I'm interested in thinking the criticism of Lusophony, CPLP and the Francophonie.
Diego,
Given the definition what both terms (Lusophony or Francophony) mean, anti-Lusophony would be a position or movement against the people or institutions which use Portuguese as their native tongue. Same definition for anti-Francophony, just replacing the word "Portuguese" by "French."
But seemingly this is not what your question entails. What is it exactly that you wish to know? Please extend the explanation of your question.
Tom
Hi Tom,
The idea of Lusophony and Francophony are related to the colonial past. I wonder why some philophers oppose them. Why criticize the Lusophone and Francophone ? Because the colonial past? In Portugal, Alfredo Margarido was a major critical to Lusophony. hugs
Hello Diego,
Since I live in Brazil, which was a Portuguese colony until 1922, I can only comment about what I know about how Portugal dealt with the locals and what was Portugal's policy in regard to the recently discovered lands which she occupied in the 1500s.
It is beyond any doubt that after Pedro A. Cabral discovered the Brazilian territory, all Portuguese expeditions sent here had the sole purpose of exploiting the new lands' natural resources. Brazil was rich in mineral ores and precious stones. The so-called "bandeiras" had the only function to discover where they existed. Once found, specially in what became the Minas Gerais state (General Mines, the name itself says a lot), for several centuries the Portuguese court explored them and hauled that immense richness back home.
Furthermore, before the trafficking of slaves from Africa, the Portuguese colonizers enslaved the local Indians, ill-treating them as later they did the same to the black slaves brought by force to the Brazilian "fazendas" in Portuguese hands.
In fact, Brazil's independence happened because the locals, descendants of Portuguese people, but having already acquired their own national identity as "Brazilians," revolted against Portugal's exploitation, taxation and political-military occupation. And, ironically, a Portuguese ruler - Don Pedro I - declared that independence as he congregated with the locals' feelings.
Similar abuses happened in all territories (terras d'além mar) that Portugal colonized. Just as a more recent example, the Mozambican independence revolution last for 10 years (1964-1974), as a result of the frustration amongst many Mozambicans, who saw the foreign rule as a form of exploitation and mistreatment, which sole purpose was to advance Portuguese economic interests. And the Mozambican independence was reached mainly because of the Carnation Revolution in 1974, which finally ended the Salazar era and created democracy in Portugal.
Therefore, if Margarido is very critical about Lusophony, he has good reasons and many similar examples to base his criticism. I recommend you read this paper, which speaks about Angola and clarifies why Margarido is so critical about the Portuguese dealings with colonized lands:
Les Porteurs : forme de domination et agents de changement en Angola (XVIIe-XIXe siècles)
Full text found here:
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/outre_0300-9513_1978_num_65_240_2133
Interestingly, along the last two centuries, Brazilians kept no demurs in regard to Portugal and maintained very friendly relations with the Portuguese people an attitude which persists to our days. Subliminally though, the typical Brazilian jokes about the Portuguese seem to evoke some hidden bad feelings. Something for social psychologists to study and explain :-)
Be well and good luck in your research
Tom
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