Equatorial Guinea: Colonialism, State Terror, and the Search for Stability

Composed of the mainland province of Rio Muni and the island of Bioko (formerly Fernando Po), Equatorial Guinea is one of the smallest African states and among the newest postcolonial nations. Not until the 20th century did a European colonial power gain control of either territory. While Spain converted Bioko into a monocultural economy dependent on cocoa, Rio Muni remained largely outside the colonial economy. Franco statist policies guaranteed Bioko planters a degree of affluence in the period after World War II—a prosperity shared by the Bioko cocoa cooperatives but not by the peoples of the mainland. Therefore, when the country achieved independence in 1968, economic development was skewed in favor of the island. The first president, Francisco Macias Nguema, attempted to break with the economic structures of colonialism, but the increasingly erratic nature of his regime discouraged foreign investment. Moreover, the president-for-life ruled a state in which terror killed many, forced still more to flee, and interfered with the recruitment of Nigerian migrant workers. By the late 1970s, the economy's core—the plantation sector—was in shambles. In August 1979 the government was overthrown by Macias Nguema's nephew, Colonel Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. The new regime changed the formerly anti-Western orientation of the government and encouraged an infusion of foreign capital. Yet despite the international aid, the economy remains depressed. The lack of labor and a net loss of population during the Macias Nguema years have contributed to continued economic dislocation. Future recovery is tied to the revival of cocoa and the diversification of the economy. The troubled history of Equatorial Guinea reflects, in many ways, the history of other developing African nations. Dr. Sundiata traces the state's path from a colony to an independent nation, outlining the crises and advances and noting the obstacles that today separate the country from complete self-sufficiency.