Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Francisco Macías Nguema

Starting point is 00:00:00 In 1968, the colony of Spanish Guinea was granted independence and became the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. In its first open election, which turned out to be its last, it elected as president Francisco Macias Naguma. He very quickly turned out to be a dictator. However, he wasn't just a dictator. He became one of the worst dictators of the 20th century. Learn more about Francisco Macias Naguma, his reign of terror, and how he single-handedly wrecked Equatorial Guinea on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Did you ever hear about the selfie that solved a murder or the jury that used a Ouija board to speak to a victim?

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Starting point is 00:01:25 Yidh, Aemim, Saddam Hussein, or Kim Il-sung. You probably think of some of the world's worst dictators, horrible people who did horrible things. Yet there's someone else that you should think of when you think of the worst of the worst world leaders of the 20th century. Francisco Macias Naguma. There's a good chance that you've never heard of him before, but by the end of this episode, hopefully you'll see that he has earned a well-deserved place amongst the worst leaders in history. The reason why you may not have heard of him before is that Equatorial Guinea is a really small country that doesn't get much attention. Before I get into the man who called himself Macias, first a bit about Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea was a former colony of Spain

Starting point is 00:02:13 known as Spanish Guinea. The country is small and has two geographically separated parts. The mainland region, known as Rio Mundi, and several islands in the Gulf of Guinea, the largest of which is Bioko, and is home to the capital Malabo. It is the only country in Africa that speaks Spanish. It's bordered by Cameroon to the north and by Gabon to the south and east. As with most African colonies, independence movements developed after World War II. Spain granted the colony autonomy in 1963, and it became independent on October 12, 1968. Francisco Macias Naguma was born in 1924 in Rio Mundi. He was a member of the Fong ethnic group, which was the dominant ethnic group on the mainland. His early life was marked by limited formal

Starting point is 00:03:00 education, reaching only the elementary level before working various jobs, including as a court interpreter and later as a coffee plantation administrator. He increasingly benefited from the colonial administration's advancement, rising from a court clerk and interpreter to mayor of Mongomo, and by 1964, deputy prime minister of the autonomous government, positions that poised him to seize power at independence. Maceas founded the Idea Popular de la Guinea Equatorial, or IPGE, positioning himself as a champion of fong interests and rural populations. His political strategy was shrewd, recognizing that the fong constituted about 85% of the population, and had been somewhat marginalized by Spanish colonial policies that favored the more urbanized and educated populations on Boko.

Starting point is 00:03:50 The crucial moment came during the 1968 Constitutional Convention and subsequent elections. Spain had hoped that more moderate, educated leaders would emerge to lead the new nation. However, Macias skillfully exploited ethnic tensions and rural urban divides. He campaigned as an authentic African leader who would restore traditional values and protect Fong culture from foreign influence. His opponents, including Bonifacio Ando Oedo, were portrayed as tools of Spanish neocolonialism despite their superior education and administrative experience. The 1968 presidential election was remarkably close, requiring a runoff between Messias and Ando Edu. Macias won by appealing to ethnic solidarity and promising to expel foreign influence,

Starting point is 00:04:34 including Spanish settlers and businessmen. His victory speech ominously declared that he would build a nation, quote, four Africans by Africans, which many interpreted as a threat to the substantial Spanish population and other minorities. Independence came on October 12, 1968, with Macias as the first president. Initially, there were hopes that democratic institutions would take root. The new constitution included provisions for civil liberties, separation of powers, and regular elections. The transformation from elected president to dictator accelerated rapidly between 1969 and 1972. Messias began concentrating power in his hands, dismissing competent civil servants and replacing

Starting point is 00:05:17 them with loyal but unqualified supporters, primarily from his own ethnic group and region. He declared states of emergency to justify suspending constitutional rights and then extended these indefinitely. Opposition figures were arrested, tortured, or executed. Ethnic booby leaders and intellectuals were disproportionately targeted, especially on Bioko Island. One of his first orders of business, was creating the Juventud and Marcha Khan Manzias, or J.M. It was modeled loosely on fascist and revolutionary youth movements like the Hitler Youth or Mao's Red Guards, and it played a central role in consolidating his regime and enforcing loyalty through terror, indoctrination, and violence. Ondo Idu fled the country, but was extraded to Equatorial Guinea by Spain. He was arrested,

Starting point is 00:06:04 tortured, and either executed or committed suicide in March of 1969. 1969 also saw the expulsion of Spanish personnel and the closure of institutions. Spanish missionaries, educators and medical professionals were expelled. Western-style education, media, and religious institutions began to be dismantled. The Catholic Church lost its protection, and churches were increasingly harassed. On Christmas Eve, 150 of his opponents were brought to the national stadium and executed on the grounds of allegedly plotting a coup. They were killed while the song Those Were the Days by Mary Hopkin

Starting point is 00:06:41 were playing on the stadium sound system. And now that you know that, you will never listen to that song the same way again. Macias started referring to himself in grandiose titles and demanded portraits of himself in public places. Some of the titles he gave himself included the unique miracle, grand master of education, science and culture,

Starting point is 00:07:02 master of all the powers of the revolution, father of the nation, immortal and invincible. What little press and radio there was now became tools of state propaganda. In 1970, with most of his adversaries now gone, he established the Partido Unico Nacional De Las Trabajoras, or Punt, which was declared the only legal political party. All other parties were banned or forcibly merged into Punt. Loyalty to the party became equated with loyalty to the president. In 1971, decree 415 was issued.

Starting point is 00:07:38 This decree gave the president complete control over all branches of government. It removed any pretense of institutional checks and concentrated all executive, legislative, and judicial powers in Macias' hands. Later that year, Law 1 was passed, which criminalized dissent. Under this law, criticizing the president became punishable by decades in prison or death. Even private comments or jokes were ground for arrest. Later that year, he began to see education as a threat to his rule. He abolished private education, burn books, ban the use of the word intellectual, and closed libraries and schools.

