Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire
  • omnibus

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #54
Black Alliance for Peace US Out of Africa Network
15 Jan 2025
Youth pose behind a Mozambique flag
Youth pose behind a Mozambique flag while in the street during a demonstration, courtesy apanews.net.

Mozambique is experiencing a period of unrest provoked by recent elections. After unending suffering under neoliberal austerity measures and the encroachment of AFRICOM, the Mozambican people have taken to the streets. The Black Alliance for Peace's US Out of Africa Network (USOAN) spoke to Ebubechukwu Nwafor about the situation. 

Originally published in Black Alliance for Peace.

The post-election turmoil in Mozambique highlights the deeply embedded contradictions of U.S. imperialism in Africa. While AFRICOM and its allies claim to support “stability” and “peacebuilding,” the reality on the ground paints a different picture: a nation wracked by deepening inequality, state repression, and the unchecked plundering of its natural resources by Western multinationals. AFRICOM’s growing presence in Mozambique under the guise of “counterterrorism” coincides with the entrenchment of foreign military influence and neoliberal policies that strip the Mozambican people of their sovereignty.

This is no coincidence. AFRICOM’s mission serves to integrate African militaries into the U.S. empire, ensuring they act as enforcers of Western interests while perpetuating a state of dependency and instability. In Mozambique, as in the Sahel and beyond, we see how the facade of counterterrorism and peace masks a more insidious goal: securing unfettered access to Africa’s resources while silencing resistance.

In this issue, we speak with a Mozambican organizer about the ongoing uprisings, the people’s fight against exploitation and repression, and how imperialist actors manipulate legitimate grievances to serve their agenda. These struggles illuminate the urgent need for international pan-African solidarity! 

U.S. Out of Africa: Voices from the Struggle

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin spoke with Ebubechukwu Nwafor, who is an artist and organiser with the All-African People's Revolutionary Party based in Mozambique.

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: The Mozambique elections just happened and there has been an upsurge of violence post-election. Can you speak to what the nature of these tensions are and the struggle going on in Mozambique right now?

Ebubechukwu Nwafor: The rising tensions we are seeing in Mozambique do not only stem from accusations of electoral fraud, though this has been an explosive catalyst for the protests. Victims of an increasingly neo-liberal economic agenda, the Mozambican people have grown tired of leaders who continue to sell our sovereignty to western multinationals while conditions deteriorate for the masses of people. Following the death of popular activist-rapper, Azagaia, in March last year, many young people took to the streets to commemorate his life, chanting “povo no poder” (power to the people) as he often did in his music, drawing from the words of Samora Machel. This was a defining moment for Mozambican youth. 

As a result of the heavy police repression during those processions, people came to understand that the government will repress popular dissent using any means at their disposal, including assassinations, as we saw in the case of the murders of Paulo Guambe and Elvino Dias this October. Guambe and Dias were opposition party figures from the PODEMOS party, who were working to present a case to the Constitutional Council challenging the election results that granted victory to FRELIMO’s candidate Daniel Chapo at the time of their assassination. The government’s use of death squads to silence dissent is not new in Mozambique. And neither is election violence. However, the scale of the people’s response to state violence and accusations of election-rigging this year is larger than we have ever seen. These accusations, combined with the assassinations of Guambe and Dias have further fueled the masses’ anger and pushed them to the streets in protest. 

Venâncio Mondlane, the main opposition candidate, backed by many young voters who have grown disillusioned with the increasingly neo-liberal FRELIMO Party, directs the protests using Facebook Live after fleeing the country fearing for his safety. Mondlane is backed by PODEMOS, a party comprised of break-away FRELIMO dissidents. Mondlane has met with far-right figures in Europe and back in 2013, took part in the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Programme. He tows the neo-liberal line and is not an anti-imperialist by any means. But he marks himself as anti-corruption and is not a member of the ruling party, so he attracts followers. Imperialist financial institutions have a hand in fomenting this crisis. Structural adjustment programmes implemented by the IMF following Samora Machel’s assassination in 1986 crippled the nascent public sector and led to FRELIMO abandoning its socialist project. Again in 2016, after the “tuna bond” corruption scandal that rocked FRELIMO’s leadership was revealed, the IMF pulled funding. Consequently, the government defunded essential sectors like health and education which has affected the most marginalized in Mozambique. There is an air of total distrust in public institutions among young people. The protests we are seeing today are the expression of the masses’ frustration and desire for better conditions in a country left to starve and fend for itself, while its leaders line their pockets and defend imperialist interests.

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: In July of 2024, there was news about a professional engagement/strengthening of AFRICOM and Mozambique military ties. How has AFRICOM’s presence in Mozambique evolved from its initial engagement to its current operations? 

