The President of Frelimo, Daniel Chapo, on Monday criticised a politics of “hatred and chaos” that promotes “incidents” and deliberately generates disorder in Mozambique, after politician Venâncio Mondlane said it was good to create incidents.
“While some choose a politics of hatred and chaos, promoting incidents that deliberately generate disorder, we are betting on genuine dialogue, to allow every Mozambican to participate constructively in the formulation of national development policies,” said the president of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, in power since 1975), who is also head of state.
Daniel Chapo was speaking at the party school in Matola, in the south of the country, during a meeting of the party leadership with leaders of social organisations at central and provincial levels, in which he urged party members to continue working for the well-being of the population.
At issue is a video by Venâncio Mondlane in which he said, in late February, that “it is always good to create an incident”, because it “embarrasses people a little”, during a live broadcast on his Facebook page while he was accompanying the detention of members of his party.
Mondlane later explained that the term “incident” he used was a “legal concept”, saying it was employed in a context aimed at “changing patterns and forcing people who are out of line to come back into line”.
In the same remarks, Chapo said the country and the world are facing challenges marked by historic transformations, pointing to generational transition, population growth, the rapid advance of science, technology and digital transformation, the impact of climate events, terrorism in Cabo Delgado in the north, and organised crime as among the “major challenges” for Frelimo as the party in power.
For the party leader, the growing demand for services such as employment and housing for young people, access to education and health care, energy, water supply and sanitation requires commitment from the party and social organisations to concrete actions to fulfil the commitments made to the people.
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“The path of Frelimo over more than sixty years of its existence is a testament to service to the Mozambican people. At every moment of our recent history, Frelimo has always placed itself on the side of the people. It is always at the forefront of defending the highest interests of the nation, and the people are aware of this,” Chapo said.
The party leader also criticised repeated attempts to “divert” the people from the path of building a democratic nation based on social justice, calling on the party’s social bodies to take concrete actions to achieve these goals.
“We, Frelimo, are always present and firm, working with the people and for the people. We are a party of peace, democracy and development. We are a party that leads transformations, the true force for change, always attentive and open to assuming and implementing the reforms that prove necessary at each stage of our collective history,” he said.
Chapo also said he wants party members, through social organisations, to recognise and admit shortcomings that arise while governing, calling for openness in debates with these organisations to advance solutions aimed at strengthening Frelimo’s presence throughout the country and abroad.
