Beira, Mozambique being a favourite holiday destination for white Rhodesians. One reminder of this is the Grande Hotel, built by the Portuguese, near the shore of the Indian Ocean. By 1970, the city of Beira had 113,770 inhabitants. After independence from Portugal in 1975, many white ethnic Portuguese left the city. Mozambique was ravaged by a civil war from 1977 to 1992, opposing Marxist FRELIMO, which controlled the government, to the rebels of RENAMO, descending to near total chaos in a couple of years. The famine, disease and poverty-stricken country collapsed. In Beira, the famous Grande Hotel was occupied by around 1,000
Brazil–Mozambique relations United Nations Resolution 3117 on the elimination of colonialism in Southern Africa. On 25 June 1975, Mozambique obtained its independence. On 15 November 1975, Brazil recognized and established diplomatic relations with Mozambique. In March 1976, Brazil opened an embassy in the Mozambican capital of Maputo and in January 1998, Mozambique reciprocated the gesture by opening an embassy in Brasília. In 2000, Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso paid an official visit to Mozambique and attended the 3rd summit of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries being held in the Mozambican capital. In 2001, Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano paid an official visit