Ebubechukwu Nwafor: The U.S. military had boots on the ground in Mozambique before last year. The first known physical presence of AFRICOM troops in Mozambique was in 2021, when the U.S. military sent 12 soldiers to train Mozambican marines. Since 2021, the U.S. has conducted six training exercises with FADM, the Mozambican armed forces, with the most recent being this past August. The U.S. has also admitted to supplying the Mozambican military with military equipment. But, beyond military training, there is a visible increase in the presence of U.S. government agencies here, including USAID, Peace Corps, etc. that serve to advance U.S. interests, through ostensibly humanitarian means in the country. After the IMF’s austerity measures weakened the Mozambican economy, and even more visibly so after the discovery of huge natural gas reserves in Cabo Delgado, western NGOs flocked in. 

In 2021, the U.S. inaugurated its new, obnoxiously large embassy right by the beach here in Maputo and called it “a concrete example of the importance of the United States government’s work in Mozambique”. This embassy was completed a year before it designated Mozambique a priority country for promoting “peace and stability” along with Haiti, Libya, Papua New Guinea and countries bordering the AES under the Global Fragility Act. We must be vigilant against increasing U.S. presence here.

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: What forms has US imperialism taken within the state and government at large? Is inter-imperialist rivalry at play in Mozambique as well? Please elaborate. 

Ebubechukwu Nwafor: After the 2011 discoveries of massive gas deposits in Cabo Delgado, we saw the encroachment of U.S. and European companies like Total, Shell, Anadarko, Eni, ExxonMobil, BP, etc. all coming to claim their share of these resources. Residents of surrounding areas who are largely dependent on farming and fishing have been displaced after some of these companies signed dubious agreements with people who did not even live in the areas they intended to claim, Shell most notably. A group of Mozambican lawyers have also sued Anadarko for this reason. In 2018, there was a dispute between Shell and Anadarko, with Shell accusing Anadarko of delaying the LNG projects. This is the only dispute I am aware of, but the varied western interests here means that the Mozambican people’s interests are treated as secondary to foreign multinationals’. 

On a good day, one can find an EU soldier roaming in full military garb in rich areas here, with the Portuguese flag printed boldly on their uniform. Also, with limited government funding, many Mozambican civil society organisations are financed by the EU, Open Society Foundations, USAID, etc. As far back as 2012, some were calling Mozambique “the new frontier of global capitalism”. Last August, the UNDP and OHCHR trained 11,000 Mozambican police officers to apparently teach them how to act during elections “in order to guarantee a safe and peaceful electoral environment.” We see how this turned out, with police shooting at protesters and referring to civilians as “urban terrorists”. 

Ukraine also opened an embassy here this past April. The role Ukraine played in furnishing paramilitary groups in Mali with intelligence to attack civilians and the Malian military this July makes this worth noting, considering the actions of armed groups in Cabo Delgado. Moreover, the extradition and subsequent conviction of former Minister of Economy and Finance, Manuel Chang, in the U.S. following the “tuna bond” scandal which implicated some FRELIMO officials is another way the U.S. has had a major say in Mozambican politics.

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: Can you talk about 2-3 things that most people either don’t know or have misconceptions about Mozambique and the current geopolitical situation there

Ebubechukwu Nwafor: Recently, Mozambican citizens have been demanding that Rwandan president Paul Kagame withdraw his troops from the country. Rwanda was promised €20m by the EU this month, after a similar amount was pledged in 2022 to secure the areas surrounding the LNG projects in Cabo Delgado against militant groups. The rise of armed groups in the Northern gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado can be attributed to government neglect of that province while they subordinate the people’s interests to those of oil and gas companies. The Mozambican people have had enough of the lack of transparency in the government’s dealings with the EU-backed Rwandan troops and are ordering President Nyusi and Kagame to pull them out of the country.

Also, there is heavy skepticism against the Constitutional Council which has no deadline to validate the election results that granted victory to FRELIMO’s Daniel Chapo. Many are calling for these elections to be annulled and redone. But Nyusi has recently called for a meeting between all the top opposition candidates to address the post-election protests. We are waiting to see what will come of this meeting, though many are not expecting anything transformative. What the people want to see is vocalised in their main rallying cry: povo no poder.

AFRICOM Watch Bulletin: Are there any hopeful signs regarding this post-election uproar or in the politics of the masses today? How can others support movement building in Mozambique? Please plug any work that is going on and how we may engage in solidarity actions.

