Police fire tear gas at protesters in central Maputo on 21 October 2024. Image: taken from aYouTube video, filmed by Maputo residents. Editing By Giovana Fleck/Global Voices
Since theend of October 2024, Mozambique has seen a wave of protests. Initially, the protests were demanding justice for themurder of Elvino Dias, lawyer for then-presidential candidateVenâncio Mondlane, and ofPaulo Guambe, leader of thePODEMOS party (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique). They have since become more intense in reaction to police violence against protesters and distrust of the election results, which officially declared a new victory for theFRELIMO party (Mozambique Liberation Front), in power for almost five decades.
People of varied social backgrounds took to the streets, holding placards and chanting protest songs, including “People in Power” by Azagaia. His music gained popularity among pro-democracy movements because of the lyrics that openly criticized the government. “People in Power” was released in 2008 andbecame a protest song during demonstrations against rising petrol and energy prices.
The protests continued for weeks after the newly elected politicians took office, including the new president, Daniel Chapo. In the second week of January, Mondlane called for three days of a general strike.
“Why are they going to kill us? Because we Mozambicans like you?”asked a woman in an interview with Deutsche Welle at a protest on January 13, the day of the deputies’ inauguration.
The protester was asking police officers present why the police used violence against citizens.Since October 21, 2024, more than 300 people have died, and over 600 have been injured, according to the Mozambican organization PlataformaDecide, which monitored the elections and human rights violations.
In Angola, a central African country that also belongs to thePALOP (Portuguese-speaking African Countries), protests also broke out in support of Mozambicans.The capital, Luanda, alsowitnessed episodes of police violence like those that stifled the protests in Maputo. Find a video of the protests below.
Political context
FRELIMO, which led the independence struggle — won in 1975 — against Portuguese imperialism, has dominated the Mozambican political scene ever since. The party's historical opponents areRENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance), which, as a political adversary, paved the way for multipartyism, along with the MDM (Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) — both seen as moreconservative on the political spectrum.
However, in this latest election, these parties lost strength to PODEMOS, created in 2018 by former members of the two opposition parties, and which became the second political force in terms of parliamentary seats. PODEMOS, which endorsed the presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane,benefitedelectorally from general discontent with corruption, social inequality, and lack of opportunities for youth. Badly managed internal political crises in RENAMO and MDM alsocontributed to the rise of the new party.
With all this, since 2024,Mondlane has gained prominence.An Evangelical leader and former member of Renamo, he joined PODEMOS due to internal disagreements in his former party. Hismovement was based on the promise of “national peacemaking” through dialogue, investments in housing, and an end to the imprisonment of protesters. Internationally, he hassaid that he is an admirer of far-right politicians, such as Jair Bolsonaro, former president of Brazil, and Donald Trump, who has returned to power in the United States.
The 2024 elections were marred by allegations of irregularities in the electoral process, voter intimidation, and violence. According to the CPLP (Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries), in apreliminary observations report, problems were identified in the vote counting procedures and in its “slowness” and “lack of efficiency.”
RENAMO and MDMrejected the results, saying that FRELIMO committed fraud to stay in power. After the announcement of the result, these parties were neverthelessinvited to a dialogue with the then-president,Filipe Nyusi, to resolve the post-election crisis. The debate extended to civil society organizations. Meanwhile, the waves of discontent about alleged electoral fraudcontinued, with protesters demanding the election be annulled.
After the talks with Nyusi, the parties RENAMO, PODEMOS, ND, and MDM stillrefused to recognize the election results.
Repression and the human cost of the protests
The government has reacted violently to the protests, with security forces using tear gas, rubber bullets, and lethal ammunition to disperse protesters, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries, mainly in the provinces of Zambézia, where the capital Maputo is located, and in Inhambane, where police are known for theirbrutality.
Human rights organizations, such asAmnesty International andHuman Rights Watch, denounced the excessive use of force and arbitrary detention of protesters, journalists, and members of opposition political parties.
International organizations have denounced police violence and the militarized response of the state to bodies such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights and called for dialogue between the government and the opposition.
Impact in Angola
Angola faces challenges similar to those of Mozambique, with growing popular dissatisfaction over the economic crisis, unemployment, corruption, and lack of democratic freedoms. The Angolan government, led byMPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) — which has also been in power since 1975 following their independence struggle —fears the instability in Mozambique could leak into their country.
In November 2024, amid tensions in Mozambique, protesters took to the streets of Luandashouting: “The police don't belong to the MPLA. The police belong to the people.” Hundreds of people marched to protest against the country's socio-economic difficulties and also against thedetention of four activists arrested at a demonstration earlier the same month. Indeed, the country has been under theobservation of international organizations due to its history of repressing civil society. Hunger, unemployment, and homelessness were the main drivers of the protest.
Faced with these protests, the Angolan governmentdid not comment on the political situation or the violence in Mozambique. The coordinator of the NGO Omunga, João Malavindele,said in an interview with DW Africa that both parties — MPLA and FRELIMO — use similar methods to stay in power in their respective countries.
Civil society in Angola seems to havelearned from the positions taken by Mozambican activists and academics, along with international bodies submitting petitions, to stand up to the MPLA government. There are initiatives such as “Conversations from our yard,” where topics such as “Mozambique and nonviolence” are discussed with researcher and human rights activist Domingos da Cruz.
While civil society has been organizing, non-governmental organizationsMizangala Tuyenu Kupolo andHandeka released a report in December, compiling the human rights violations recorded in the first three months of 2024 in Angola. According to theirwork, arbitrary obstacles to “holding demonstrations, marches, and any acts of protest” must continue to be monitored in Angola. A new report is due for the first quarter of 2025.