São Tomé and Príncipe 1975-2015: politics and economy in a former plantation colony

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-864X.2016.3.22842

Keywords:

São Tome and Príncipe, plantation economy, development, multipartyism, oil

Abstract

After independence in 1975 São Tomé and Príncipe became a socialist oneparty state. The regime nationalized the cocoa plantations and the entire economy. As the country lacked adequately trained people, within a few years the local economy was run down. Due to economic failure, in 1990 the regime introduced multiparty democracy and a free-market economy. Despite political instability provoked by consecutive changes of government, democracy has done relatively well. However, the economy has been ailing, since consecutive governments failed to recover the cocoa sector and diversify the economy. Prospects of becoming an oil producer that emerged in the 1990s have not materialized either, since commercially viable oil has not been discovered. Consequently, for many years the small country has become completely dependent on international aid. The article analyses the archipelago´s policies and economy over the past forty years.

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Author Biography

Gerhard Seibert, Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira

Gerhard Seibert licenciou-se em Antropologia Cultural na Universidade de Utreque, Holanda, em 1991. De 1992 a 1999 esteve ligado à Universidade de Leiden, Holanda, onde se doutorou em Ciências Sociais. Depois do doutoramento até 2008 foi bolseiro de pós-doutoramento da FCT no Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (IICT) em Lisboa. De 2008 a 2014 foi investigador no ex-Centro de Estudos Africanos (CEA) / ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa. Desde 2014 é professor adjunto da Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), Campus São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, Brasil. Tem desenvolvido projectos de investigação em Moçambique, Cabo Verde e São Tomé e Príncipe e sobre as relações Brasil – África. É autor do livro Camaradas, Clientes e Compadres. Colonialismo, Socialismo e Democratização em São Tomé e Príncipe (Lisboa: Vega 2001).

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Published

2016-11-24

How to Cite

Seibert, G. (2016). São Tomé and Príncipe 1975-2015: politics and economy in a former plantation colony. Estudos Ibero-Americanos, 42(3), 987–1012. https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-864X.2016.3.22842

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 3 (2016): Dossier - 40 Years of Independence in Africa

Section

40 Years of Independence in Africa

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Copyright (c) 2016 Gerhard Seibert

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