factors which is contributing to our sense that victory
is merely a matter of time. The African countries,
the socialist countries, and indeed all the world's
progressive forces declare, and increasingly put into
practice, their support for our cause.
But the most important factor which inspires our
vigourous sense of confidence lies closer to home,
with the Mozambican people themselves. For we have
succeeded, once and for all, in engaging the whole of
the population in our common struggle. As a Tanzanian journalist who visited our country last April
has written: «The question is sometimes asked whether FRELIMO has the support of the people of
Mozambique. It is not a question of support. Everybody is involved. . . (at the meetings) none of those
speeches about the need to rally around FRELIMO
and drive out the Portuguese were heard. Everybody understood why. It is the HOW that they talk
about». And even in those provinces where the
armed struggle has not yet begun the people look to
FRELIMO as their organisation, their guide. An
analogy may help to clarify this point: the situation
is reminiscent of Europe under Nazi occupation. Then
the dominated people did not consider the Nazi
authorities to be their leaders, but instead waited for
orders and directives from their real government,
which operated clandestinely or in exile. Such is the
situation with those parts of Mozambique which still
lie behind enemy lines.
One key to such results has been the work of the
political commissars, of course — constantly at work
raising the level of political consciousness of the
people and the fighters in our country. Everybody
becomes clearer by this means as to the ideological
orientation, the targets and the objectives, of FRELIMO.   And this in turn enhances their fighting spirit.
Another key lies in an even more fundamental reshaping of social and economic relations. In the liberated areas, even while the war rages on, a new
society, a new nation, is being constructed; the process reflects itself in the spheres of production and
distribution, of education and health, of defence and
participation. This dramatic reality affects fundamentally the people who live the new life of a free
Mozambique; its message and its promise permeates
the consciousness of those who still live beyond the
forward line of our successful battle. National reconstruction and national self-confidence go hand
in hand, and to this rule liberated Mozambique is no
exception.
The sum total of these various developments is an
impressive one. Their significance is also clear: as
stated at the outset, they have granted us the certainty that victory, ultimately, is ours. The revolutionary process thus becomes a cumulative one.
Our successes reinforce our confidence in a final victory; this confidence, in turn, makes us fight with increased ardour and determination, and helps us to
achieve new successes. In this way a dialectic has
been established which is fatal to Portuguese hopes;
its forward momentum cannot be halted short of the
independence of Mozambique.