Guinea-Bissau emerged from the Portuguese-occupied stretch of West Africa after the agreement of 1886 which fixed colonial boundaries in the region. The Portuguese had been present in the region since the mid-15th century and had established a substantial slave trade there. Guinea-Bissau was administered jointly with the Cape Verde islands until 1879, after which it was treated as a separate entity known as Portuguese Guinea until independence. Like other Portuguese colonies, Guinea-Bissau suffered a protracted war of independence between 1963 and 1974, led on the rebel side by Amilcar Cabral,
a highly respected figure inside the country. The independence of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau was proclaimed in 1973, with Cabral as President of the State Council.
In 1974 a military coup in Portugal, itself partly the result of heavy losses sustained by the army in Guinea-Bissau, brought about a sudden withdrawal of the colonial authorities. In September that year, Portugal formally recognized the independence of Guinea-Bissau. The leader of the
Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) was Joao Vieira, formerly chief of the armed forces, who went on to run the country for the next 25 years. Guinea-Bissau functioned as a typical one-party state until the beginning of the 1990s when the government began a process of political reform which led to multi-party elections being held in 1994. The PAIGC secured a clear majority in the National People’s Assembly while Vieira secured the presidency at the run-off stage.
The Vieira government was unable to tackle the country’s poor and worsening economic situation. It also became embroiled in a series of disputes with Senegal over territorial waters and alleged support for secessionist rebels in the Senegalese region of Casamance. Although these were settled by external mediation, bilateral relations are still brittle. The Csamance guerrillas’ main supporter in Guinea-Bissau was Brigadier Ansumane Mane, a politically ambitious officer who in 1998 staged a rebellion against his own government. Vieira survived the attempted coup on this occasion but in May the following year, Mane managed to take power. Elections were held six months later, and the PAIGC lost control of both the presidency and the national assembly at the hands of the
Partido para a Renovacao Social (PRS). PRS leader Kumba Yala, who took over as president, was quite incapable of tackling the country’s enormous problems: to the general relief of the bulk of the population, he too was overthrown by the military at what was at least the third attempt in September 2003. Henrique Pereira Rosa became president and then later Carlos Gomes Junior became prime minister in May 2004. General Verissimo Seabre, the army chief who had led the coup in 2003, was himself killed by mutinous troops in October 2004 because of their unpaid wages and appalling living conditions. The killings were apparently not motivated by a desire for a change in government.
The situation has remained volatile throughout 2005. In April, Joao Bernardo Vieira, the former military ruler toppled in the 1999 rebellion, returned from exile in Portugal. In May, the former President Kumba Yala, who was deposed in 2003, declared that he was still the rightful Head of State and staged a brief occupation of the presidency building.
On August 10, 2005 Joao Bernardo Vieria was declared the winner of a July 24 presidential runoff election over Malam Bacai Sanha in an election judged by international observers to be free and fair. Vieria dismissed the government of Carlos Gomes Junior in November 2005, appointing Aristides Gomes in his place.
GovernmentThe revised 1984 Constitution allows for an elected executive president and a 102-member unicameral national assembly. Following the coup of September 2003, the government and constitution have been suspended and Guinea-Bissau is governed by a transitional authority.
EconomyRice is the staple food in this poor, largely subsistence economy. The main cash crops are groundnuts, cashew nuts and palm kernels. Timber is the only significant industry. An attempt to revive cotton production has received EU assistance; sugar refining and fishing have also undergone major development. Planned developments of oil and bauxite deposits have not progressed as far as had been hoped.
Guinea-Bissau is a member of the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) and joined the CFA Franc Zone in May 1997. Since then, the country has been recovering from internal conflicts which cut economic output by up to one-third and damaged much of the country’s already limited infrastructure. In the short term, Guinea-Bissau will continue to rely on large quantities of foreign aid, of which it is among the highest per capita recipients in the world.
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