Macias Ngema, Francisco

Francisco Macias Nguema came from the Mongomo region of Rio Muni , the continental part of Equatorial Guinea. He was a man of rather limited abilities, but was able to make a career in the Spanish colonial administration thanks to the fact that he expressed personal devotion to the colonial regime. Macias Ngema three times tried to pass the exam, which gave the right to become a civil servant. Only for the fourth time, with the explicit help of Spanish officials, did he achieve his goal ^[3] . In 1960, he was appointed Alcald (mayor) of Mongomo and became a member of the Assembly in Santa Isabel , which was entrusted with the internal affairs of the colony. In October 1968, the independence of Equatorial Guinea was proclaimed, Macias Nguema led the coalition government and became president of the country. Despite independence, Equatorial Guinea maintained a strong Spanish presence, particularly in the economy.

In February 1969, Masias Nguema delivered several speeches sharply directed against the Spanish population. The formal occasion was the Spanish flag that was posted on one of the buildings, which Macias Nguema saw during one of his trips. As a result, African youth took to the streets and actually began the hunt for the Spaniards. By the end of March 1969, the vast majority of the 7,000 Spaniards who remained in Equatorial Guinea, fearing for their lives, fled the country, leaving all their property, the most valuable of which were coffee and cocoa plantations . Statesmen who directed their efforts to stop or mitigate the crisis were repressed. So, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ndongo Miyone , who was trying to mediate, was called to the presidential palace, beaten with rifle butts so that both his legs were broken, and then imprisoned, where he was soon killed ^[3] . Macias Ngema dismissed the government; ten of the twelve ministers were executed. Instead of a coalition government, Ngema appointed his relatives from the Esangi clan to the highest posts of the state. His nephew and future successor, Obiang Ngema Mbasogo , became the commander of the National Guard, the secretary general of the Ministry of Defense and the head of prisons. Francisco Macias Nguema appointed only his relatives to posts in the security services ^[3] . Thus began the dictatorial rule of Masias Nguema, which stood out even against the background of modern African dictators.

Macias Nguema remained the dictator of Equatorial Guinea until 1979. He had virtually unlimited power since February 1969, although legally the execution of unlimited powers took place gradually.

So, in July 1970, it was announced the introduction of a one-party system in the country and the creation of the Unified National Workers Party (PUNT), which included the entire adult population of the country. On July 12, 1973, a constitution was adopted, repealed only after the overthrow of Masias Ngema in 1979. According to the constitution, Equatorial Guinea was a republic. The head of state and government was the president; the presidential candidate was to be nominated by the congress of the United National Party of Workers. Francisco Macias Ngema was appointed president for life . According to the constitution, the president was endowed with unlimited powers in all spheres of state activity: he served as minister of the armed forces, state security, and national construction, appointed and dismissed all civil and military officials, and issued decrees that had the force of law. The government of the republic - the Council of Ministers - consisted of ministers appointed and replaced by the president and responsible exclusively to him. The legislative body - a unicameral parliament - the National People's Assembly (60 deputies), was elected by the population for 5 years. The right to vote was granted to all citizens over 18 years of age. The provinces were governed by governors, also appointed by the president. In the cities there were elected municipal councils, headed by mayors; in rural areas, community-elected assemblies. The judicial system included: the Supreme People’s Court - the highest court, first instance courts, district judges. Members of all courts were appointed by the president.

Although after the expulsion of the Spaniards all their enterprises actually passed to the state, formally a decree on transferring plantations abandoned by the Spaniards to state control was adopted only in 1974 . In 1975, a law on foreign investment was adopted, according to which state participation in the capital of companies should not exceed 50%. The 1973 constitution also established a state monopoly on foreign trade. Since the state was actually ruled by the Masias Nguema family, these decisions meant legislative consolidation of all political and economic power in her hands.

With unlimited opportunities to persecute his political opponents, Masias Ngema launched a terror campaign. Anyone he suspected of disloyalty could be immediately arrested and killed ^[3] . During his reign, it is estimated that in a country with a population of 300 thousand people, 50 thousand were killed and another 125 thousand fled abroad. When the director of the State Bureau of Statistics published a demographic report, and Masias Ngeme thought the population figures were too low, he ordered the director to be dismembered “so that he learns to count.” It is documented at least twice that he ordered the execution of all former lovers of his own lovers. Before each visit abroad, he gave the order to execute several prisoners in order to inspire others with a sense of fear and avoid a coup d'etat during his absence ^[3] .

