Heroism, Symbolism and Political Inbreeding, Briefing Note No. 7, February 2023

HEROISM AND SYMBOLISM AS PRODUCTS OF POLITICAL INBREEDING IN MOZAMBIQUE

Talking about heroism and symbolism in Mozambique is equivalent, in a way, to taking a political X-ray of the end of the idea of Mozambique. Mozambican heroes are all colonial, and after Portuguese colonialism, Mozambique seems to have been unable to produce heroes. In a way, you could say that the proclamation of national independence on 25 June 1975 was also equivalent at the time, and without us being aware of it, to the proclamation of the end of heroism. The constant repetition and dissection of the deeds of colonial heroes by political and religious leaders, institutions and academic figures is a sign of an identity crisis that jeopardizes national independence, as it is more an exercise in political consanguinity than a search for national consensus. 

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