indigenous religions; 30 percent are Catholic and 20 percent are Muslim. Portuguese is the official language but is spoken by only 27 percent of the population; the vast majority of the population speak various indigenous dialects. Mozambique is a republic with ten provinces. The legal system is based on the Portuguese civil law system and customary law.

Portugual, whose control began as early as the fifteenth century, officially colonized Mozambique at the Berlin Congress in 1884 and 1885. World War II (1939–1945) brought about a rise in anticolonialism in Africa, climaxing in Mozambique in the late 1960s and early 1970s and dominated by FRELIMO. Although the Portuguese moved to quash the independence movement, a decade-long war erupted accompanied by a storm of United Nations criticism. In response, Portugal altered its policies, implemented long-overdue reforms, and moved Mozambique toward independence. Independence was declared in 1974 and became official in 1975. FRELIMO, led by Samora Machel (1933–1986), became the dominant political party and established the Republic of Mozambique based on Marxist-Leninist principles. Following Machel's death in an airplane accident in 1986, Joaquim Chissano (b. 1939) was appointed president.

Moving away from its Marxist roots, Mozambique adopted a new constitution in 1990. The first multiparty elections were held in October of 1994. The executive branch of Mozambique consists of a president. Chissano was reelected in 1999 for a five-year term with 52.3 percent of the vote over Afonso Dhlakama (b. 1953), who received 47.7 percent of the vote. The president appoints a prime minister: Luisa Diogo (b. 1958) was named to that office in February 2004. Mozambique has a unicameral assembly containing 250 seats, and members are directly elected by popular vote on a secret ballot to serve five-year terms. The judicial branch consists of a Supreme Court, appointed by the president and some elected by the assembly. Other courts include an Administrative Court, customs courts, maritime courts, courts marshal, and labor courts.

At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of the world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement and a brutal civil war from 1977 to 1992 exacerbated the situation. In 1987, the government embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy. The World Bank has helped to fight poverty and improve the living standards for the people of Mozambique through loans, credits, and grants totaling approximately $2.75 billion through 2004. Although its economic growth rate has improved, 70 percent of Mozambicans continue to live below the poverty line.

Although the 1990 Constitution is committed to democracy and equal rights for its citizens with fundamental rights, duties, and freedoms, the country

continues to struggle toward democratic governance. However, Mozambique's move to economic liberalization has gained praise, although the distribution of its economic progress has yet to reach its isolated rural communities.

Portugal.

Constitution of Mozambique. <http://confinder.richmond.edu/M OZ.htm>.

Henriksen, Thomas. Mozambique: A History. Southampton, UK: Camelot Press, 1978.

Isaacman, Allen. The Tradition of Resistance in Mozambique. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.

"Mozambique." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/mz.html>.

World Bank. Country Brief: Mozambique. <http://www.worldbank.org/ E;.

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