Joaquim Chissano was the first official president of Mozambique. He was an avid Marxist, and felt that socialism showed the way for greatness in Mozambique. Ever since the revolution against Portugal, Mozambique was under attack from the US and Rhodesia in the form of a group called RENAMO or Renamo. Renamo's goals were to instigate a civil war in Mozambique and weaken the stability of the country so that the United States could swoop in and replace the leader. Chissano had a surprisingly good term considering he was under this kind of fire the whole time. President Nixon specifically ordered that the United States military support Renamo and ensure that Chissano is overthrown, or better yet, killed. Chissano in his time as president managed to steer Mozambique's economy in the right direction. His reform plan was based around agrarian reform and focusing the economy around Mozambique's agriculture and mineral/ore exports. Joaquim Chissano was also the first president to be democratically elected into office by the people. Chissano had assumed the position of the previous president after he had died in a car accident, and hence was not fully acknowledged by the US. But after the election, the US had no choice but to recognize Chissano's authority and leave him be.