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Mozambique: Renamo Lines Up Behind Rioters
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Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
20 March 2008
Posted to the web 20 March 2008
Maputo
Parliamentary deputies of Mozambique's main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, have enthusiastically defended the Maputo riots against fare rises of 5 February.
On that day, rioters protesting at increases of up to 50 per cent in the fares charged by the private minibuses (colloquially known as "chapas") that provide much of the capital's passenger transport effectively shut the city down. The rioters erected barricades of burning tyres, and stoned any vehicles that attempted to drive past. There were repeated clashes throughout the day between the police and gangs of stone throwing youths.
The rioters won, in that the government rapidly renegotiated the fares with the Federation of Road Transport Associations (FEMATRO). The fare increase was withdrawn, and the government opted to offer the chapa owners a fuel subsidy instead.
At a parliamentary debate on Thursday on the cost of living and rises in the price of fuel, Renamo deputy Francisco Maingue declared that the "unbearable cost of living" had been the cause of the riots, and the fare rise was "the last straw".
He described the 5 February rioters as "heroes", and condemned the police for daring to arrest several of them. The country was being paralysed by "the Marxist government of Frelimo", he declared, apparently unaware that Frelimo had jettisoned Marxism in 1989.
Although Renamo claims to be a party of the right, in favour of free markets, some of the proposals its deputies made were straight out of a command economy textbook. Thus Viana Magalhaes called not only for a minimum wage but also for a maximum wage and suggested that the minimum wage should be ten per cent of the maximum wage.
Magalhaes may be unaware of it, but this is rather similar to Lenin's policy on wages after the Bolshevik revolution. Like Renamo, Lenin demanded both a maximum and a minimum wage - the only difference is that Lenin wanted a maximum wage no more than four times the minimum, while Magalhaes would allow it to be ten times as large.
Another Renamo deputy, Manuel Pereira, seemed nostalgic for the days of the one party state. He called for a return to the food subsidies that had existed in the early 1980s.
Deputies from the ruling Frelimo Party argued that, while the right to demonstrate was enshrined in the constitution, it must be exercised peacefully. "Violence never resolves any problems. It only worsens them", said Edson Macuacua. "Violence generates violence".
Renamo deputy Luis Gouveia replied with the remarkable claim that there is no such thing as a peaceful demonstration. "Demonstrations are never peaceful anywhere in the world", he declared. "The only place where there are peaceful demonstrations is a cemetery".
Some Frelimo deputies traced poverty and the high cost of living back to Renamo's war of destabilisation. "You (Renamo) destroyed Mozambique yesterday, and today the Mozambicans are paying the bill", declared Damiao Jose. "You were being manipulated, you were pleasing your bosses, and you didn't realize what the consequences would be".
A critical remark by a Frelimo deputy about an anti-government rap singer who uses the stage name Azagaia, led to Renamo suggestions that Frelimo wants to censor musicians. "All musicians are free to sing !", declared Luis Boavida.
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Moreira Vasco immediately retorted that there are no musicians among the Renamo deputies, but the Frelimo parliamentary groups contains several (indeed it does - AIM counts at least three, namely the head of the Frelimo group, Manuel Tome, Roberto Chitsondzo, and Esau Menezes)..
"If Renamo were in power, there would be total chaos", said Vasco. "They forget that they used to blow up factories, schools, hospitals, bridges. Did they think they were improving citizens' lives then ?"
Pf/ (620)
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| Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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