Solidarity and the struggle for Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean African National Union (ZANU) in Mozambique (1975-1980) Clinarete

Abstract

This dissertation examines the relationships of solidarity that developed between the Mozambican people and the Zimbabwean liberation movement ZANU, between 1975 and 1980, considering them in their multifarious aspects and attempting to understand the dynamics at work. Scholars have not paid sufficient attention to Mozambique's role as the host country of the Zimbabwean liberation movement. This dissertation is intended to fill this gap in the literature, by engaging critically with the history of ZANU-Mozambique relations, seen from the perspective of the Mozambicans themselves. My argument is that Mozambican support to ZANU was marked by a spirit of mutual cooperation and brotherhood between people who shared a similar historical and cultural background, which is a major factor behind the support offered by Mozambican people to ZANU. But, this solidarity was also the consequence of an authoritarian effort by the Mozambican ruling party, FRELIMO. to impose a specific political and ideological consciousness. This consciousness was shaped through the creation of legal instruments to ensure popular support such as the creation of the Solidarity Bank in 1976; by the use of an authoritarian discourse which relied on a 'vocabulary of ready-made ideas'1; and by the use of such methods as the cartoon figure, Xiconhoca, stigmatising all those who did not support solidarity with ZANU as traitors or sell-outs.