Lisbon, May 5, 2025 (Lusa) - Researcher Manuel João Ramos believes that true autonomy from the colonial power will now come to the former colonies, which in Portugal's case was a process that began 50 years ago.
"In these 50 years of independence, it is possible that we will finally reach the moment when there is de facto independence from the colonial powers. We're seeing that with France, very clearly. And I think Portugal will follow suit," said Manuel João Ramos, a professor at ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL).
Because, he said, the African continent "is in the process of decolonisation in relation to Euro-American neo-colonialism, especially European neo-colonialism", stressing that this "can help clear the slate".
Manuel João Ramos recognises the difficulty in making economic decolonisation processes effective, and that there is "a capacity for agency on the part of African leaders, African elites, in relation to the possibility of choosing partners".
"Whether in Guinea-Bissau, Angola or Mozambique. In Angola, of course, there is a struggle between the Chinese and the Americans. That's very clear. In Guinea-Bissau, the Chinese are there," he added, considering that there are now “new centres of power” on the African continent.
"Be they economic, political or military. And that's very important," he added.
The researcher also believes that "Portugal's relations with African countries will be determined by a clear disinvestment in relations, in financial aid".
When asked whether Portugal's colonial regime was the last of the 20th century, Manuel João Ramos is ambivalent.
"Yes and no. Is it the last colonial power to leave? Yes and no. Because it's also true that the Central Bank in Paris is still managing the CFA coins there today, they haven't left yet, but yes. They haven't left yet, but they've found an alternative," he replies. He refers to the West African CFA franc, the currency of eight independent states, seven former French colonies and the former Portuguese colony of Guinea-Bissau.
Considering Portuguese decolonisation, the debate arouses opposing feelings depending on the perspective from which the process is evaluated. Manuel João Ramos considers the form and results it took to be inevitable.
"It was inevitable. It was impossible to maintain the status quo," he says, recalling that it practically coincided with the summit held in Vladivostok between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and US leader Gerald Ford.
Manuel João Ramos believes that this summit, held on the pretext of negotiations to limit and control nuclear weapons, consolidated the principle of the so-called proxy wars in Africa. In these wars, the then Soviet Union and the United States fought each other through "proxies" and refrained from direct confrontations. The two superpowers agreed to share influence on a global scale.
"Yes, and that seems to me to be a fact, a fundamental card. In other words, Portugal couldn't leave NATO. Álvaro Cunhal couldn't come to power. And that was part of what was decided in Vladivostok. The war was going to continue in Angola and Mozambique. And the Cold War was going to heat up in Angola and Mozambique. What could Portugal do? It couldn't do anything. In other words, the Portuguese government was tied to American interests," he says.
"What happened in 1975 in Angola and Bicesse? It was the guerrilla movements that sat at the negotiating table. The political parties also existed. The political parties could have fought for power, but were all squeezed out. In other words, the legitimacy for political power lay with the forces of arms," he summarises.
As for the course of the former Portuguese African colonies, once they were independent, Manuel João Ramos discusses the role of the African elites, heirs to colonial power.
"I think what remains as a stable line is the recurrence, in short, of the colonial relationship that Portugal had, which was a weak coloniser that relied on the creation of Creole elites for a substantial part of the administration and economic relations," he says.
"The Creole elites lost their footing in Guinea-Bissau, as we know, with the expulsion of the Cabo Verdeans, but in the other cases it seems the same line was maintained. It's not exactly specific, but it's a trend that Lusophone countries have followed. It's much more present in Portuguese-speaking countries than in other African countries: this permanence of the Creole elite in political and financial affairs," he says.
"Ethnic identities capture power," emphasises the researcher.
In the case of Angola, "the elites in Luanda today continue to deal with the people as their ancestors dealt with the people. And who were the ancestors? The ancestors were the enslavers of the people. Those who owned the same families are still there. Since the 17th century, a Creole elite has been created that deals with the people as potential slaves," he emphasises.
"And, in a way, that's the problem with the Creole elites. They feel different," he concludes.
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