People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola | |
|---|---|
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| Abbreviation | MPLA |
| Chairman | João Lourenço |
| Secretary-General | Paulo Pombolo |
| Founders | Ilídio Machado Viriato da Cruz Mário Pinto de Andrade Lúcio Lara |
| Founded | 10 December 1956 (69 years, 66 days) |
| Merger of | PLUAA PCA |
| Headquarters | Luanda,Luanda Province |
| Newspaper | Jornal de Angola |
| Youth wing | Youth of MPLA,Agostinho Neto Pioneer Organization |
| Women's wing | Organization of Angolan Women |
| Armed wing | People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (1956–1993) |
| Membership(2022) | 3,000,000[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | |
| International affiliation | Socialist International (since 2006)[14] |
| African affiliation | |
| Colours | Red |
| Slogan |
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| National Assembly | 124 / 220 |
| SADC PF | 0 / 5 |
| Pan-African Parliament | 0 / 5 |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
mpla | |
ThePeople's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Portuguese:Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola,abbr.MPLA), from 1977 to 1990 called thePeople's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (Portuguese:Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho), is anAngolansocial democraticpolitical party. The MPLA fought against thePortuguese Army in theAngolan War of Independence from 1961 to 1974, and defeated theNational Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and theNational Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) in theAngolan Civil War, which has been described as "one of the longest, most brutal and deadliest wars of the last century."[16] The party has ruled Angola since the country's independence fromPortugal in 1975, being thede facto government throughout the civil war and continuing to rule afterwards.
The articulation for the founding of the MPLA took place, mainly, within two political organizations: theParty of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola (PLUAA), founded in 1953 byViriato da Cruz[17][18] and Matias Miguéis, which operated incipiently until 1954 due to a lack of mass mobilization, being overshadowed by other anti-colonial political and cultural nationalist groups that already operated in Angola and Portugal, and; theAngolan Communist Party (PCA), founded in December 1955 as a Luanda-based cell of thePortuguese Communist Party (PCP), initially grouping together prominent leaders of Angolan nationalism, such asViriato da Cruz,Ilídio Machado,Mário António andAntónio Jacinto, and, soon after,Lúcio Lara,Mário Pinto de Andrade andJoaquim Pinto de Andrade.
The PCA leadership realized that the growth of the nationalist struggle was hindered by the reluctance to accept theMarxist-Leninistclass struggle that the party proposed, as well as by the persecution imposed by the Estado Novo regime on any organization of a communist or socialist nature. Viriato da Cruz, a member of both organizations, arranged for the merger and organization of the PCA with the PLUAA — the latter a non-communist party and, from mid-1955 onwards, already with a mass popular organization. Discussions advanced towards the formation of a broad-front nationalist movement that would encompass diluted organizations within it, without using symbols or explicitly disseminating Marxist-Leninist theories. Thus, on December 10, 1956, in a meeting at Ilídio Machado's house in Luanda, he, Viriato da Cruz and Mário Pinto de Andrade wrote the "Manifesto of 1956" for a "broad Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola", as a program for regrouping nationalist struggles. In addition to the aforementioned names who led the PLUAA and the PCA, the following joined the manifesto creating the MPLA:Liceu Vieira Dias, Chico Machado, Germano Joy Gomes, Manuel dos Santos Capicua, Noé Saúde,Deolinda Rodrigues, Manuel Bento Ribeiro,Paulo Teixeira Jorge, Adriano Sebastião Kiwima andAmílcar Cabral. Ilídio Machado, a key member of the PCA and the African National League, was elected the first president of the MPLA, remaining in office until his arrest in 1959. Anticipating the siege by the Portuguese political police, Ilídio Machado ordered the withdrawal of part of the MPLA leadership from Luanda by September 1957, entrusting Mário de Andrade and Viriato da Cruz with the formation of a foreign relations nucleus and headquarters in exile inParis andFrankfurt am Main. Ilídio Machado, Joaquim de Andrade, Sebastião Kiwima andManuel Pedro Pacavira remained in Luanda leading the actions of the MPLA. When arrested, Ilídio Machado was replaced by the secretary-general Mário de Andrade, who held the position in exile between 1959 and 1960; of leadership, onlyAntónio Jacinto, Pacavira and Joaquim de Andrade remained in Angola coordinating the activities of the movement that still had few militants. Other groups later merged into MPLA, such as theMovement for the National Independence of Angola (MINA) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola (FDLA).[19]
The MPLA's core base includes theAmbundu ethnic group and the educatedintelligentsia of the capital city,Luanda. The party formerly had links to European and Sovietcommunist parties, but today is a full-member of theSocialist International grouping ofsocial democratic parties. The armed wing of MPLA was thePeople's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). The FAPLA later (1975–1991) became the national armed forces of the country when the MPLA took control of the government.
In 1961, the MPLA joined theAfrican Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), itsfraternal party inGuinea-Bissau andCabo Verde, in direct combat against thePortuguese empire in Africa. The following year, the expanded umbrella groupConference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) replaced FRAIN, addingFRELIMO ofMozambique and the CLSTP, forerunner of theMovement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe (MLSTP).
In the early 1970s, the MPLA's guerrilla activities were reduced, due to the fierce counter-insurgency campaigns of thePortuguese military. At the same time, internal conflicts caused the movement to temporarily split into three factions (Ala Presidencialista or Presidentialist Wing, Revolta Activa or Active Revolt, and Revolta do Leste or Eastern Revolt). By 1974/75, this situation had been overcome with renewed cooperation, but it scarred the party.[20]
TheCarnation Revolution inLisbon, Portugal in 1974 established a military government. It promptly ceased anti-independence fighting in Angola and agreed to transfer power to a coalition of three pro-independence Angolan movements.
