Good afternoon. The nationwide protests have turned into unrestrained economic warfare, with violent attacks on a wide range of businesses over the last week (see below). Ordinary Mozambicans will be affected as well as business owners: the closure of a tantalite mine in Zambézia province, after its buildings were burned to the ground, will leave at least 200 people out of work at the site alone.
However, as with other acts of vandalism connected to the protests, the violence is not indiscriminate. The businesses that have been targeted are those perceived to be unfairly exploiting the country and mistreating people. For example, the businesses attacked in Gaza province’s Chibuto district are linked to the families of former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano and to Chinese investors (although the family of current president Filipe Nyusi was popularly believed to own some of them). In Gaza, there is resentment at the land taken away from locals for Chinese-led heavy sands mining.
The full Daily Briefing continues below for Pro subscribers. Subscribers to the Zitamar News tier can read the top half, including the full leader article, here.
The latest from Zitamar News:
Tom Bowker
The government continues to ignore the causes of the protests, both the rejection of the official election results and the wider grievances of protesters. Apparently it hopes that it can wait until the demonstrators get tired and give up. But the protests are now in their eighth week, and they are getting more disruptive, not less. Over 80 people are thought to have died in demonstrations, and the economy is taking more and more damage. Even if ministers are indifferent to bloodshed, they will be forced to act if the already weak public finances are threatened with collapse.
