Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Monday called for enhanced freedom of movement between Mozambique and Portugal, emphasizing the historic ties that bind the two nations during celebrations marking 50 years of Mozambique’s independence from Portuguese colonial rule.
Speaking at a commemorative event in Maputo’s Independence Stadium—formerly known as Machava Stadium, the site where the country declared independence on June 25, 1975—Chapo said that Mozambique’s liberation struggle was not against the Portuguese people, but against a “fascist colonial regime” that “oppressed both Africans and Portuguese alike.”
He described Mozambique’s independence as a shared victory, saying the country’s national struggle contributed to the downfall of authoritarian rule in Portugal itself. “This was a victory for both peoples,” Chapo told the crowd.
The golden jubilee celebration drew several high-profile guests from Lusophone countries, including Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló, Angolan parliamentary speaker Carolina Cerqueira, and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, whom Chapo described as a “brother to Mozambique.”
President Rebelo de Sousa hailed Mozambique as his “second home,” reinforcing the symbolic importance of the visit and the enduring bilateral relationship.
President Chapo used the occasion to express Mozambique’s desire to deepen cooperation with Portugal, particularly in easing travel restrictions. “We aspire to freedom of movement for citizens between our countries in both directions,” he said. “We are two peoples—brothers and friends—forever.”
Chapo also invoked the long-shared history between the two nations, referencing Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama and poet Luís de Camões, and underscoring the cultural links that continue to shape Mozambique’s national identity.
