16 November 2008
Beira — The governor of the central Mozambican province of Sofala, Alberto Vaquina, on Saturday tackled the ugly question of racism that has emerged during the municipal election campaign in the city of Beira.
For the candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, Lourenco Bulha, happens to be of mixed race, and there are some who see this as a reason not to vote for him.
Speaking at an election rally in a Beira sports pavilion, Vaquina declared "the fact that he is a mestico should not be any obstacle to the election of Bulha as mayor of Beira".
Vaquina pointed to his own position. He happens to be married to a white woman, and so their children are of mixed race. "Some time ago some people came and told me I should reduce the number of whites who visit my house", he recalled. "There was no way I could do that".
He ridiculed racist pre-conceptions, noting that when he was a young student, some people suggested that he was really Chinese "because my eyes are small".
"There was no way I could refute such insinuations", he said. "After all, I don't know whether any of my ancestors might have come from china".
So was there anyone in the audience, he asked, who could claim to be a "pure black", anyone who was certain that none of their ancestors had ever exchanged genes with other races?
"Nobody, nobody!", replied the crowd.
So all racial questions should be put aside when considering the candidacy of Lourenco Bulha, he urged. Bulha was just as much a Mozambican citizen as any black resident of Beira.
Also on Saturday, the Frelimo Central Committee Secretary for Mobilisation and Propaganda, Edson Macuacua, told a Beira press conference that up until Friday the Frelimo campaign had reached 90 per cent of the Beira electorate, of whom "about 70 per cent promised to vote for Frelimo and for Bulha, because they all want changes".
There are over 200,000 registered voters in Beira. The idea that Frelimo managed to speak individually to 90 per cent of them in just 11 days (the campaign started on 4 November) seems far fetched. As for 70 per cent voting for Frelimo, turnout, let alone vote for any party, has been nowhere near that high in recent local or general elections.
Macuacua believed that Frelimo's opponents were already looking for excuses to justify their coming defeat, by making claims that the election process was being manipulated. "These are not dignified statements to make", said Macuacua. "We would not like our opposition to lose everything. That is, we would lie them to lose, but while maintaining their dignity".
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