Local Governance in Timor-Leste - Secretaria de Estado da Arte e ...

other traditional authority figures who, unlike the liurai, were not disproportionatelyempowered through indirect rule. These included the datu (princedom governors)whose influence was balanced by the elders on the princedom council. There werealso the chefes de suco (chiefs of suco), who was chosen by the villagers of thekingdom, but who also required approval from the administrador de posto. Theprocedures whereby villagers chose their chiefs varied from place to place and werenot the equivalent of democratic voting, which some took to mean that these systemshad died out and were no longer relevant (see for example Nicol, 2002: 208-09).However, while traditional institutional structures varied widely from one place to thenext, Hicks' (1972: 101-102) account of the role of the elders on the princedomcouncil in Viqueque illustrates that the system was far more sophisticated than wasoften presumed, encompassing a system of checks and balances designed to preventdespotic rule. This offers some insight into the impact that indirect rule had on thecolony, effectively giving the liurai a power they might otherwise have been unableto maintain.4.4: Emergence of a New Politics, Political Parties, and Civil War: 1974 to 1975While the Portuguese were grossly neglectful of their least important and most farflungcolony, there were some important changes towards the end of their rule. One ofthese was in the spread of educational opportunities: in 1953 there had only been8000 children in 39 primary schools, but by 1974 this had risen to almost 60,000students in 465 schools (Dunn, 2003: 7). Better educated Timorese meant access tomore powerful positions in the colonial administration, and by 1974 approximately60% of all administradors de posto were Timorese (Dunn, 2003: 7). These officialsknew too well the despotic power that was exercised by many liurai and oftenactively worked to reduce their power, desiring a movement towards a moredemocratic system of government (Dunn, 2003: 35). This newly emerging politicalelite were among the first to become politically active in 1974, when it became clearthat Portuguese colonialism was drawing to a close.89