Confronting agrarian authoritarianism: dynamics of resistance to PROSAVANA in Mozambique

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how varying degrees of authoritarianism and populism, although not always coinciding, have been intrinsic to the imposition of agrarian policies in Mozambique. Taking the case of ProSAVANA, a highly controversial agrarian development program, we look at how its undemocratic imposition by the state has given rise to a vigorous resistance movement. By tracing a decade of electoral results in selected districts where ProSAVANA is intended to be implemented, we argue that due to its agrarian authoritarian policies which have had negative implications on rural livelihoods, the ruling party, FRELIMO, has recently been losing popularity to the strongest opposition party RENAMO.

KEYWORDS:

• ProSAVANA
• Mozambique
• authoritarianism
• populism
• rural resistance

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Mai Kobayashi and Amanda Kobayashi for their kindness in proofreading the manuscript. We are also grateful for the helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers. All possible errors remain ours. The authors would also like to thank the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation and the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies in the context of the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI) for the small research grant provided.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Boaventura Monjane http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8944-629X

Notes

1 The agrarian question approached in this paper goes in line with the classic definition provided by Byres (1991, 9) where the continuing existence of poverty – and its political consequences – in the country side alongside with substantive obstacles to generate economic development both inside and outside agriculture.

2 Detailed analysis of ProSAVANA’s discourses, objectives and Master Plan Zero can be explored in the following papers: Funada-Classen (2013a, 2013b), Clements and Fernandes (2013) and Mosca and Bruna (2015).

3 However, Frelimo Government has been targeting confrontational civil society organizations, throwing unfounded accusation that they serve obscure interests and are external agents.

4 For specific cases of acquiring land, community consultations are the first step to be taken. These community consultations or hearings are a legislated form of public participation that ought to be conducted before the implementation of a project or investment as a way to get the ‘community’ sensibility regarding the plan of investment and consent regarding the use of land (No 3, Article 13 of Land Law 19/1997). In case of reaching community consent to transfer the land to the investor/project, four public consultations are needed to plan and implement the resettlement process of the people who agreed to transfer their land (Article 23 of Decree 31/2012 of Resettlements).

5 Connecting Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique up to Nacala Port, located on the coast of the Indian Ocean (approximately 700 km), the Nacala Corridor is one of the six logistic corridors assigned for the implementation of PEDSA and the target for the implementation of ProSAVANA (MASA 2015).

6 Interview, Director of the Institute of Agrarian Research in Nampula Province, April 2015.

7 FVG is a private higher education institute which, according to their mission, aims to develop and disseminate knowledge in the field of public and private businesses.

8 Interview with Américo Uacequete, Nampula, February 2017.

9 Interview, Luís Muchanga, Director of UNAC, member of NPS campaign, 30 August 2018.

10 So far, four Triangular Peoples Conferences were held, the first three in Maputo, Mozambique. These conferences bring together peasants (UNAC members) from Nampula, Zambézia, Niassa and Cabo Delgado provinces, activists from NPC member organisations, members of government (i.e, the Ministry of Agriculture himself), academics and members of the press.

11 Interview, Ismael Oussemane, honorary president and co-founder of UNAC. March, 2017.

12 Interview, Ismael Oussemane, honorary president and co-founder of UNAC. March, 2017.

13 This statement was confirmed on several occasions by government officials themselves, when speaking in meetings with UNAC.

14 Interview, Luís Muchanga, Director President of UNAC, member of NPC, 30 August 2018.

15 Interview, peasant Member of UNAC Nampula, District of Muecate, February 2017.

16 The facebook page was opened in 2016.

17 Interview, Renaldo João, peasant member of UNAC, 4 September 2018.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Boaventura Monjane

Boaventura Monjane is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra and associate researcher at the Sam Moyo African Institute of Agrarian Studies. He is currently a visiting researcher at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Hague. His areas of research include: agrarian social movements, agrarian political economy, climate change and ‘alternatives from below’.

Natacha Bruna

Natacha Bruna is currently a PhD candidate in the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam) on the Political Ecology research group. Her research is about the agrarian change brought up by the intersections of resource grabbing as a result of extractivism and environmental politics. She is currently engaged as a researcher in an independent research institution in Mozambique – Observatório do Meio Rural (www.omrmz.com). Her areas of research include: agrarian political economy, political ecology and extractivism.