All Eyes on Africa

Almost 50 African heads of state and government meet today with Barack Obama. A three-day summit will be held in Washington, in which the United States will attempt to create bridges for better economic cooperation with the so-called black continent. Obama, son of a white woman from Kansas and a Kenyan man, has special reasons to promote this strategic approach, but the truth is that America knows, as the world’s premier power, it cannot remain ignorant to Africa’s development, whose economy should grow 6.1 percent this year.

So it is no coincidence that this summit occurs a mere five months after the meeting between the countries of the European Union and the members of the African Union in Brussels. Europe is also interested in reinforcing ties with the continent and overcoming the evil of the colonial times. With traditional opportunities in the fields of mining, hydrocarbons, and also agriculture behind, Africa emerges as a market with 300 million consumers who are already classified as a middle class.

That’s why China, Japan and India are also wagering in influential partnerships from the Maghreb to South Africa.

Portugal, with its past, has been on this path before, also because the Lusosphere is a force in Africa, including some of the most dynamic economies. As a matter of fact, among Obama’s invitees are the vice president of Angola, the presidents of Mozambique, Cape Verde and Guinea Bissau, and even the prime minister of São Tomé.

Chinese Challenges

A natural disaster can be an adequate event to gauge the reality of political and social structures; it gives real dimension to the response capacity that a country has to the internal challenges it may face. As victims of frequent earthquakes — when some of the most tragic consequences arise — Chinese authorities have been changing their attitude in this regard, especially after the Szechuan catastrophe (2008), whose elevated mortality rate was due to construction defects and to the lack of compliance with building codes. The direct involvement of the highest executives, whose visits to the affected regions and demands of responsibility from the local governances and businesses, testifies to this change. A country accredited, by different economic factors, as the second world power, must adhere to the behaviors and demands that result from this status.

What seems to happen, perhaps not at the necessary pace with customs and social practices, is the curb of rapid application of these practices. The weekend’s explosion in a metal factory, with its elevated level of victims due to the lack of safety conditions, underlines why this cultural change is imperative in this sphere.

Natural tragedies cannot be controlled, but can be prevented and their effect anticipated. On the socio-economic plane, the same can be done. This is one of the distinct elements of a modern political power and of a prepared and developed society. To this point, China seems to not have been easing the slack of the reins that tie it to a country en route to development — with inherent advantages and disadvantages.