Social activists and professional civil society organizations paint a negative picture of the stage of democracy in the country. The general perception is that between the letter and the spirit, the difference is too great.e.

Lawyer João Nhampossa, a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Mozambican Bar Association, told VOA that much is going wrong in Mozambican democracy.

"There is a hate speech that has characterized the country," says Nhampossa.

For him, "there is too much attack on critics, namely, those who criticize governance practices, especially of the ruling party."

"We are moving toward a real dictatorship," summarizes the jurist.

The political scientist and activist Adriano Nuvunga has no doubts that the political parties are to blame for the current situation of national democracy, so "only by reforming the legislation of the parties can democracy be saved.

"In our understanding, it has to start the revision of the political parties, because this is where the Achilles heel of democracy and development in Mozambique is" stresses Nuvunga.

From the side of social activists come the most blunt criticisms about the stage of national democracy.

Social activist Joaquim Mucaure, member of the Network of Human Rights Defenders, considers that the draft law on associations, recently approved by the Council of Ministers, is one of the most serious cases of limitation of democratic rights.

"The enactment of this law on non-governmental organizations, domestic and foreign, is a clear and obvious indication that we are against the democratic principles that much blood we had to give to get here" says the activist.