Reflections on contemporary class formation in Mozambique

At the time of Mozambique’s independence, Frelimo, the former liberation movement that was turned into a political party, aimed to address the country’s “underdevelopment” through socialist policies and rapid modernisation. The peasantry was to be transformed into agriculture workers to form a working class with the industrial proletariat working in the state run industries. The socialist dream was interrupted by a destabilisation war raging until 1992. By the time of the peace accords the country was a market economy and has since become an economic growth success story. However, poverty levels have stagnated with over half of the population living in absolute poverty.

This presentation explores how political consciousness is created and expressed in contemporary Mozambique, departing from two cases: First, the rise in large-scale agriculture investments currently taking place, generating struggles over land. Peasants increasingly organise to protest against not only the investors but also, more overall, the current development model. The second case is the expressions of urban discontent through food riots in Maputo 2008 and 2010. The riots were sparked by rise in the price of basic goods such as bread and water, but the rioters, alike the peasants, expressed a more profound critique against current neoliberal developments. Both the peasants’ movement and the food rioters refer to the fact that the still ruling Frelimo has turned against the values for which they all fought. The presentation will discuss how these two processes could be understood jointly in terms of possible conditions for formation of one class in and for itself.