The State, Labour Migration and the Transnational Discourse - A Historical Perspective from Mozambique

In Southern Africa it is possible to discuss how some elements surrounding the transnational discourse developed or consolidated in the colonial past. In central Mozambique the patterns of Africans’ circulation and colonial controls in the 1940s and 1950s indicate that the international frontier was probably more permeable than the internal borders, if considered in relation to the independent movement of people and to the way transnational links developed. However, this international frontier effectively gained in value over time when considered for its impact on the migrants’ labour relations with the colonial power. The main conclusion is that the position stressing how the international boundaries were “eroded” by African migrants on the one hand, and the position sustaining the importance of these boundaries on the other hand, are not mutually exclusive. The balance between the two depends on whether we are considering the physical circulation of people, or the state’s borders impact on the migrants’ labour and social relations.