He stepped off a grey jumbo jet to the excited however subdued applause of some airport staff in neon vests. Not less than one fellow passenger giddily approached him for a selfie.
Practically three months after fleeing Mozambique, saying he feared for his life, opposition chief Venâncio Mondlane made a grand return on Thursday to attempt to declare what he insists is rightfully his: the presidency.
Mozambique is scheduled to inaugurate a brand new president from the long-governing Frelimo occasion on Wednesday. Daniel Chapo of Frelimo received with 65 % of the vote within the October election, based on the nation’s highest courtroom. By the official tally, Mr. Mondlane bought simply 24 %.
After a number of unbiased election observers recognized irregularities within the vote, Mr. Mondlane spent months arguing the race was stolen, calling on his supporters to take to the streets. Some protests have descended into violence, with a minimum of 250 individuals killed throughout a police response that human rights teams have known as unnecessarily brutal.
Mr. Mondlane’s return comes at a fragile second for this mineral- and gas-rich nation of 33 million. The federal government is struggling to deal with housing and debt crises, and to quell a yearslong insurgency backed by the Islamic State. Regional leaders like South Africa have despatched envoys to attempt to dealer a decision to a political impasse that has stymied commerce and threatens additional financial harm.
But the outspoken opposition candidate has refused to again down. “I, Venâncio Mondlane, elected president by the Mozambican individuals,” he mentioned, elevating his proper hand earlier than a gaggle of stories cameras exterior of the airport within the capital, Maputo, “swear on my honor to serve Mozambique and Mozambicans.”
A few quarter mile away, hundreds of his supporters crowded police barricades, shouting, “The president has arrived! The president has arrived!” beneath a gradual drizzle. The police stored the group at bay utilizing tear fuel.
Filipe Nyusi, the present president, gathered the leaders of the primary opposition events for a gathering on Thursday to debate options — an train that some say lacked credibility as a result of Mr. Mondlane was not there. Following the assembly, Mr. Chapo mentioned the events had agreed to have a look at making adjustments to election legislation and to the structure “to accommodate the pursuits of Mozambicans.”
The 50-year-old Mr. Mondlane may seem to some as an election denier and populist troublemaker. However to his supporters, he’s a singular determine at a singular second. Voters throughout southern Africa, led by a stressed younger inhabitants, have over the previous 12 months sharply rebuked former liberation events on the polls.
Corruption, unemployment, inequality and poor dwelling circumstances have sparked widespread anger in Mozambique and across the area at political leaders seen as out of contact. Mr. Mondlane has seized that wave of discontent to supply a easy message: He would give the nation again to the individuals.
As celebratory crowds swarmed Mr. Mondlane’s motorcade in Maputo on Thursday, witnesses say the police, with little provocation, responded with tear fuel and bullets, leaving a minimum of one man useless on the sidewalk with blood gushing from his head. A police spokesman declined to touch upon any fatalities, saying they had been nonetheless gathering data.
“What the individuals in Mozambique don’t need is Frelimo,” mentioned Francisco Victor Chimene, a 25-year-old driver, standing subsequent to an open-air market the place Mr. Mondlane earlier had addressed throngs of his supporters. “What we would like is change. We see that Venâncio will change this nation.”
Educated in agronomy, Mr. Mondlane has a various résumé. He’s labored as a banker, a Pentecostal pastor and a tv pundit. His political breakout got here in 2013 when he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Maputo. He misplaced the mayoral race once more two years in the past, however the outcome was closely disputed with civil society organizations claiming that there was large fraud. A courtroom ordered a recount in a serious district due to irregularities.
After shedding a management battle in what was Mozambique’s fundamental opposition occasion, Renamo, Mr. Mondlane ran for president final 12 months with the assist of a smaller occasion, Podemos. His meteoric rise as a candidate drew international consideration, profitable him assist amongst right-wing populist figures overseas, at the same time as younger, leftist voters rallied behind him at house.
In a video posted to social media in the course of the marketing campaign final 12 months, Mr. Mondlane thanked Jair Bolsonaro, the previous Brazilian president accused of plotting a coup, and known as him “a person of God.”
Mr. Mondlane sees Mr. Bolsonaro “as a pioneering man,” mentioned Jonatas Feitosa, the pastor of a conservative evangelical church in Brazil and pal of Mr. Mondlane. Mr. Bolsonaro styled himself because the antidote to a leftist occasion that had dominated Brazilian politics for greater than a decade.
Frelimo, which has its roots in communism, has ruled Mozambique because the nation’s independence from Portugal in 1975. However the occasion has since misplaced the belief of many Mozambicans due to widespread corruption. The federal government’s violent response to demonstrations after the election was seen by many as a sign of Frelimo’s determined try to carry onto energy.
Throughout his presidential marketing campaign, Mr. Mondlane traveled to Portugal, the place he met with André Ventura, the president of Chega, the far-right nationalist occasion that helps stricter immigration measures and has fought in opposition to restitutions for former colonies. However Chega has additionally normal itself as a champion of the working class, like Mr. Mondlane.
Mr. Ventura mentioned in an electronic mail that his occasion hoped to construct a typical political platform with Mr. Mondlane that centered on “combating corruption and crime, defending household and order, and addressing the collapse of justice and different establishments.”
Mr. Mondlane has not publicly addressed his ties with right-wing figures overseas. However in a rustic the place most voters battle to search out their subsequent meal or a secure house to dwell in, these ties are of little significance, mentioned Benjamin Francisco Malate, a 38-year-old businessman.
“The explanation we’re supporting Venâncio will not be as a result of he’s from the left or the suitable,” Mr. Malate mentioned. “We’re simply supporting the options that he presents.”
A few of his proposals embrace insurance policies that may require important state intervention, like constructing three million properties in 5 years and financing companies for youth and ladies.
As he stood on high of a automotive surrounded by a packed crowd of hundreds in Maputo on Thursday, Mr. Mondlane mentioned that if the federal government went forward with subsequent Wednesday’s inauguration, the nation would have two presidents. “Who runs this nation?” Mr. Mondlane shouted right into a loudspeaker.
“It’s the individuals,” the group replied.
Ana Ionova contributed reporting from Rio de Janeiro and Tiago Carrasco from Lisbon.