The result of this policy was the complete disappearance of educated people who were either executed or fled the country. In the mid-1970s, no more than a dozen citizens with higher education remained in the country. There were no universities in the republic (there were none before Ngema). The economy has fallen into complete decline. Only the president, the army, the police, and the security services received regular salaries. Ministries were denied budget funding; many were closed and not functioning, and most ministers were executed. In 1976, the director of the Central National Bank was publicly executed, and the bank virtually ceased to exist. The functions of the central bank began to be performed by Masias Nguema, who kept at home all the currency resources of Equatorial Guinea. One of the country's income sources was the capture of foreign hostages with their subsequent return for ransom ^[3] . The monopoly of foreign trade actually allowed Masias Ngeme and his family to sell all goods at the prices that they themselves set.

Masias Ngema considered education, intellectuals and foreign culture to be his main opponents. He closed almost all the libraries in the country, by 1974 there was only a library in Malabo. Macias Nguema banned the production of newspapers and the use of printing houses (until 1975, only two newspapers were published in the country, both government ones, and later they were closed), and then even the use of the word “intellectual”. In 1974, by decree of the president, all schools in Catholic missions were closed; public schools actually did not function before, replacing education by memorizing slogans ^[3] . During the reign of Macias Nguema, Equatorial Guinea's economy degraded. There were no products in the shops, in the houses there was no water, electricity, fuel. After sunset, everything was plunged into darkness. Schools and nightclubs were closed.

Francisco Macias Ngema also paid much attention to control of religion. So, he ordered to hang his portrait in every Catholic church. Under the threat of arrest, the priests were obliged to repeat the slogans “There is no god but Masias” and “God created Equatorial Guinea thanks to Masias. Without Macias Equatorial Guinea would not exist. ” In 1975, he simply banned the practice of Christianity on pain of death. Foreign priests were expelled from the country, and church buildings were empty. Malabo Cathedral was used as an armory ^[3] . Back in 1973, he changed all Christian names and European geographical names to African. So, he renamed the island of Fernando Po in Macias Nguema Biyogo in honor of himself, the capital of the country, Santa Isabel, in Malabo .

Like many African leaders, Masias Ngema maneuvered between the USSR and the West. He supported the anti-Portuguese movement in neighboring Sao Tome and Principe and had friendly relations with the DPRK . After the overthrow of the first president of Equatorial Guinea, his family took refuge in North Korea. Francisco Masias Nguema's daughter, Monique, published the book Monique from Pyongyang .

In the late 1970s, Masias Ngema began to show clear signs of dementia. He often spoke with his former colleagues, whom he himself had long ordered to execute. He began to hear worse and often screamed, talking to himself, because otherwise he could not hear himself. He began to have difficulty coordinating movements. It became difficult for him to live in Malabo, and he spent most of his time in his house in Rio Muni with his three wives. In the bamboo thickets near the house, he kept the entire currency reserve of Equatorial Guinea. Part of the money managed to become worthless ^[3] .

Gradually, he became dangerous even for his own family. In June 1979, 11 officers of the National Guard came to him with a complaint that they had not received a salary for several months. All of them were shot. Then on August 3, his nephew Obiang Ngema Mbasogo organized a coup . Masias Ngeme managed to escape with two suitcases of currency and burn the rest of the country's foreign exchange reserves. Two weeks later, however, he was arrested. After hesitation, whether to put him on trial or send him to the hospital, it was decided to conduct a trial ^[3] . Masias Ngeme was charged with 80 thousand murders. He was convicted of 500 murders and sentenced to death. Since the population of Equatorial Guinea believed that he was a sorcerer and had supernatural powers, not one of the soldiers agreed to take part in the execution. To execute the execution, a platoon of Moroccan soldiers had to be specially called. Together with five associates, Francisco Macias Ngema was shot on September 29, 1979 . The population of the country for a long time believed in the presence and supernatural possibilities of its spirit ^[3] .

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