FRELIMO’s party congress a month ago was a reminder that Mozambique’s ruling party is still relatively democratic, broad-based, and not completely predictable.

The party structure looks very similar to that of European parties, with local party offices and grassroots activists providing social services and getting out the vote.

The new central committee reflects a view inside the party that the elite has been building up too much wealth and power.

Armando Guebuza remains the most powerful man in Mozambique. But the FRELIMO party made clear that his power is checked. Indeed, the Congress showed the party setting limits on the political and economic power of the elites.

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Mozambique is a development paradox. Rural poverty is increasing despite high growth rates and billions of dollars in aid. Now the country has been targeted by two contrasting models of agricultural development: the ‘Obama model’ and the ‘Annan model’. Which works better for the poor?

Mozambican farmers are very poor – the average rural cash income is $31 per person per year. That is less than the price of a bag of fertiliser. Very few peasant farmers are willing to risk their whole year’s income on fertiliser, or better seed, or a different crop.

Nearly all Mozambican farmers still use only a hoe, and do not have a tractor or oxen to plough, so they can only farm 1.5 hectares. Now, international investors are noticing that this leaves vast tracts of underused land. The difference between the Annan and Obama models is how that land is to be used.

Will the Annan or Obama model lead to the biggest reduction of poverty and the best use of Mozambique’s land?

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