The city of Maputo was operating almost normally yesterday, due to the heavy rain that fell early in the morning, despite the appeal of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the largest opposition party), to paralyze the capital, contesting the electoral results
During a tour carried out by Lusa that morning, it was possible to observe that public services operated normally, as did some transport and shops, despite the fact that some shopping centers in the capital’s downtown area were closed, while the rain that has been affecting for almost three days Maputo restricted the usual street sales, which were calmer yesterday compared to other days.
In some places, such as Praça dos Combatentes, strong police reinforcement was visible, but with no reports of incidents, while other small businesses chose not to open.
Renamo appealed, on Friday, to everyone to stay at home yesterday, and stated that it “is not responsible” for the consequences for those who did not do so.
Carolina Manhique, 43 years old, a street seller of badjias, a typical bean pastry, confessed to Lusa that she was surprised to find little movement in the city, but was unaware of Renamo’s appeal.
“When I found out I was scared, but thank God I sold it and finished it, and I’m already going home”, said the saleswoman, mother of two children, who supports them with this business. “I come from Magoanine and there was no movement there in the morning either.
If I had known about the strike, I wouldn’t have left the house, even though life was difficult to stay at home, but taking risks isn’t good either”, said Carolina, while waiting for transport at the Guerra Popular stop, in the city, to return home. .
Manuel Marrengula, an electrician, told Lusa that he heard “about the strike” yesterday, but had to leave: “Even if I’m scared, there’s no way I can’t leave the house, if the boss says I have to work there’s no way.”
While waiting at Praça dos Trabalhadores to go to kaTembe, for a construction project, he admitted the difficulty in getting transport: “It hasn’t shown up yet. On normal days I would have already caught one.”
In a statement released on Sunday, Renamo states that adherence to this strike “is voluntary, so declining it is legitimate, but the Renamo party in the city of Maputo is not responsible for any social impacts”.
“As part of the fight for electoral justice”, Renamo “communicates to all citizens, businesspeople, students, workers in the informal sector, residents or users of services in the district of the city of Maputo” that this Monday “there will be a mega popular demand, aiming to repudiate the results presented by the Constitutional Council, called ‘Paralyzed Monday: Maputo Make Electoral Justice’”.
On November 28, in one of the dozens of marches in Maputo to contest the announced results, hundreds of Renamo supporters once again said on the streets that the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) “will not govern” the capital and with the candidate from party, Venâncio Mondlane, calling for the city to be paralyzed.
“The time has come for the people to prove that it is the people who are in power”, warned Venâncio Mondlane, as he addressed the crowd waiting for him at the exit of what was then the first protest march in the capital after the announcement of the election results. by the Constitutional Council (CC), four days earlier.
“Let’s all agree for two days to stop everything in this city”, he said at the time, in an appeal to all professional classes, guaranteeing that the “economic shutdown” is necessary to contest the “fraud” in the local elections and “return the victory to the people.”
The CC, the last instance of appeal in electoral processes in Mozambique, declared on 24 November that Frelimo, the party in power, won the municipal elections in 56 municipalities, including Maputo, against the previous 64 announced by the CNE, with Renamo moving from none for four, and ordered elections to be repeated in another four.