Mozambique

Politics

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo announced that "almost 100% consensus" had been reached in talks between the ruling Frelimo party and opposition parties for an agreement that would ensure Mozambique's "economic, political and social stability," Club of Mozambique reported Feb. 20.

Mozambique: Chapo Claims Progress Towards Deal With Opposition Despite Sidelining Mondlane 

Military & Security

Former Mozambican presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane severed ties with the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique, better known as Podemos, which facilitated his candidacy, accusing it of betraying the people's struggle by prematurely taking parliamentary seats, Club of Mozambique reported on Feb. 5.

Mozambique: Mondlane Breaks Ties With Podemos Following Sidelining From Opposition Talks

Energy

A spokesperson for French multinational energy company TotalEnergies confirmed reports from the Financial Times that the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project would not be operational by 2029, Reuters reported on Jan. 22. 

Mozambique: TotalEnergies Confirms Mozambique LNG Will Not Be Operational by 2029

Economics

A spokesperson for Mozambican Finance Minister Carla Louveira said the government's efforts to restructure public debt would focus on domestic debt but added there was "nothing to stop" negotiations on foreign debt, Zitamar News reported on Jan. 20.

Mozambique: Government Seeking Debt Restructuring Amid Mounting Costs From Post-Election Unrest 

Mozambique's opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who disputes his loss in the country's October 2024 presidential election, announced on Jan. 15 that he will present his proposed measures for his first 100 days of governance on Jan. 17, Club of Mozambique reported on Jan 16. 

Mozambique: Presidential Candidate Mondlane To Present 'First 100 Days' Measures

Daniel Chapo, the presidential candidate for Mozambique's ruling Liberation Front of Mozambique party, better known as Frelimo, was sworn in, Reuters reported on Jan. 15. 

Mozambique: Frelimo's Daniel Chapo Inaugurated President

Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane returned to Mozambique following a two-month exile from the country, Reuters reported Jan. 9.

Mozambique: Opposition Leader Venancio Mondlane Returns Following Two-Month Exile 

Presidential candidate and opposition leader Venancio Mondlane announced that he will return to Mozambique on Jan. 9 and launch a new wave of protests, Club of Mozambique reported on Jan. 6.

Mozambique: Opposition Leader To Return Amid Internal Division

Assessments

South Sudan

Central African Republic

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

A Rwandan soldier walks in front of a burned truck near Palma in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region on Sept. 22, 2021. 

Rwanda’s expanding troop deployments in other African countries seek to enhance its regional political and economic influence, but entail risks that could harm its operations and reputation.

Rwanda's Growing Military Influence in Africa: Opportunities and Risks

Mexico

China

South Korea

United Kingdom

Security personnel walk on a road with buses blocking an entrance gate to protect impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from a possible second arrest in Seoul on Jan. 6. If Yoon is not arrested, the opposition could again seek to impeach the country's acting president due to his insufficient support for the arrest efforts, worsening foreign perceptions of political instability in South Korea.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Mozambique's President Takes Office, the U.K. Chancellor Visits China

Protesters in Maputo prepare to burn a flag of Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party on Oct. 24, 2024. 

The growing economic toll of the unrest will increase the incentives for President-elect Chapo to reach a deal with opposition leader Mondlane, though this would risk triggering infighting within the ruling Frelimo party.

Mozambique's Post-Election Crisis Reaches a Critical Juncture

Syria

France

Anti-riot police officers with dogs walk past burning barricades made by protesters in Maputo, Mozambique, on Nov. 7, 2024. 

The Weekly Rundown: A New French Government, a Ruling on Mozambique's Disputed Election

Media

Podcasts

Are there viable paths to a peaceful resolution?

Essential Geopolitics: Evolution of the Post-Election Violence in Mozambique

Brazil

United States

Iran

Israel

Tunisia

Germany

Ukraine

A man in Maputo walks past a wall covered with electoral posters in support of Daniel Chapo, the ruling party candidate in Mozambique’s presidential election, on Oct. 4, 2024. 

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Biden Visits Germany as Mozambique, Tunisia and Brazil Hold Elections

Europe

Russia

Frelimo electoral posters are plastered on a wall in Maputo, Mozambique, on Aug. 24, 2024, the first day of the presidential campaign season ahead of the general election on Oct. 9, 2024.

Global Elections

Mozambique's upcoming general election will likely bring another five years of Frelimo rule, though an independent candidate is drawing LNG contracts to the forefront of the campaign season.

