Abstract:
This article examines changing ideas of who constitutes a
‘deserving’ and ‘full’ citizen in Mozambique, from independence in
1975 to the present. I argue that the leadership of the ruling Frelimo
Party attempted to occupy a position above society where it could determine
the practices and behaviors that made one a loyal citizen and,
conversely, those that made one an ‘alien’ or enemy. The adoption of
liberal democracy in 1990 undermined the party’s right to define what
a ‘true’ or ‘good’ Mozambican is, but not the underlying structural
grammar. Thus, the meaning of citizenship is increasingly a floating
signifier. To be designated an ‘outsider’ is to be an enemy, but it is no
longer clear who has the power to define who is a ‘true’ Mozambican
and who is not.
