{"id":45,"date":"2015-07-09T09:54:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-09T09:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/2015\/07\/09\/the-resistance-might-be-joyful\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T11:42:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T09:42:29","slug":"the-resistance-might-be-joyful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ifas.org.za\/research\/events\/workshops-seminars\/the-resistance-might-be-joyful\/","title":{"rendered":"The resistance might be joyful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A study of Zambezia\u2019s political identity through Carnival and Elections in Quelimane district<\/h4>\n\n\n
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French Institute Seminars in Humanities (FISH)
17 July 2015<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

10:00 – IFAS Conference Room, 62 Juta Street, Braamfontein<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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M\u00e9linda Revuelta<\/strong>
Sciences Po Bordeaux<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the basis of identity as a socially and historically constructed narrative, the fabrication of a Mozambican identity to suit Frelimo\u2019s leitmotiv \u201cone people, one nation, one culture\u201d has denied the historical past of regions that had fashioned an identity of their own, as in the case of Zambezia. Early Portuguese colonization and substantive miscegenation led to the formation of a society that was once very wealthy and whose political behaviour earned Zambezia the reputation as a \u201crebel province\u201d. Its capital, Quelimane, elected a mayor from the opposition in 2011 and 2013 \u2013 the second city to accomplish such a feat in the 40-year history of \u201cFrelimocracy\u201d. The city is also known as \u201clittle Brazil\u201d and many argue this is because Quelimane holds the \u201cbest and the biggest\u201d Carnival in Mozambique. To a province that became the poorest in the country, affording this festivity is not without sacrifice, but such a pride lies in the very soul of Zambezianity. Our research suggests that the victory of the opposition should not be translated as a vote against Frelimo, but rather as the political expression of this regional identity. Thus, we propose to assess the persistence and\/or renovation of this local narrative through the analysis of Quelimane\u2019s electoral behaviour and the study of its Carnival as a political object that strengthens and conveys this regional identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Melina Revuelta<\/em><\/strong> is a Master’s student in Politics and Development in the Global South at the University of Sciences Po in Bordeaux. Originally from Brazil, she has a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Law and a MSc in International Humanitarian Law. She has studied Mozambique\u2019s democracy for the past five years. In parallel, she has 10 years of experience working as a freelance conference interpreter and translator in Portuguese, English and French<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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