Nó Górdio and relations between Mozambique and Portugal: an invented future in Mozambican schools in Sofala Province

Abstract

“Nó Górdio” was a violent military campaign, commanded by Kaúlza de Arriaga in 1970, with the aim of defeating the armed struggle for the liberation of Mozambique. This article examines the memories of this event as a pretext for a reflection on the political, diplomatic. and socioeconomic relations between Mozambique and Portugal. The article results from research conducted in Mozambican secondary schools and the analysis of a RTP report directed by Alexandrina Pereira and Rui Pinto Almeida in 2006 about this historical event. Despite the apparent existence of memories that stimulate restlessness as a reflection of past events, relations of friendship are increasingly strengthened and find expression in different spheres of development in two nations that share the Portuguese language as an interface of scientific, cultural and economic progress.