Economia e política em transição : estudo do caso CFM - SUL (1964 - 1980)

Abstract

The Port and Railways of Maputo (PCFM) in the crucial period of political transition between 1964 and 1980 aims to show the intrinsic relationship between the History of Mozambique and the railway systems gradually built in the country from the last half of the last century. Interrelate the structural and purely economic developments of the PCFM, the political-military changes and the geo-strategic interests in Southern Africa during the period under study, considering that the latter were decisive for the life of the company, was the methodology adopted for this study. It starts, on the one hand, from the isolated analysis of the economic-structural factors of the PCFM between 1964, the year in which the Maputo rail and port system was completed with the entry into operation of the railway line to Swaziland, and 1974, the year of coup d'état in Portugal, which determines a series of political events in the region, which will be reflected in the company. On the other hand, there is a critical appraisal of the political-military changes between 1964, the year the armed struggle for Mozambique's independence began, and 1974, the year in which the prospects for decolonization of Mozambique are opened, as, although apparently unrelated, directly with the PCFM we will see that they are of extreme importance and have decisive influence. In the period between 1974 and 1980, the events and options of the governments of the region and the PCFM are interrelated, as it is during this period that it is clearly shown how closely linked are political interests and the redirection of transport routes in southern Africa . It is intended to show that Mozambican transport systems have always been determined by political factors and by the interests of the states in the region, particularly South Africa and Zimbabwe and, obviously, Mozambique. The purely economic factors, which are equated, are contextualized taking into account the political environment that between 1974 and 1980 marks the turning point in the relationship of the countries. Some milestones that determine this turn are specifically the independence of Mozambique, the closing of the Mozambican-Rhodesian borders and the adoption of a new philosophy of foreign policy in South Africa. the PCFM's performance is determined by factors that transcend them. Just as its birth was dictated by political and strategic interests, in this period of study too, politics took precedence over economics (TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)