allAfrica.com: Mozambique: Jorge Rebelo Speaks On Capitalism And Corruption (Page 1 of 1)

Despite the formal commitment by Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party to "democratic socialism", what currently exists in Mozambique is capitalism, and a rather savage form of capitalism at that, admitted former information minister Jorge Rebelo in a long interview published in Friday's issue of the independent weekly, "Savana".

Rebelo was a member of the top leadership of Frelimo throughout the 1970s and 80s. He was Minister of Information from 1975 to 1980, and then head of the Frelimo Ideology Department (more powerful than the minister) until 1991. He remains a member of the Frelimo Central Committee.

Rebelo recalled that, in the last years of his life, the country's first President, Samora Machel, was worried at a trend towards enrichment and corruption among Frelimo cadres. But when Machel was alive, a brake was put on these trends. "He knew that the cadres didn't have the means to enrich themselves, and any diversion of funds was immediately repressed", said Rebelo. "Greed and the desire for enrichment were against our principles".

But after Machel died, in 1986, "our behaviour changed. What was repressed within us came to the surface".

Rebelo noted that in some capitalist states, there are rules, and scandals can be detected and punished. In the United States, those responsible for the bankruptcy of the energy trader Enron had to face the courts. "But here cases of corruption by leaders are not punished", he declared.

He believed this had much to do with the country's ineffective legal system. He noted that President Armando Guebuza "always criticizes our administration of justice, urging those in charge to change, so that justice may be more effective. People say the justice system is not doing its job, and that's true".

But the example set by political leaders was fundamental. He recalled that Machel had once said "A leader can make a thousand speeches about how bad it is to steal from the state. But if he steals, no-one will believe him".

"There's no doubt that today young people have bad examples", said Rebelo. "They see many leaders - but not all of them - using any means to enrich themselves. So this comes to be seen as something normal, acceptable".

Asked about the riots against fare rises in Maputo on 5 February, Rebelo denounced as "politically illiterate" those who believed the riots were caused by the hidden hand of mysterious outside agitators. "Only those who don't follow what's going on internationally can think like that", he said.

That crisis had led to unfavourable comparisons of Guebuza with his predecessor, Joaquim Chissano. Rebelo thought this was a reflex of the simple fact that "Guebuza is in power and Chissano isn't. In African societies, the chief is always responsible for everything. Even when it doesn't rain, he's the guilty one".

Rebelo thought Guebuza was "unlucky" because he happened to be governing the country at a time when international fuel prices were now in excess of 140 US dollars a barrel. "Even if the President of Mozambique were Nelson Mandela or Samora Machel, there would still be discontent, because the international situation doesn't help us", he said. As for the complaints sometimes heard that "under colonialism we lived better than we do now", Rebelo remarked "my personal experience is that people feel desperate because of the cost of living and so they say the first thing that comes into their heads, even if it makes no sense. To say that independence was a bad thing should not cross the mind of any sensible person".

On the crisis in Zimbabwe, Rebelo admitted that he still felt sympathy for Robert Mugabe because of the ties forged between Frelimo and the ruling ZANU-PF during the struggle to free Zimbabwe from the white minority regime of Ian Smith.

But he also believed that Mugabe had made serious mistakes, particularly with regard to the land reform. "This measure of taking the land from the white farmers happened at a time when Mugabe's populariy was very low, and was thus seen as an attempt to influence the Zimbabwean people, in order to boost his popularity", said Rebelo. "Furthermore, he didn't weigh up the consequences. That is, he didn't have a plan to avoid the crisis which was predictable with that sudden measure. This discredited him internationally, while the domestic situation, far from improving, got worse".

Rebelo's option was to persuade Mugabe to change his ways. "Mugabe was our comrade-in-arms", he said. "He has certainly made mistakes, but I think it may be possible to get him to see reason, so that he sees that what he has done is wrong because the people are suffering".

Rebelo was skeptical about Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who won the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.

"What's Tsvangirai's programme?", he asked. "What's his vision for dealing with the problems? He hasn't got one. So how can I say no to Mugabe and yes to Tsvangirai when I don't know what he's going to do?"

The fear was that Tsvangirai "will dismantle Mugabe's measures and give the land back to the white famrers". This is indeed what ZANU-PF claims will happen - but the MDC has repeatedly denied that it has any such plan.

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