Starting point is 00:08:17 Wearing glasses or reading foreign books was viewed with suspicion, and members of the intelligentsia were purged or exiled. He famously declared that education was unnecessary and that Equatorial Guineans should return to traditional ways of life under his guidance. In 1972, he finally declared himself president for life. A 1973 referendum officially approved the regime with a vote reportedly showing 99.9% approval, which was, of course, a totally legit election. Economically, Equatorial Guinea under Macias was a disaster. Spanish businesses and plantations, which had formed the backbone of the economy, were confiscated or abandoned as their owners fled the country.

Starting point is 00:09:02 The COCA industry, which had provided most export revenue, collapsed as skilled managers and workers left. Macias replaced technical expertise with political loyalty, leading to the breakdown of infrastructure, telecommunications, and basic services. Under his regime, repression and tear became the norm. Entire villages vanished, mass arrests and executions were routine, and political, ethnic, and intellectual opponents, especially amongst the booby minority, were mercilessly targeted. Estimates suggest that between 20 and 80,000 people were either killed or forced into exile, representing up to one-third of Equatorial Guinea's entire population. Initially, some African leaders viewed him sympathetically as an authentic African nationalist

Starting point is 00:09:50 standing against neo-colonial influence. However, as reports of atrocities mounted and refugees flooded neighboring countries, international opinion turned decisively against him. Spain, despite its colonial history, found itself hosting thousands of equatorial Guinean refugees and became a center of opposition to the Messias regime. Not surprisingly, Macias aligned with Eastern Bloc nations, drawing support from the Soviet Union, Cuba, and North Korea, while severing ties with Spain and the West. His paranoia began to extend to his own family.

Starting point is 00:10:26 Everyone had to walk on eggshells around him, constantly showing their support and never doing anything which could be considered a threat to him or his regime. By the late 1970s, Equatorial Guinea had become a failed state. The economy had collapsed entirely with no functioning currency, infrastructure, or institutions. The population had declined dramatically through death and immigration. Even Macias' own supporters began to recognize that his rule threatened the nation's very survival. The end came through a family coup in August of 1979. Teodoro Obiang Naguma Mombasa go, Maseas' nephew, and head of the National Guard,

Starting point is 00:11:06 led a military uprising that quickly succeeded. The irony was thick. The man who had destroyed so many families through suspicion and paranoia was ultimately brought down by his own nephew who he had trusted with military command. The fall was swift and decisive. Macias attempted to flee but was captured

Starting point is 00:11:25 trying to escape with a large sum of money, which he eventually ended up burning out of spite. His trial became a moment of reckoning for the nation, as survivors testified about the horrors that they had endured. The proceedings revealed the full extent of his crimes against his own people, documenting systematic torture, mass murder, and the deliberate destruction of the nation's social fabric. Macias was executed by firing squad in September of 1979, ending 11 years of rule that had transformed a relatively prosperous small nation into a devastated wasteland. His death marked not just the end of a dictatorship, but the conclusion of one of Africa's most destructive post-independence governments. The new president of Equatorial Guinea became Tiodoro Obiang, Macias's nephew. Initially, Obiang's takeover was welcome both domestically and internationally.

Starting point is 00:12:18 After 11 years of Francisco Macias's reign of terror, almost any change seemed positive. The early years of Obiang's rule from 1979 to the late 80s were marked with efforts to rebuild basic state institutions and restore some semblance of normal life. The new government reopened schools, attempted to restart the collapsed coca industry and encourage some refugees to return. Spain and other international partners provided assistance, hoping to help stabilize the country after the devastation of the previous decade. However, it became clear relatively quickly that while Obiang were, represented a departure from his uncle's extreme brutality, he had no intention of establishing genuine democratic governance. The discovery of oil in the 1990s changed the economic fortunes of the country. The oil wealth had profound implications for Obi-Ang's rule. On one hand, it

Starting point is 00:13:10 provided resources to improve infrastructure and living standards for some segments of the population. The capital city of Malabo was rebuilt with modern buildings, roads, and facilities. On the other hand, the concentration of oil revenues into government hands strengthened authoritarian tendencies by reducing dependence on taxation and popular consent. Obying has amassed a fortune estimated at around $600 million with money located in banks around the world. He's also adopted some of the megalomaniac habits of his uncle. He's developed his own cult of personality.

Starting point is 00:13:45 In 2003, state radio claimed that he is like God in heaven, quote, who has all the power over men and things. And that, quote, he can decide to kill without anyone calling him into account and without going to hell because it is God himself with whom he is in permanent contract and who gives him this strength. End quote. A series of sham elections have been held over the years with Obiang receiving between 90 to 100% of the vote every time. 46 years after the downfall of Macias, O'Biang is still the president of Equatorial Guinea today

Starting point is 00:14:20 and is the longest-serving non-monarch head of state in the world. Now 83 years old, his son is currently scheduled to succeed him. Many African countries have suffered from dictators or autocrats since achieving independence. However, few have suffered like Equatorial Guinea, which has experienced literally nothing else. By selecting the wrong leader in their only fair election, they went down a path that almost destroyed the country and led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel.

Starting point is 00:15:00 The associate producers are Austin Otkin and Cameron Kiefer. My big thanks go to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon. Your support helps make this podcast possible. And I also want to remind everyone about the community groups on Facebook and Discord. That's where everything happens that's outside the podcast. And links to those are available in the show notes. As always, if you leave a review on any major podcast app or in the above community groups, you two can have it read in the show.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Francisco Macías Nguema

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