On June 25, 1975, Mozambique became independent. The transfer of power from Portugal to FRELIMO (The Mozambican Liberation Movement) marked the first phase of national liberation. FRELIMO, unlike many nationalist movements whose exclusive concern was to capture the colonial state, emphasized that independence marked only the beginning of a longer process to dismantle exploitative institutions and transform basic economic and social relationships. The new era of “People’s Democratic Revolution” based on socialist principles envisioned “the construction in Mozambique of a society ... where the material living conditions of the people are constantly improving and where their social needs are increasingly satisfied.”