12. Abolishing the Currency and Adopting a Barter Economy
Equatorial Guinea’s population was about 350,000 when Macias Nguema was elected in 1968. By the time his rule came to an end in 1979, over half had been killed or had fled into exile to escape his lunatic rule. He began in 1969 by forcing the country’s entire Spanish population to leave – and to leave their assets behind.
On the one hand, the Spaniards were a reminder of the hated colonial rule, and their accumulated wealth had been forcibly and unfairly robbed from the natives during colonialism. On the other hand, the Spanish settlers included a majority of the professionals, technocrats, and experienced civil servants necessary for the smooth functioning of the former colony’s economy and government. Both the economy and government crashed. Nguema responded with the lunatic expedient of abolishing the currency, and switching the country to a barter economy.