Ebubechukwu Nwafor: It is difficult to say whether things are looking up now. We are still waiting for the Constitutional Council to announce the final election results and this continues to be delayed while strikes and demonstrations persist. While we are witnessing the strengthening of class consciousness among young people who see their leaders line their pockets as they sell the country piece by piece to foreign multinationals while the conditions of the masses deteriorate, we lack ideological clarity here. This is mainly because left-wing, anti-imperialist forces are mostly dispersed, with no explicitly anti-imperialist organisations on the ground engaged in political education work on a consistent basis. 

Though organisations like Alternactiva and the National Peasants’ Union exist, we have a serious task on our hands to consolidate the energy of this mass movement into organisation. Because of this lack of ideological clarity, and especially considering the increased western interest here, we must remain vigilant against agendas that seek to weaponise the legitimate grievances of the Mozambican people for imperialist objectives. Anti-imperialist organisations abroad can join the call to expel AFRICOM, the EU Training Mission and Rwandan troops from Mozambique. These destabilising forces must leave so that Mozambicans have the chance to reorganise the country to benefit the masses. 

Mozambique
AFRICOM
USOAN
Neoliberalism
militarism

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles. Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team
Now is the Time for All Anti-Imperialists and All Justice Loving People to Stand Unequivocally in Defense of Burkina Faso
07 May 2025
The Black Alliance for Peace demands an end to U.S.
Tunde Osazua
Dictating Security, Ignoring Sovereignty: The Arrogance Behind AFRICOM’s Strategy
23 April 2025
African Command's (AFRICOM) heavy-handed tactics in Africa have backfired, exposing U.S. arrogance and fueling a wave of resistance.
Dylan Sullivan , Jason Hickel
Plundering Africa – Income Deflation and Unequal Ecological Exchange Under Structural Adjustment Programmes
12 March 2025
Presenting new research, Dylan Sullivan and Jason Hickel mount a devastating critique of the impact of structural adjustment in Africa in the 1
Pavan Kulkarni
67 Killed in Stampedes at Christmas Food Drives in Nigeria as IMF-Induced Hunger Engulfed Millions More in 2024
15 January 2025
After dozens died in stampedes, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu remarked, “We should just get on with it.” Tinubu’s IMF-prescribed policies have
Tunde Osazua
Violence and Extraction in Mozambique: How Neo-Colonial Forces and Corporate Interests Undermine Security
13 November 2024
Western corporate interests have targeted Mozambique to exploit its natural resources, using tactics of destabilization and neoliberal austerit
Sam Biddle
U.S. Military Makes First Confirmed OpenAI Purchase for War-Fighting Forces
30 October 2024
The Pentagon explored the AI software for research, but the new deal is the first by a combatant command whose mission is one of killing.
Joel Mukisa
The problem is systemic: understanding the #OccupyParliament movement in Kenya
09 October 2024
Reflecting on the mass protests that recently shook Kenyan society from top to bottom, Joel Mukisa argues that we must go much further than a c
Black Alliance For Peace
AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #53
28 August 2024
The Alliance of Sahel States is still developing but offers hope for Africans around the world.
Abayomi Azikiwe, Black Agenda Report Contributor
Mali and Niger Breaks Diplomatic Relations with Ukraine Accusing NATO Ally of Involvement in Terrorist Attacks
14 August 2024
The United States proxy war against the Russian Federation continues to impact the African continent.
Netfa Freeman
The Ruthless and Desperate Pursuit of U.S. Influence and Access Over Africa
31 July 2024
AFRICOM is growing more bold in its attempts to maintain dominance over the African continent.

More Stories


  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 9, 2025
    09 May 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss the 80th anniversary of victory in Europe in World War II, and the disinformation that centers on the U.S.'s role and dismisses the pivotal Soviet role in that…
  • Book: The Rebirth of the African Phoenix
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Rebirth of the African Phoenix: A View from Babylon
    09 May 2025
    Roger McKenzie is the international editor of the UK-based Morning Star, the only English-language socialist daily newspaper in the world. He joins us from Oxford to discuss his new book, “The…
  • ww2
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Bruce Dixon: US Fake History of World War II Underlies Permanent Bipartisan Hostility Toward Russia
    09 May 2025
    The late Bruce Dixon was a co-founder and managing editor of Black Agenda Report. In 2018, he provided this commentary entitled, "US Fake History of World War II Underlies Permanent Bipartisan…
  • Nakba
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    The Meaning of Nakba Day
    09 May 2025
    Nadiah Alyafai is a member of the US Palestinian Community Network chapter in Chicago and she joins us to discuss why the public must be aware of the Nakba and the continuity of Palestinian…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Ryan Coogler, Shedeur Sanders, Karmelo Anthony, and Rodney Hinton, Jr
    07 May 2025
    Black people who are among the rich and famous garner praise and love, and so do those who are in distress. But concerns for the masses of people and their struggles are often missing.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us