Carlos Lopes: Cape Verde had the most consistent growth path after independence
Economist Carlos Lopes told Lusa that Cape Verde had the most consistent growth trajectory among Portuguese-speaking African countries in the post-independence period, standing out as an example of reforms and ingenuity despite the scarcity of resources.
Cape Verde was the Portuguese-speaking African country with the "most consistent" growth trajectory after independence, economist Carlos Lopes noted in a statement to Lusa. The former executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) emphasized that the archipelago has managed to establish itself as a reformist, not a "rentier," country.
"The liberation struggles achieved their greatest victory, which was independence, but then a different period began, that of building an economic reality that corresponds to the ambitions of a sovereign state. Along this path, the country that went furthest and had the greatest consistency was Cape Verde," Lopes stated, as quoted by Lusa.
For the University of Cape Town academic, the fact that Cape Verde has few natural resources should make it more vulnerable, but this paradox ended up stimulating ingenuity and structural reforms, supported by an active diaspora.
In his analysis of the remaining Portuguese-speaking African countries, Lopes separates those reforming their economies from those living off resource rents. Angola, he noted, remains a rentier economy dependent on oil, while Guinea-Bissau relies on cashew nut exports and foreign aid. Mozambique, he added, is "halfway there," with phases of reform and others of heavy dependence on coal, aluminum, and gas. São Tomé and Príncipe, on the other hand, "lives aided by circumstances and without easy choices," unlike Cape Verde, which managed to leverage its limited potential.
