Editing Zaire (section)

===Totalitarian expansion===
[[File:Mobutu.jpg|thumb|[[Mobutu Sese Seko]], the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997]]
Translating the concept of "the nation politically organised" into reality implied a major expansion of state control of [[civil society]].<ref name=":4">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Meditz|Merrill|1994|p=51}}.</ref> It meant, to begin with, the incorporation of youth groups and worker organisations into the matrix of the MPR.<ref name=":4" /> In July 1967, the Political Bureau announced the creation of the [[Youth of the Popular Revolutionary Movement]] (Jeunesse du Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution—JMPR), following the launching a month earlier of the [[National Union of Congolese Workers|National Union of Zairian Workers]] (Union Nationale des Travailleurs Zaïrois—UNTZA), which brought together into a single organisational framework three preexisting trade unions.<ref name=":4" />

Ostensibly, the aim of the merger, in the terms of the Manifesto of N'Sele, was to transform the role of trade unions from "being merely a force of confrontation" into "an organ of support for government policy", thus providing "a communication link between the working class and the state".<ref name=":4" /> Similarly, the JMPR was to act as a major link between the student population and the state.<ref name=":4" /> In reality, the government was attempting to bring under its control those sectors where opposition to the regime might be centred.<ref name=":4" /> By appointing key labour and youth leaders to the MPR Political Bureau, the regime hoped to harness syndical and student forces to the machinery of the state.<ref name=":4" /> Nevertheless, as has been pointed out by numerous observers, there is little evidence that [[co-optation]] succeeded in mobilising support for the regime beyond the most superficial level.<ref name=":4" />

The trend toward co-optation of key social sectors continued in subsequent years.<ref name=":4" /> Women's associations were eventually brought under the control of the party, as was the [[Mass media|press]], and in December 1971 Mobutu proceeded to emasculate the power of the churches.<ref name=":4" /> From then on, only three churches were recognised: the [[Church of Christ in Zaire]] (L'Église du Christ au Zaïre), the [[Kimbanguism|Kimbanguist Church]], and the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref name=":4" />

Nationalisation of the [[University of Kinshasa|universities of Kinshasa]] and [[University of Kisangani|Kisangani]], coupled with Mobutu's insistence on banning all Christian names and establishing JMPR sections in all seminaries, soon brought the Roman Catholic Church and the state into conflict.<ref name=":4" /> Not until 1975, and after considerable pressure from the [[Holy See|Vatican]], did the regime agree to tone down its attacks on the Roman Catholic Church and return some of its control of the school system to the church.<ref name=":4" /> Meanwhile, in line with a December 1971 law, which allowed the state to dissolve "any church or sect that compromises or threatens to compromise public order", scores of unrecognised [[religious sect]]s were dissolved and their leaders jailed.<ref name=":5">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Meditz|Merrill|1994|p=52}}.</ref>

Mobutu was careful also to suppress all institutions that could mobilise ethnic loyalties.<ref name=":5" /> Avowedly opposed to ethnicity as a basis for political alignment, he outlawed such ethnic associations as the Association of Lulua Brothers (Association des Lulua Frères), which had been organised in [[Kasai region|Kasai]] in 1953 in reaction to the growing political and economic influence in Kasai of the rival [[Luba people]], and Liboke lya Bangala (literally, "a bundle of Bangala"), an association formed in the 1950s to represent the interests of [[Lingala]] speakers in large cities.<ref name=":5" /> It helped Mobutu that his ethnic affiliation was blurred in the public mind.<ref name=":5" /> Nevertheless, as dissatisfaction arose, ethnic tensions surfaced again.<ref name=":5" />

====Centralisation of power====
Running parallel to the efforts of the state to control all autonomous sources of power, important administrative reforms were introduced in 1967 and 1973 to strengthen the hand of the central authorities in the provinces.<ref name=":5" /> The central objective of the 1967 reform was to abolish provincial governments and replace them with state functionaries appointed by [[Kinshasa]].<ref name=":5" /> The principle of centralisation was further extended to districts and territories, each headed by administrators appointed by the central government.<ref name=":5" />

The only units of government that still retained a fair measure of autonomy—but not for long—were the so-called local collectivities, i.e. [[chiefdoms]] and sectors (the latter incorporating several chiefdoms).<ref name=":5" /> The unitary, centralised state system thus legislated into existence bore a striking resemblance to its colonial antecedent, except that from July 1972 provinces were called regions.<ref name=":5" />

With the January 1973 reform, another major step was taken in the direction of further centralisation.<ref name=":5" /> The aim, in essence, was to operate a complete fusion of political and administrative hierarchies by making the head of each administrative unit the president of the local party committee.<ref name=":5" /> Furthermore, another consequence of the reform was to severely curtail the power of traditional authorities at the local level.<ref name=":5" /> Hereditary claims to authority would no longer be recognised; instead, all chiefs were to be appointed and controlled by the state via the administrative hierarchy.<ref name=":5" /> By then, the process of centralisation had theoretically eliminated all preexisting centres of local autonomy.<ref name=":5" />

The analogy with the colonial state becomes even more compelling when coupled with the introduction in 1973 of "obligatory civic work" (locally known as ''Salongo'' after the Lingala term for work), in the form of one afternoon a week of compulsory labor on agricultural and development projects.<ref name=":5" /> Officially described as a revolutionary attempt to return to the values of [[African communalism|communalism]] and solidarity inherent in the traditional society, Salongo was intended to mobilise the population into the performance of collective work "with enthusiasm and without constraint".<ref name=":6">{{Harvard citation no brackets|Meditz|Merrill|1994|p=53}}.</ref>

In reality, the conspicuous lack of popular enthusiasm for Salongo led to widespread resistance and foot dragging (causing many local administrators to look the other way).<ref name=":6" /> Although failure to comply carried penalties of one month to six months in jail, by the late 1970s most Zairians shirked their Salongo obligations.<ref name=":6" /> By resuscitating one of the most bitterly resented features of the colonial state, obligatory civic work contributed in no small way to the erosion of legitimacy suffered by the Mobutist state.<ref name=":6" />