AFRICA TODAY
Revolutionary perspective
in Mozambique"
Half a century after the October Revolution, one is likely to recall the many
evil prophecies of its enemies — the
revolution would fail, the socialist state
would not last. But the revolution triumphed and the socialist Soviet Union
has advanced from strength to strength.
More, it infused in the exploited the
world over a firm feeling of confidence
that the end of exploitation was in sight,
a matter of the foreseeable future, that
classless society was a realizable goal
for every people. And the emergence,
after World War II, of the socialist camp
infused in the peoples of the Third World
a firm feeling of support in their fight
for national emancipation. This helped
to break colonial and imperialist domination.
Economically, politically and militarily, the socialist camp is a world force
that has weakened imperialism, broken
its world domination and foiled its criminal gambles.
In that lies the contribution the October Revolution made to the Third
World's fight for freedom. For with the
support of the socialist camp its peoples
were able to launch out on a movement
that shattered the fetters of colonialism
and imperialism and culminated in national independence.
And today, too, in advancing toward
economic independence, they fully appreciate the value of socialist solidarity,
embodied in the moral and material support of the  socialist countries.
The fraternal solidarity generated by
the October Revolution is a tremendous
factor in the struggle for national liberation. Its importance lies chiefly in the
fact that the October Revolution was
the first experiment in the concrete application of dialectical and historical
materialism, which today has become a
universal force. And having enriched this
theory, the October Revolution and its
great leader, Lenin, set a heartening
example, one that is being emulated by
all the peoples, notably those battling
for freedom.
By applying the scientific theory of
dialectical and historical materialism to
an analysis of Mozambique realities, we
can disclose the nature and depth of the
conflict between the people and the
Portuguese fascist colonial regime. We
can show up the capitalist nature of
colonial exploitation and the class character of the liberation struggle. Ranged
against each other in that struggle are
the Portuguese bourgeoisie, working
hand in glove with the bourgeoisie of
the United States, Britain, Belgium,
South Africa and other countries, and
the majority of the Mozambique people,
primarily the plantation workers, miners
and factory workers, railwaymen and
dockers and the peasants. This conclusion about the class nature of our struggle has revolutionary implications, but
it should not lead us to underestimate
its anti-colonial and nationalist features.
Our accumulated experience clearly
shows that only an analysis based on
dialectical and historical materialism can
enable us to understand the peculiarities
both of the internal and international
situation, work out a correct perspective
for the movement and define its character and aims at every stage of the fight
for economic, political and social emancipation. And this is important—we must
always be able to see the process not
only in its entirety, but also in its multiformity, the distinctive features and
aims of each of its phases. All this is
vital to the harmonious, uninterrupted
and irreversible development of the national liberation movement.
World Marxist Review
91