Aristides Maria Pereira

Aristides Maria Pereira (born 1923) fought for the freedom of his people and later became president of Cape Verde.

Searching for Independence

Aristides Maria Pereira was born on November 17, 1923, on Boa Vista, one of Cape Verde's islands. He was the son of Porfirio Pereira Tavares and Maria das Neves Crus Silva. He was educated at the Lycee de Cap-Vert, and he began a career as a radio-telegraphist when he finished his schooling. Pereira rose to the position of head of Telecommunications Services in Bissau, formerly Portuguese Guinea and now known as Guinea-Bissau, across from Cape Verde on the African west coast.

Pereira became an early proponent of independence from Portugal, especially after meeting Amilcar Cabral, a man native to the islands but living in Guinea, as Cabral began a series of radio talks during the summer of 1949. Since 1466, when the first settlers arrived, the Portuguese had ruled Cape Verde, both intermarrying with and brutalizing the native population. Members of more than two dozen African tribes initially were brought to the islands to provide slave labor for the Portuguese.

Famines in the islands earlier in the 1940s "provoked a new trend of thought. There had to be change, there had to be a different future," recalled Pereira."Many emigrated: not just for jobs but in the search for a way ahead. Some of us went to Portugal, others to Angola, several to Bissau. Yet all of us went with the same notion, the idea of finding a different way ahead."

A Long Struggle

In 1956 Pereira joined Cabral and others to found the Partido Africano da Independencia da Guine's e Cabo Verde, a political movement whose acronym was PAIGC. Cabral was a socialist, and both the Soviet Union and Cuba provided support for PAIGC initially. Pereira held various positions with the PAIGC. He was a member of the Political Bureau's Central Committee, from 1956 until 1970; assistant secretary-general, 1964–1973; and secretary-general, 1973–1981.

Cabral was assassinated in January 1973 by the Portuguese secret police. But Pereira and his comrades did not give up. He became president of newly independent Cape Verde from 1975 until 1991.

Many Obstacles

Pereira's task as the new republic's first president was a daunting one. Physically, the new country suffered from a harsh climate. Disastrous droughts and consequent famines have plagued the islands for centuries. A series of particularly devastating droughts hit the islands throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, each one killing between 10 and 40 percent of the population. Many islanders fled, some of them to the United States.

Agriculture is a challenge due to low annual rainfall and extensive soil erosion. Ninety percent of the country's food must be imported. There are underground reserves of water, but extracting them is too costly.

When the country gained independence it was an extremely poor and largely illiterate culture. Health services and doctors were absent. Roads, if they existed at all, were primitive at best. According to a 2000 article published on Europa, the portal site for the European union, "At independence in 1975, there was a certain trepidation as to whether the country could survive.… Not just to survive, but to forge an identity as a country with a renowned cultural richness, a stable post-independence period, and good relations with its diverse international partners and neighbours."

Remarkable Progress

Many nations joined in the effort to support Cape Verde, including the Soviet Union, China, and the United States. The United Nations and its World Food Program helped feed the people. International assistance created a viable infrastructure and a national health service. A program of reforestation was implemented to recover the trees lost to so many droughts and water conservation efforts were put into place.

During his terms as president, Pereira was often criticized for crushing opposing political views. He was known, however, for working to create policies that would help the poor. His alliances with China and Libya were controversial.

The 1991 constitution allowed for the presence of opposing political parties. Pereira was defeated. It was the first time in sub-Saharan Africa that a single-party government was voted out of office.

In July 2002, Cape Verde, along with the Seychelles and Mauritius, both off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, were named the best places to live in Africa by the Human Development Report. Though Cape Verde was listed at number 100 worldwide, the progress in the country was remarkable. Life expectancy at birth had climbed to nearly 70. The literacy rate remained low, as did the per capital income, but improvements were being made. Cape Verde's political stability was considered an important factor in a promising future.

Books

Columbia Encyclopedia, Edition 6, Columbia University Press, 2000.

International Who's Who 2003, 66th edition, Europa Publications, 2002.

Periodicals

Africa News Service, October 28, 2002.

Current Anthropology, August–October 2003.

East African, July 16, 2001.

Footsteps, September 2001.

Monthly Review, December 1998.

Research in African Literatures, Winter 1993.

Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 8, No. 21, Summer 1981.

UNESCO Courier, November 1992.

Online

"Alert Net-Cape Verde," Reuters Foundation AlertNet website,http://www.alertnet.org (January 5, 2004).

Almeida, Raymond A., "Chronological References: Cabo Verde/Cape Verdean American," University of Massachusetts Special Programs website,http://www.umassd.edu (December 9, 2003).

"Cape Verde," Netfirms website,http://exim.netfirms.com/cv (December 9, 2003).

"Cape Verde," New Internationalist website,http://www.newint.org (January 5, 2004).

"Cape Verde," Tiscali Reference website (Hutchinson Encyclopedia),http://www.tiscali.co.uk (December 9, 2003).

"Cape Verde," World Statesmen website,http://www.worldstatesmen.org (December 9, 2003).

"Cape Verde celebrates its 25th anniversary," Afrol News website,http://www.afrol.com (January 5, 2004).

"Cape Verde the struggle for Independence," University of Massachusetts Special Programs website,http://www.umassd.edu (December 9, 2003).

"Cape Verdean President to step down in 2005," Afrol News website,http://www.afrol.com (January 5, 2004).

"Civil War in Guinnea Bissau," Conflict Trends, Accord website (Zaire),http://www.accord.org (December 9, 2003).

"Country Information on Cape Verde," SOS-Kinderdorf International (SOS Childrens' Villages) website,http://www.soschildrensvillages.org (January 4, 2004).

"Country profile: Cape Verde," BBC News website,http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk (December 9, 2003).

"Democracy and Governance in Africa, Conclusions and papers presented at a conference of the Africa Leadership Forum, Ota, Nigeria, 29 November-1 December 1991," Africa Leadership Forum website,http://www.africaleadership.org (January 5, 2004).

"The History of Cape Verde (Green Cabo)," Africa Infomarket organization website,http://africainfomarket.org (January 5, 2004).

"Letter to President Aristides Pereira of Cape Verde on United States Acceptance of the Gift of the Schooner Ernestina," University of Texas website,http://www.reagan.utexas.edu (December 9, 2003).

"Ministry of the Finances and Planning," Cape Verde government website,http://www.gov.cv (January 5, 2004).

"No fist is big enough to hide the sky: the liberation of Guine and Cape Verde: aspects of an African revolution," ISBN database website,http://isbndb.com (December 9, 2003).

"Seychelles, Mauritius and Cape Verde 'best in Africa,'" Afrol News website,http://www.afrol.com (January 5, 2004).

"Taking Stock," Europa (European Union website),http://europa.eu.int (January 5, 2004).