Liberia and Fernando Po Today
Fernando Po is very different from today. Most of its land is tropical rainforest, much of which was once sugar or cocoa plantains. Malabo is its capital. Also, its major exports are now gases, such as methane, and oil, instead of sugar and cocoa.
Still, the majority of people living in Fernando Po are of Bantu origin. The most common languages are Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and the most practiced religion is Christianity. The country is officially a multiparty democracy with elections, and the current president of Equatorial Guinea (Fernando Po is now part of Equatorial Guinea) is Teodoro Obiang Nguema. He shows little tolerance for opposition; the presidency is considered a sham because Obiang has ruled for three decades already, and acts as if he is dictator of the country.
Liberia is considered a failed project by most developed countries, as the democracy initially put in place never held for more than a few years at a time. The Fernando Crisis Po is simply a symbol of the troubles that Liberia has had throughout its time as an independent country. In the early 2000's, a transitional government put in place by the United Nations took over and reinstituted the democracy, and has recently left the Liberian government on its own. So far, the democracy has held, and currently even has a female president by the name of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Liberia recently has taken strides into modernization, but the country still feels the effects of its civil wars of the 1900's, as 85% of the population lives under the poverty line.