BOM DIA MAPUTO

Bom dia Maputo, which means Good morning Maputo, is a series that presents my personal view of the capital of Mozambique. I have taken into account pieces of recent and relevant history of this country.

Maputo, with a population of over a million people, was called Lourenço Marques until 1976 to honour the Portuguese explorer who founded it in the late XVIII century. It was the president Samora Machel from the Frelimo party, which fought and won the independence from Portugal, the man who changed the name of the city and honour the river of the same name. Today, Maputo is a vibrant city, where a middle-class is growing and where housing prices are rising enormously also because of the many “expats” that live and work in it. The cultural scene is very active but there are still many people who live in very poor conditions. New luxurious cars are often seen in the streets but Aids rate is high and rising (18% of the population). As most of the cities in the world, not only in Africa, is an example of the inner contradictions and injustices of the current global economic system.

I made an effort to avoid, as much as possible, the usual visual clichés of African cities but also I did my best to be honest so as not to avoid the contrasts that took my attention. The discussion about the success in achieving Samora Machel goals of independence is still open.