Portugal and the Future (Portugal e o Futuro) hits the shelves on 22 February, and it’s an immediate bestseller. Costa Gomes’ review turns out to have been burying the lede. Spínola reaffirms his statements on the solution to the colonial problem being political and explicitly not military, and goes one step further, stating that that political solution must base itself on the self-determination rights of the respective African peoples. He doesn’t advocate for full independence, but rather a federated system with each of the nations governed by representatives of the black majority–avoiding by all means the creation of ‘new Rhodesias’. Spínola also acknowledges that, given the nature and development of the conflict, it might already be too late. The PAIGC, for example, had declared formal Guinean independence in late September of 1973, a claim already recognised by a plurality of world nations that flipped the framing of the Portuguese presence from territorial defenders to unwanted invaders. Even Spínola’s intermediate solution might be unachievable. Among the staff officers, Spínola’s book unlocks an avenue of thought and furious discussion that many at that point still consider treasonous–decolonisation. Regardless of the viability of his plan or conclusions, having a prestigious senior officer make a compelling case for national self-determination, in a book published on Portuguese soil, sends shock waves through the military establishment. It seems, for the first time in decades, possible to discuss the Homeland and its History.
No comments:
Post a Comment