For nearly 500 years, Mozambique existed under the dictatorship of Portuguese colonial rule. Following this bloody, arduous struggle, Mozambicans gained independence in 1975. But hopes for a true democracy soon were lost under Samora Machel, a rebel leader who became the country''s first president. Oppressed for centuries, Mozambicans were subjected to a new totalitarianism -- homegrown, defiant and destructive.