Mozambique's General Election Brings LNG Contracts Centerstage

Rwandan troops guard an LNG project in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province on Sept. 29, 2022. 

The resurgence of the Islamic State Mozambique insurgency in Cabo Delgado portends more potentially destabilizing attacks that could deter investment in the resource-rich region.

The Future of Counterterrorism Efforts in Northern Mozambique

Angola

Botswana

Comoros

Lesotho

Madagascar

Malawi

Mauritius

Namibia

Seychelles

South Africa

Eswatini

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Egypt

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Qatar

Vietnam

Yael Braun-Pivet, a French lawmaker for the ruling Renaissance party, delivers a speech after being reelected as National Assembly president following the third round of voting on July 18, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: France Resumes Political Horse-Trading, Blinken Returns to Middle East

Opposition supporters gather to protest the results of the local elections in Maputo, Mozambique, on Oct. 17, 2023.

Despite recent opposition protests, the ruling party will likely maintain its dominance in the general elections and beyond, bolstered by an influx of revenue from the expected resumption of a major LNG project.

Mozambique's Disputed Local Elections Offer a Preview for the 2024 National Ballot

Republic of the Congo

Algeria

Iraq

Libya

Turkey

Cyprus

Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (2nd L) and Libya's Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (3rd L) attend an agreement-signing ceremony between Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni and the Libyan National Oil Corporation in Tripoli, Libya, on Jan. 28, 2023.

As Europe turns away from Russian energy, Italy positions itself as a natural gas conduit between the Continent and Africa.

With Energy Deals in Africa, Italy Positions Itself as Europe's Next Gas Hub

Columns

On Geopolitics

Sub-Saharan Africa

Burundi

Cote d'Ivoire

Ethiopia

Kenya

Mali

Nigeria

Sudan

Women sit under U.N.-branded cardboard boxes in Semera, Ethiopia, on Feb. 14, 2022, as they wait to be registered by the authorities at a hotel compound hosting civilians fleeing violence. 

Social Issues

GBV is often primarily seen as a women’s and human rights issue. But in sub-Saharan Africa, it is also a key constraint to stable (and democratic) governance, economic growth, and lasting peace.

The Geopolitics of Gender-Based Violence in Africa

Located in southeastern Africa, Mozambique is bordered by Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Swaziland. With a coastline of roughly 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles), the majority of Mozambique's 23 million people reside in port cities. The capital, Maputo, is the largest city and the country's core — a result of its natural harbor and proximity to the dominant economy of South Africa.    Founded in the 16th century by Portuguese seafarers seeking maritime resupply stations to and from Asia, explorers soon ventured inland for land and resources. Portuguese expansion was contained by rival colonial powers, which controlled the mountainous highlands to Mozambique's west. As a result, Mozambique is a low-lying landscape prone to malaria. The country's borders, made by European mapmakers, are Mozambique's main geographic challenge, as they do not factor in ethnic boundaries.     Following its independence from Portugal in 1975, Mozambique struggled — often in armed conflict — to balance the country's two main ethnic groups. The Shangaan of southern Mozambique absorbed the colonial infrastructure concentrated in the core region. This enabled them to repel and contain the Shona of central Mozambique and other ethnic groups in the northern parts of the country.     Since the end of its civil war in 1992, Mozambique has had one of Africa's highest economic growth rates. Recent exploration found a large coal basin in central Mozambique and a globally significant offshore natural gas basin in the north. These resources will force government attention away from the southern core to regions it must no longer sequester and now engage. Exploiting these natural resources without exacerbating ethnic tensions will test Mozambique's fragile unity.

The Suitors of Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Mozambique: Chapo Claims Progress Towards Deal With Opposition Despite Sidelining Mondlane

Mozambique: Mondlane Breaks Ties With Podemos Following Sidelining From Opposition Talks

Mozambique: TotalEnergies Confirms Mozambique LNG Will Not Be Operational by 2029

Mozambique: Government Seeking Debt Restructuring Amid Mounting Costs From Post-Election Unrest

Mozambique: Presidential Candidate Mondlane To Present 'First 100 Days' Measures

Mozambique: Frelimo's Daniel Chapo Inaugurated President

Mozambique: Opposition Leader Venancio Mondlane Returns Following Two-Month Exile

Mozambique: Opposition Leader To Return Amid Internal Division

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