Figure 1.- The independence struggle was a generally low-level conflict, the civil war a a much more intense struggle. Here is a scene cene near a small village in 1987. The press caption read, "A woman carries her baby past government soldiers guarding Cala, a Mozambique village. Clashes between the soldiers and the right-wing Mozambique National Resistance has created 1.5 million refugees who have fled the fighting." The pgotograph is dared September 14, 1987.

Portuguese authorities after a left-wing coup granted independence to both Angola and Mozambiue (1975). The result was a new indepedent Marxist government. Many educated Mozambicans believed that as they were told by left-wing instructors that socialism was the wave of the future, a scuentific system offering rapid economic development. Socialist and the authoritarian politics that followed with Soviet influence sparked resistance. And because the Mozambicans aided South African guerills, the South Africans supported the Mozambique resistance. The result was a 17-year civil war. The war for independence was fought at low levels, the civil war was a different matter. It became a bloody, vicious struggle. Many Mozambicans were adversely affected, especially people in rural areas where the guerillas were active. Hundreds of thousands were killed. More than 1 million Mozambicans fled the country, seeking safety in Malawi which cuts into central Mozambique. Another million Mozambicans sought safe havens within the country. Large numbers of Mozambucans in the countryside migrated to the safety of the cities, especially the coastal cities where the Government maintained control. Agricultural production plumeted, Some authors seek to blame the economic collapse on entirely on the civil war. The war was certainly a major factor, but the Government's Marxist policies also played a major role. Mozambique country suffered a deep recession as the economy ground to a halt. Food became scarce. At the peak of the civil war, Mozambique ereported one of the lowest per-capita caloric intakes in the world. The 1992 El Niño affected rainfal, precipitating adeadky famine. International releft efforts were impaired by the damage to the country's infrastructure and transportation network as aesult of the civil war, making it difficult to get food to starving people. Feuding political parties also interfered with the relief work. A peace deal ended 16 years of civil war (1992). The country has negun reporting some progress in economic development and a degree of political stability has been achieved.

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Created: 7:02 AM 6/1/2020
Last updated: 7:02 AM 6/1/2020