Mozambique extends its mandatory military service to five, six years
Mário Machungo, former Prime Minister of Mozambique [File photo: DW]
Mozambique has decreed two days of national mourning for former Prime Minister Mário Machungo. In an interview with DW, economist João Mosca recalls the ability of a man of “well-defined ideals” to adapt.
Former Mozambican Prime Minister Mário Machungo died on Monday (18.02) of a prolonged illness at the age of 79. The Mozambican government has decreed two days of national mourning, on 23 and 24 February.
Machungo held several government posts after Mozambique’s independence, serving as ministers of Industry and Trade, Industry and Energy, Agriculture, and Planning and Development. Then he served as prime minister for almost ten years, between 1986 and 1994.
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According to Mozambican journalist and analyst Fernando Lima, the former prime minister was one of the people who understood the “need for the country to opt for other policies and not socialism only” in the face of the war and poverty in the country. Machungo promoted the Economic Rehabilitation Program (PRE), which brought with it a fundamental move away from socialism by the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo).
Mário Machungo later dedicated himself to banking, and was accused of betraying his ideals. But economist João Mosca, who at times worked with Machungo, does not see any inconsistency in this. The former Prime Minister was a “man with well-defined ideals”, but he knew how to adapt them to the circumstances, Mosca says. “At that point in time, he was absolutely aware that the initial options were no longer possible,” Mosca told DW Africa in an interview.
DW Africa: What legacy does Mário Machungo leave?
João Mosca (JM): He leaves a legacy mainly of ideals, of a man with well-defined ideals. A consistent and firm man, who knew how to adapt political ideals, theory and goals to a concrete reality, which is often adverse, and with an ability to interpret and to adapt measures to these constraints. A man who, although in an authoritarian regime, knew how to listen, with a component of democracy.
DW Africa: The Economic Rehabilitation Program was a turning point in Frelimo’s policy. Machungo was prime minister at the time. What mark did it leave?
JM: As his profile and ideological base was not liberal, he understood perfectly the need for economic rehabilitation in the face of, on the one hand, the crisis and the collapse of the socialist countries, which were the main supports of Mozambique at the time, and, on the other hand, in the face of the civil war, which was taking on very wide proportions in the territory, and in the very context of southern Africa. And there was no other way out for Mozambique than to carry out an Economic Rehabilitation Program with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. But I also know, because I was a direct collaborator of his on several occasions, that he stood up and imposed certain brakes on certain options on the part of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund that were intended to be much faster, namely the issue of privatisations. He was very cautious, but unfortunately he didn’t always have the upper hand. In view of the crisis and the country’s economic situation, and also possibly in the face of some forces within the Government itself, he ended up not being fully effective, in terms of putting his views into practice.
DW Africa: After his tenure in government, Mário Machungo went on to banking. So, what role did he play?
JM: He was the main support for some foreign capital in Mozambique … He was practically the starting point of the negotiation, of the construction of Millennium Bim itself, which today is the largest Mozambican bank. He is a man who worked a lot in banking before independence. Naturally, many criticise his position, from a certain ideal of socialist conviction, of transforming society into a centrally planned state, which is quite nationalised in terms of the economy, to a private activity linked to foreign capital, even multinational capital. But I think that, after a certain amount of time, he also found that the great options for internal change in the country, in the sense of his convictions, were limited or impossible.
DW Africa: He saw that socialism was not the way to go …
JM: He clearly saw that. At that point in time, he was fully aware that the initial options were no longer possible. I have no doubt of that. I was very close to him at various times, not only professionally but also in other activities, and he spoke clearly on those matters.
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