Good afternoon. President Daniel Chapo’s speech in the city of Pemba yesterday does not offer much hope that he knows how to end the current political crisis. Not only was there a change of subject from his earlier speeches — he spoke about what he perceived as Mozambique’s enemies rather than about developing the country or reforming the public sector — but there was a change of tone. Chapo was agitated and aggressive, and this seemed to cause him to lose focus on his speech, which was rambling and somewhat incoherent.
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What was clear, however, was that Chapo wanted to vilify the demonstrators that have been carrying out protests against the government and the cost of living. If the government had to “spill blood” to control them, then it would. Like the insurgents, they were led by an “external hand”, he claimed, without explaining who that was. He showed no interest in acknowledging the political or economic causes of the protests. The demonstrators were just subversive people who deserved no mercy, much like the insurgents and the Naparama militia whom he also talked about.
