42
confrontation with state officials or new landholders, (2) peaceful confrontation and
compromise with officials and new landholders, (3) destruction of property, (4) labor
withdrawal and land abandonment, and (5) refusal to withdraw and land squatting. 86
In addition to multiple overlapping claims as a result of the government's land-distribution
process, there are other possible layers of competitive claimants due to historical events in
many locations of the country. For example, families who had land rights in the precolonial
era may still claim rights to land that was later occupied by (1) private companies or
individuals who acquired land during the colonial period; (2) people who were given land as
part of a colonial villagization scheme, otherwise know as aldeamentos; and (3) people who
acquired land in one of the colonial-era colonato schemes. 87 After independence a third laye8r8
of land claimants was created as the new government created its own aldeias comunais,
state farms, and cooperatives. Under these schemes, smallholders were moved to new
locations, which were often already claimed by other families or communities. At the same
time, the organization of state farms and cooperatives decreased the amount of land that was
available to smallholder farmers. e9
During the war another layer of land claimants was created as people fled to secure zones
and established new lives—in all, more than 5 million people moved at least once during the
war. Displaced families created new demands on land. In several research locations we have
already witnessed land disputes between "returning" smallholders and uprooted families who
chose to remain in their new locations. 90 And finally, a new set of claimants is emerging as
larger private-sector enterprises acquire or reactivate (preindependence) landholdings.
Many claimants interviewed felt that they had a legitimate, legally based right to the land
and were not willing to relinquish their control. When two or more individuals feel that they
have valid rights and will not concede, a conflict occurs. These feelings that claims are
legitimate is what makes many land disputes especially complex and acrimonious. Ultimately,
government and civil society will be faced with an enormous task as they disentangle these
86. See case studies below. Also, see Myers, West, and Eliseu (1993); Tanner, Myers, and Oad (1993);
and Negrao (1994).
87. For a discussion of the colonatos and aldeamentos, see Isaacman (1982, 1992); and Isaacman and
Isaacman (1983). For discussions of specific colonato schemes in Manica, Gaza, and Zambezia provinces, see,
respectively, Alexander (1994), Hermele (1988), and Negrao (1994).
88. The aldeias comunais were part of the state-created villagization program. For a complete discussion
of this program, see Hanlon (1990); Geffray (1990); Urdang (1989); Egero (1992); Araujo (1983); Coehlo
(1993).
89. For a discussion of the state farm sector, see Myers, West, and Eliseu (1993). In the late 1980s, before
the state farm sector collapsed in 1989-1990, it was reported that this sector covered millions of hectares of the
best land in the country. One scheme alone in Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces covered more than 400,000
hectares. In 1991, LTC researchers were able to identify approximately 83 state farms covering more than
580,000 hectares.
90. Examples are noted in the following case studies. See also Eliseu (1994); Boucher et al. (1993);
Alexander (1994); and Ken Wilson, personal communications on Angonia, Tete Province, 1994. At the Second
National Land Conference, smallholder farmers from Homoine, Inhambane Province, presented oral evidence
documenting disputes between returning smallholders and formerly displaced families who chose to remain in
their current locations (see Weiss and Myers 1994).