In August 1979, Colonel Teodoro Obiang Mba Nzago conducted a coup d’etat. He was the president’s nephew and brought his personalized power to an end. Macías was subsequently executed for “crimes against humanity”.
A period of persecution, random arrests and corruption began, which was in fact merely a continuation of the previous government’s repressive practices. In August 1982, parliamentary elections were held, but there was only one list, consisting of candidates from the ruling party. In exile, the National Alliance for Democratic Reconstruction was built, which tried unsuccessfully to connect with Obiang. To see more information other than history, please visit Abbreviationfinder to learn more about climate, population, government, and economy for the country of Equatorial Guinea.
In June 1986, the regime escalated the detentions following a coup attempt in which Deputy Prime Minister Fructuoso Mba Onana was involved.
Teodoro Obiang reported his country into the Economic and Customs Union of Central Africa (UDEAC) and linked the country’s currency – equals – to the central banks in the region. The move was seen as a strengthening of relations with the Western world, and led to a drastic reduction in aid from the Soviet Union and East Germany. The United States, France and Spain controlled the most important iron mines, oil wells and timber production. At the same time, Morocco sent troops to guarantee the security of the new government.
In June 1988, Teodoro Obiang was re-elected. He continued the implementation of IMF policy. The fund had provided a $ 16 million loan to improve public investment, reform banking and boost growth. At a meeting with the lenders in November 1988, the regime was promised a further $ 58 million in international aid over the following 3 years.
In September 1988, Teodoro Obiang visited France, which brought about a rapprochement between the two countries, and later sought Equatorial Guinea for membership in the Francophone Association. At the same time, the President managed to give up one third of the country’s debt to Spain.
- Countryaah: Check to see the location of Equatorial Guinea on the world map. Also covers major mountains, rivers and lakes in Equatorial Guinea.
At the same time, the repression continued. In September 1988, two officers were executed, accused of conspiring against the government. Almost at the same time, opposition leader José Luis Jones was detained when he returned to his country.
In June 1989, Obiang was re-elected, in an election in which only the ruling party was entitled to participate. The previous political line has therefore continued.
In early 1991, the Coordinadora Democrática de los Partidos de Oposición (Democratic Coordination of the Opposition Parties, CDPO) was founded in Gabon, and in May one of the opposition’s main leaders, Feliciano Moto, was assassinated.
In early 1992, the government issued a general amnesty. The Political Parties Act banned the parties whose foundations were “tribal, regional or provincial” and demanded that $ 158,000 be paid for the legalization of a party. Furthermore, presidential candidates were required to have spent the previous 10 years in the country, which excluded all those who had been in exile.
Despite the obstacles, 10 political parties were legalized in early 1993. During the same period, the UN issued a report in which the systematic violation of the basic rights of opposition politicians was sharply criticized.
The UN also accused Obiang’s government of being implicated in the unsuccessful attempt to assassinate US Ambassador John Bennett after the North American Foreign Ministry criticized the illegal imprisonment, torture and harassment in the country.