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In-Depth Information
denly faced with the task of running the country, threw itself headlong into a policy of
radical social change.
Frelimo's socialist program proved un- realistic, and by 1983 the country was almost
bankrupt. Onto this scene came the Resistência Nacional de Moçambique (Mozambique
National Resistance; Renamo), a ragtag group that had been established in the mid-1970s
by Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) as part of its destabilisation policy, and later kept alive with
backing from the South African military and certain sectors in the West.
Ravages of War
Renamo, which had been created by external forces rather than by internal political
motives, had no ideology of its own beyond the wholesale destruction of social and com-
munications infrastructure in Mozambique, and destabilisation of the government. Many
commentators point out that the war which went on to ravage the country for the next 17
years was thus not a 'civil' war, but one between Mozambique's Frelimo government and
Renamo's external backers. Recruitment was sometimes voluntary but frequently by
force. Roads, bridges, railways, schools and clinics were destroyed. Atrocities were com-
mitted on a horrific scale.
The drought and famine of 1983 crippled the country. Faced with this dire situation,
Frelimo opened Mozambique to the West in return for Western aid.
In 1984 South Africa and Mozambique signed the Nkomati Accord, under which South
Africa undertook to withdraw its support of Renamo, and Mozambique agreed to expel
the African National Congress (ANC) and open the country to South African investment.
While Mozambique abided by the agreement, South Africa exploited the situation to the
full and Renamo's activity did not diminish.
Samora Machel died in a plane crash in 1986 under questionable circumstances, and
was succeeded by the more moderate Joaquim Chissano. The war between the Frelimo
government and the Renamo rebels continued, but by the late 1980s political change was
sweeping through the region. The collapse of the USSR altered the political balance, and
the new president of South Africa, FW de Klerk, made it more difficult for right-wing fac-
tions to supply Renamo.
Peace
By the early 1990s, Frelimo had disavowed its Marxist ideology. A ceasefire was ar-
ranged, followed by a formal peace agreement in October 1992 and a successful UN-mon-
itored disarmament and demobilisation campaign.
