Exorcising Devils from the Throne

Two young activists and scholars explore the political environment in the former Portuguese colony of Sao Tome and Principe (STP), an island nation off the coast of West Africa. Charting STP's fortunes since achieving independence in 1975, they describe a leadership so corrupt and inept as to appear possessed by an evil demon.

Very real practical problems face the island, starting with the corruption, despotism and illegal activities of Presidents Pinto da Costa, Miguel Trovoada and Fradique de Menezes, and including the failure to properly exploit the island's natural resources; issues of insularity; economic instability and political illiteracy, which combine to make this natural paradise on Earth a complete human misfortune. The authors resort to the symbolic image of "evil souls" to underscore the seemingly all-powerful force and all-encompassing harm of those who run governments for the benefit of an elite few rather than the good of all.

The authors propose steps that could help establish the social conditions necessary for this defunct state to revive and flourish as a democracy. The book is a political treatise that analyses STP's specific problems, censures those who have caused or contributed to them, seeks viable solutions, and attempts to bring the issue to wider public attention.