Barricades took over Maputo on Thursday, with central streets and avenues practically devoid of vehicles, occupied by demonstrators, stones, rubbish bins, iron bars, sticks and anything else to block the way, in yet another post-election protest action.
Until 8am local time (two hours less in Lisbon), although with less traffic than normal, vehicles were still circulating in the Mozambican capital, but progressively Maputo’s main avenues and streets began to be taken over by demonstrators, who were responding to a new call from candidate Venâncio Mondlane to paralyse and contest the announced results of the general elections on 9 October, which still have to be validated by the Constitutional Council.
At the intersection of Eduardo Mondlane and Guerra Popular avenues, in the centre of Maputo, the demonstrators, carrying protest placards, once again forcibly pulled huge rubbish bins into the centre of the road, which was already filled with all kinds of stones and debris, and forcibly prevented any attempt by motorists to pass, while the police stood by and watched.
An hour later, a group of military personnel, who have been carrying out road-clearing operations during these protests, still managed to remove two containers, towed away by armoured vehicles, which returned to the centre of the street a few minutes later, again forcibly pulled away by dozens of partying demonstrators, who then played ball, sat on chairs and danced in a deserted avenue that, on a normal day, is one of the most congested in the capital.
“No. Everything is blocked off here,” explains street vendor José Luís dos Santos, warning that everyone should “respect” and not try to get through: “The people are in charge here. There are a lot of police on the corners, but they don’t come here to intervene.”
With a whistle in his mouth, like hundreds of others, he stopped working to “support the people” and guarantees that he will only go home at the end of the day, even without doing business, to check on anyone trying to drive past.
“We’re organising the country. What’s happening is very precise, the people have already suffered too much. This isn’t a joke (…) The world is watching, outside, it’s not just Mozambique,” he adds, guaranteeing: “We’re tired of so much suffering, injustice.”
Throughout the city today there are barricades, set up with everything at hand, and in some places any attempt to pass through ‘requires’ the payment of a ‘toll’, of a few meticais, while journalists only pass through safely, duly identified by the demonstrators with their microphones, video and photographic cameras.
On a day when few businesses opened their doors again, a few people timidly managed to take some equipment from an electronics shop on Guerra Popular Avenue, prompting the owners to quickly close the shop without further incident.
At the intersection of Avenida Eduardo Mondlane, precisely where on Wednesday, the first day of this new phase of protests, a young protester was violently run over by a military armoured vehicle, Ambassa Xavier was one of the first to arrive to cut the road, saying that the people want “electoral truth” and to “organise the country”.
“It’s not working out for us Mozambicans, so we prefer to claim what we voted for. As Mozambicans we have the right to choose whoever we want,” he says, with the avenue practically empty and several barricades along its length.
“We can’t pass here today. All the roads are blocked and we’re going to keep them blocked until tomorrow,” he explains.
The same scenario was visible in other central streets in Maputo or at the entrance to suburban neighbourhoods, blocked off with stones, tyres and even sofas, while groups of children and young people took the opportunity to play ball in streets that are normally busy with cars.
On Avenida Joaquim Chissano, huge iron beams completely block traffic, and the scene is repeated of demonstrators with whistles, vuvuzelas and placards replacing cars, just like on Avenida Acordos de Lusaka, where drinks were being served at a table in the centre of the street and no one was driving past.
“That’s the plain truth. It’s not happening. This will continue until tomorrow, we’ll wait for the next stage of what he [Venâncio Mondlane] will say to fulfil and we’re always with him, even if he’s out of the country,” says the leader of this group of demonstrators, sitting at a table.
“We don’t want comments, we want to know the electoral results, in fact who won,” he adds.
On Tuesday, presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called on the Mozambican general public to leave their cars on the streets from 8am for three days, starting on Wednesday, with election protest placards until they return from work.
Lusa
