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People's Republic of Angola República Popular de Angola (Portuguese) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–1992 | |||||||||||
| Anthem: Angola Avante ("Onwards Angola") | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Luanda | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Portuguese | ||||||||||
| Religion | State atheism | ||||||||||
| Government | Unitarycommunist state | ||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||
• 1975–1979 | Agostinho Neto | ||||||||||
• 1979–1992 | José Eduardo dos Santos | ||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||
• 1975–1978 | Lopo do Nascimento | ||||||||||
• 1991–1992 | Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
• Independence fromPortugal | 11 November 1975 | ||||||||||
| 25 August 1992 | |||||||||||
| Currency | Kwanza | ||||||||||
| Calling code | 244 | ||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | AO | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
ThePeople's Republic of Angola (Portuguese:República Popular de Angola) was declared on 11 November 1975 by leaders of thePopular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), at the time aMarxist–Leninist organisation, as acommunist state.[a] TheAngolan War of Independence fromPortugal which had begun 14 years prior in 1961 ended with theAlvor Agreement, which granted independence to Angola under a transitional government that initially included groups such as theFNLA andUNITA along with the MPLA.
Disagreements between these factions resulted incivil war, which escalated following the MPLA's unilateral declaration of apeople's republic in November; it competed with the rivalDemocratic People's Republic of Angola (UNITA), backed bySouth Africa and theUnited States, and received aid fromCuba and theSoviet Union, to which it was aligned to in the Cold War until itsdissolution in 1991. The landmarkTripartite Accord of 1988 led to the withdrawal of South African and Cuban forces from Angola, and following theBicesse Accords Angola transitioned into a multiparty democracy that was finalised with the adoption of a new constitution in 1992 while civil war between UNITA and MPLA forces continued until 2002.
In 1961, thePeople's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) andNational Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), based in neighbouring countries, launched a guerrilla campaign againstPortuguese rule in Angola, in what was called theOverseas Province of Angola. In 1966, theNational Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) joined the struggle for independence against Portugal. The MPLA wasMarxist-Leninist and backed by bothCuba and theSoviet Union. UNITA was primarily backed by China. The war lasted until the overthrow of Portugal'sEstado Novo regime in 1974 through theCarnation Revolution. On 15 January 1975 the different parties signed theAlvor Accords. The agreement promised Angolan independence and elections for theNational Assembly of Angola in October 1975. The agreement also called for the integration of the Angolan parties into a new unified Angolan military.[2][3][4]
During the independence war, the three pro-independent groups sometimes fought each other, in addition to the Portuguese. Following the Alvor Accords, the relationship between these groups deteriorated further. In July 1975, the MPLA violently forced the FNLA out of Luanda, while UNITA voluntarily withdrew to its stronghold in the south. By August, the MPLA had conquered 11 of the 15 provincial capitals, including the capital cityLuanda, and also the oil richCabinda, which was claimed by the separatistFront for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC). On October 23,South Africa launchedOperation Savannah, with 2,000 soldiers crossing fromNamibia in support of both the FNLA and UNITA. They quickly captured five provincial capitals from the MPLA. Zaire also intervened from the north against the MPLA in support of the FNLA.[5] At the start of November, Cuba sent 4,000 soldiers in support of the MPLA as part ofOperation Carlota.[6]
On 11 November 1975,Agostinho Neto, the leader of the MPLA, declared Angola's independence as the People's Republic of Angola aone-partyMarxist-Leninist state.[3] In response, UNITA declared Angolan independence as the Social Democratic Republic of Angola inHuambo, while the FNLA declared the Democratic Republic of Angola based inAmbriz. FLEC declared the independence of the Republic of Cabinda.[7] The FNLA and UNITA forged an alliance on 23 November 1975, proclaiming their own coalition government, theDemocratic People's Republic of Angola, based in Huambo with FLNA'sHolden Roberto and UNITA'sJonas Savimbi as co-presidents.[8][9]
The Cuban intervention, which would eventually number 18,000, was key in securing the MPLA's positions and repelling the advances of FNLA and UNITA. South Africa began withdrawing its troops in January 1976. The MPLA, with Cuban help, consolidated power over the whole country capturing all of Angola's provincial capitals, including Huambo on 8 February. Without South African support, UNITA was weakened and withdrew into the bush to fight a guerrilla war where they continued to be supplied by South Africa and the United States.[10][11]
Factionalism within the MPLA became a major challenge to Neto's power by late 1975. Interior ministerNito Alves, and Chief of StaffJosé Jacinto Van-Dúnem, began planning a coup d'état against Neto, allegedly with Soviet backing.[12] Alves and Van-Dunemplanned to arrest Neto on 21 May 1977 before a meeting of the MPLA's Central Committee but this was cancelled after the location of the meeting was changed. The Central Committee accused Alves of factionalism and voted to dismiss Alves and Van-Dunem.[12] In support of Alves, the FAPLA 8th Brigade freed more than 150 supporters of Nito Alves, called Nitistas, from São Paulo prison on 27 May. The Nitistas then took control of the palace and the radio station in Luanda, announcing their coup. Cuban forces loyal to Neto retook the palace, radio station and the barracks of the 8th Brigade.[12] The MPLA government arrested tens of thousands of suspected Nitistas from May to November, including Van-Dunem who was executed. Thousands of Nitistas were executed by Cuban and MPLA troops in the purge.[13][14]
During the civil war, South Africa would launch large-scale operations in Angola to attackSWAPO guerrillas who were fighting for Namibian independence from South Africa. They would also launch operations in support of UNITA guerrillas while Cuban forces remained in Angola in support of government military operations. In January 1984, an agreement was negotiated. South Africa obtained from Angola a promise to withdraw its support for the SWAPO in exchange for the evacuation of all South African troops from Angola, however South Africa continued to launch raids into Angola.[15]
In 1988, theBattle of Cuito Cuanavale, where the MPLA and Cuba battled UNITA and South Africa to a stalemate, led to theTripartite Accord, which securedNamibia's independence and the withdrawal of Cuban and South African forces from Angola.[16][17]
In tandem with thefall of the Soviet Union, in 1991 the MPLA and UNITA signed the peace agreement known as theBicesse Accords, which allowed formultiparty elections in Angola. In 1992, the People's Republic of Angola was constitutionally succeeded by theRepublic of Angola and elections were scheduled.[18]
Angola held the first round of its1992 presidential election on 29–30 September. Dos Santos officially received 49.57% of the vote and Savimbi won 40.6%. A second round of voting was required since no candidate had received more than 50%. UNITA and the other opposition parties, as well as some election observers, said the election hadn't been fair.[19][20] On 31 October, government troops in Luanda attacked UNITA supporters, including UNITA Vice PresidentJeremias Chitunda, who was killed. Thousands of UNITA and FNLA voters were massacred across the country by the MPLA in what is known as theHalloween Massacre.[21] The civil war resumed and only ended after Savimbi was killed in 2002. The war had killed 800,000 people and displaced 4 million.[22]
The Angolan government managed its oil windfall effectively. The trade balance remained profitable and external debt was kept within reasonable limits. In 1985, debt service amounted to $324 million, or about 15% of exports.[15]
A major effort was made in the field of adult education and literacy, particularly in urban centers. In 1986, the number of primary school students exceeded one and a half million, and nearly half a million adults learned to read and write. The language of instruction remained mainly Portuguese, but experiments were tried to introduce the study of local African languages from the first years of schooling. Relations between the churches and the ruling party remained relatively calm.[15]
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