Ten people died at the start of September as fierce protests in Mozambique led the Government to quickly reverse its policy on the price of food and utilities. The country, 175 out of 179 in the world development rankings, had seen an increase of 30% in the price of bread, coupled with a double digit increase in the price of water and electricity, disastrous for a population which spends nearly 3/4 of the monthly household budget on food. The immediate cause of the spike in the price of food was the forest fires in Russia, which destroyed crops and, together with the pressures of ethanol fuel production on food supplies, caused price rises leading to explosions of popular fury in countries including Egypt and Mozambique, which imports more than 60% of its wheat. International speculators have piled into food markets, driving prices even further out of the reach of the poor, who are in effect held hostage by international markets. Capitalism is increasingly experiencing problems sustaining global food supply, and similar riots in a number of countries in 2008 led former US president Bill Clinton to remark, "Food is not a commodity like others"; the poor of Mozambique understand this very well, and seem to be prepared to make it into a reality. It is also significant that the protests in Mozambique were not solely related to the price of food; according to Alice Mabota of the Mozambican League of Human Rights the action on the streets was not simply a protest about food, but a wider and more political act of rebellion. The increasing evidence of climate change shows us that struggles such as this are becoming more and more common and it is essential that ecosocialists demonstrate solidarity with them.
Richard Willmsen