Cabral, Amilcar

(1924–1973)

   Cabral was a Guinea–Cape Verdean revolutionary who led the Partido Africano da Indepêndencia da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) from 1959 until his death in 1973. He led the struggle against the Portuguese colonists, a struggle that brought about independence for Guinea-Bissau in 1974 and for the Cape Verde islands in 1975. He applied Marxism in a nondogmatic way, acknowledging the vital role of the colonial petty bourgeoisie in leading the proletariat and peasantry to national liberation. Cabral oversaw the political mobilization of the peasants, the training of party cadres, the prosecution of a politically led guerrilla warfare, and the reconstruction of liberated Guinea (about 60 percent of the country when he died) including the holding of democratic elections in 1972. He advocated gradual rural development toward self-sufficiency in food, and a very slow industrialization, with links maintained to the capitalist world after independence. Cabral opposed any kind of coerced collectivization in agriculture and his overall approach was characterized by pragmatism and moderation. He rejected notions of a common black or African culture and stressed specific conditions over generalized theories. Cabral was assassinated in January 1973 before the full independence he sought was achieved.