Abstract:
In this article, I shall argue that Mia Couto's novel O outro pé da sereia (2006) deals with the effects of the so-called “internal colonialism” (Walter Mignolo). At the beginning of 21th century, in post-colonial Mozambique, businessman Casuarino and other characters of the novel are agents of the transnational and neo-liberal “coloniality of power”. They utilize “post-colonialism” and “race” to perpetuate hierarchies, inequalities and injustices at local, national and global scales. On the contrary, Mwadia, which is a character that feels herself in a “in-between situation”, challenges altogether the “internal colonialism” and the “coloniality of power” regardless of racial boundaries.
Keywords:
Mia Couto; Internal colonialism; Coloniality of power; Post-colonialism