Country in W Africa, bounded to the N by
Senegal, E and SE by Guinea, and SW by the
Atlantic. government Guinea-Bissau is a
one-party state, the 1984 constitution
describing the African Party for the
Independence of Portuguese Guinea and Cape
Verde (PAIGC) as `the leading force in
society and in the nation'. Although Cape
Verde chose independence, the title of the
original party which served the two countries
has been retained. The constitution also
provides for a 150-member national people's
assembly, all nominees of PAIGC. The assembly
elects the president, who is head of both
state and government. Policy is determined by
PAIGC and it is there that ultimate political
power lies, the president being its
secretary-general. history Guinea-Bissau was
first reached by Europeans when the
Portuguese arrived in 1446, and became a
slave trading centre. Until 1879 it was
administered with the Cape Verde islands, but
then became a separate colony under the name
of Portuguese Guinea. Nationalist groups
began to form in the 1950s and PAIGC was
established in 1956. Portugal refused to
grant independence, fighting broke out, and
by 1972 PAIGC claimed to control two-thirds
of the country. The following year the
`liberated areas' were declared independent
and in 1973 a national people's assembly was
set up and Luiz Cabral appointed president of
a state council. Some 40,000 Portuguese
troops were engaged in trying to put down the
uprising and were suffering heavy losses but,
before a clear outcome was reached, a coup in
Portugal ended the fighting and PAIGC
negotiated independence with the new
government in Lisbon. In 1974 Portugal
formally acknowledged Guinea-Bissau as a
sovereign nation. PAIGC began to lay the
foundations of a socialist state, intended to
include Cape Verde, but in 1980, four days
before approval of the constitution, Cape
Verde withdrew, feeling that Guinea-Bissau
was being given preferential treatment. A
coup deposed Cabral and Joao Vieira became
chair of a council of revolution. At its 1981
congress, PAIGC decided to retain its name,
despite Cape Verde's withdrawal, and its
position as the only party was confirmed,
with Vieira as secretary-general. Normal
relations between the two countries were
restored in 1982. In 1984 a new constitution
made Vieira head of government as well as
head of state. In June 1989 he was re-elected
for another five-year term. The people of
Guinea-Bissau have a life expectancy of 39
years, the lowest in the world. In 1990 the
infant mortality rate was 14.8%.