ABSTRACT
Economic division in Equatorial Guinea plays an important part in explaining postindependence political machinations. Likewise, the fragility of inherited political institutions explains why they were so quickly swept away. The political milieu in the late 1980s was molded by economic and ethnic considerations that have little to do with the precepts passed on by a transient colonialism. Between 1963 and 1968 the decolonization process was increasingly dominated by Spanish liberal and technocratic forces. The outcome in Equatorial Guinea was not determined by the norms set out by the metropole, but by the dynamic forces of old and new African political movements. On October 13, the Spanish minister of information, as representative of Generalissimo Franco, devolved sovereign power on the government of Macias Nguema, saying that it was the "result of a peaceful, friendly, and constructive development." The new president emphasized the need for continued collaboration and expressed his gratitude, although with some reservations.
