Xiconhoca, o inimigo: Narrativas de violência sobre a construção da nação em Moçambique

Abstract

This article uses a multidisciplinary, multi‑situated approach to analyse the political transition in Mozambique, and the ways in which Frelimo has dealt with the construction of the national project. It discusses the attempt to create a ‘new man’ in independent Mozambique, assessing the continuity of the presence of the internal enemy figure represented by Xiconhoca. Finally, it looks at the Truth and Reconciliation meetings held in 1975 and 1982 to redeem those considered to be traitors or antisocial, discussing in more detail the political and ideological context in which those meetings took place and their implications in the context of the construction of citizenship and official history in Mozambique. It aims to contribute to the rethinking of community and state violence in Mozambique and the role of the Truth and Reconciliation meetings in the political decolonization processes.

Keywords

• authoritarianism
• colonial violence
• decolonization
• Frelimo
• Mozambique