CPLP at 30: Analysts Criticize Equatorial Guinea Membership
As the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) prepares to mark its 30th anniversary, analysts and activists are sounding the alarm over Equatorial Guinea’s membership. Critics argue that the central African nation has used the organization to legitimize the long-standing regime of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo while failing to uphold the bloc’s democratic values.
A Shield Against Isolation
Equatorial Guinea joined the CPLP in 2014, a move that many experts believe was a calculated strategy to end the nation’s international pariah status. “Joining the CPLP helped legitimize the regime,” said Tutu Alicante, an Equatoguinean human rights lawyer living in exile. According to Alicante, the Obiang family—who has ruled the country since 1979—leveraged the organization to break through international isolation without delivering on the promised reforms.
Adriano de Freixo, a Brazilian specialist in international relations, echoed this sentiment, noting that the membership has been far more beneficial for the Obiang government than for the CPLP itself. He pointed to “image-cleansing” efforts, such as the government’s controversial funding of Brazilian samba schools, as part of a broader PR campaign to soften the regime’s global image.
Failed Promises and Human Rights Concerns
Upon joining, Equatorial Guinea committed to a roadmap that included promoting the Portuguese language and abolishing the death penalty. However, observers say progress has been superficial at best. “Portuguese is still not spoken in the streets,” Alicante noted, adding that it remains a language of a tiny elite.
More critically, the status of human rights remains dire. While the government officially approved a moratorium on the death penalty in the civil code, Alicante warned that the penalty persists in military codes. “The government tries civilians through military courts to apply the death penalty. Prisoners continue to be tortured to death or simply disappear,” he stated.
A Crisis of Credibility
The possibility of Equatorial Guinea assuming the rotating presidency of the CPLP has sparked a debate about the organization’s future. For Liberato Moniz, a São Toméan academic, such a move would be a “final discredit” to the bloc. “If they lead the work, it means member states are not concerned about the community’s values, but rather about the individual advantages they can gain,” Moniz said.
Cape Verdean sociologist Redy Lima was even more blunt, describing the CPLP as “moribund” and suggesting that Equatorial Guinea effectively “bought” its way into the bloc. He argued that while the country technically has the right to preside, doing so would project a disastrous image to the world.
“Glass Houses” Among Founding Members
Not all analysts view the situation as a total loss. Portuguese analyst Fernando Jorge Cardoso suggested that inclusion can be a tool for reform. “We can lead a regime to become bound by a set of rules it is not used to,” he argued. However, Cardoso acknowledged a major hurdle: the reluctance of other member states to demand reform. He suggested that founding members like Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique live in “glass houses” and avoid criticizing Equatorial Guinea to shield themselves from scrutiny over their own democratic deficits.
As the CPLP looks toward its next decade, the presence of Equatorial Guinea remains a symbol of the tension between the bloc’s stated ideals of democracy and the pragmatic realities of geopolitical interests.
Image: Pexels – Luis Quintero