The coalition quickly broke down and the newly independent Angola broke into a state ofcivil war. Maintaining control over Luanda and the lucrative oil fields of the Atlantic coastline,Agostinho Neto, the leader of the MPLA, declared the independence of the PortugueseOverseas Province of Angola as thePeople's Republic of Angola on 11 November 1975, in accordance with theAlvor Accords.[21]
UNITA and FNLA together declared Angolan independence inHuambo. These differences reignited civil war between UNITA & FNLA and the MPLA, with the latter winning the upper hand. Agostinho Neto became the first president upon independence. He was succeeded after his death in 1979 byJosé Eduardo dos Santos.
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In 1974–1976,South Africa andZaire intervened militarily in favor of FNLA and UNITA. TheUnited States strongly aided the two groups.Cuba in turn intervened in 1975 to aid the MPLA against South African intervention, and theSoviet Union aided both Cuba and the MPLA government during the war.
In November 1980, the MPLA had all but pushed UNITA into the bush, and the South African forces withdrew.[citation needed] TheUnited States Congress barred further U.S. military involvement in the country, against the wishes of PresidentRonald Reagan, as the representatives feared getting into a situation similar to theVietnam War. In 1976 the FNLA withdrew its troops to their bases inZaire. Part of them joined the32 Battalion, formed by South Africa in order to receive anti-MPLA Angolans.
At its first congress in 1977, the MPLA adoptedMarxism–Leninism as the party ideology. It addedPartido do Trabalho (Labour Party) to its name.[5]
AfterNito Alves's attemptedcoup in 1977, Neto ordered the killing of suspected followers and sympathisers of "orthodox communism" inside and outside the party. During the coup, Cuban forces stationed in Angola sided with the MPLA leadership against the coup organizers.[22] Estimates for the number of Alves' followers killed by Cuban and MPLA troops in the aftermath range from 2,000 — 70,000 dead, with some placing the death toll at 18,000.[23][24][25]
After the violent internal conflict calledFractionism, the MPLA declared that it would follow the socialist, not the communist, model. But it did maintain close ties with the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc, establishingsocialist economic policies and aone-party state[citation needed]. Several thousand Cuban troops remained in the country to combat UNITA fighters and bolster the regime's security.
When the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fell, the MPLA abandoned its Marxist–Leninist ideology. On its third congress in December 1990, it declaredsocial democracy to be its official ideology.[5]
The MPLA emerged victorious in Angola's 1992 general election, but eight opposition parties rejected the election as rigged. UNITA sent negotiators to Luanda, where they were killed. As a consequence, hostilities erupted in the city, and immediately spread to other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of UNITA and FNLA sympathizers were subsequently killed nationwide by MPLA forces, in what is known as theHalloween Massacre. The civil war resumed.[26][27][28][29]
The war continued until 2002, when UNITA leaderJonas Savimbi was killed. The two parties agreed to a ceasefire, and a plan was laid out for UNITA to demobilize and become a political party. More than 500,000 civilians were killed during the civil war.[30] Human rights observers have accused the MPLA of "genocidal atrocities", "systematic extermination", "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity during the civil war."[31] American conservative political scientistRudolph Rummel estimated that the MPLA were responsible for between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths indemocide from 1975 to 1987, but Rummel’s methodology for estimating deaths remains widely disputed.[32]
The MPLA government of Angola has been accused ofhuman rights violations such asarbitrary arrest and detention and torture[33] by international organisations, includingAmnesty International[34] andHuman Rights Watch.[35] The MPLA government hired Samuels International Associates Inc in 2008 to help improve Angola's global image and "'facilitate' its meetings with senior U.S. officials".[36]
At present, major mass organizations of the MPLA-PT include theAngolan Women's Organization (Organização da Mulher Angolana or O.M.A.),National Union of Angolan Workers (União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos or U.N.T.A.),Agostinho Neto Pioneer Organization (Organização de Pioneiros de Agostinho Neto or O.P.A.), and theYouth of MPLA (Juventude do MPLA or J.M.P.L.A.).
During both thePortuguese Colonial War and theAngolan Civil War, the MPLA received military and humanitarian support primarily from the governments ofAlgeria,Brazil,[37] theBulgarian People's Republic,East Germany,[38]Cape Verde,Czechoslovak Socialist Republic,[39]the Congo,Cuba,Guinea-Bissau,Mexico,Morocco, theMozambican People's Republic,Nigeria,North Korea, thePolish People's Republic,China, theRomanian Socialist Republic,São Tomé and Príncipe,Somalia,[40] theSoviet Union,Sudan,[39]Tanzania,[41]Libya[42] andSFR Yugoslavia. While China did briefly support the MPLA,[43] it also actively supported the MPLA's enemies, the FNLA and later UNITA, during the war for independence and the civil war. The switch was the result oftensions between China and the Soviet Union for dominance of the communist bloc, which almost led to war.[44][45]
In the1992 election, MPLA-PT won 53.74% of the votes and 129 out of 227 seats in parliament; however, eight opposition parties rejected the 1992 elections asrigged.[46] In thenext election, delayed until 2008 due to the civil war, the MPLA won 81.64% of the vote and 191 out of 220 parliamentary seats.[47] In the2012 legislative election, the party won 71.84% of the vote and 175 of 220 parliamentary seats.[48]
In the 2022general election, MPLA won 124 parliamentary seats and about 51% of the vote. The largest opposition party, UNITA, secured 44% of the vote and 90 parliamentary seats. The tight race was the MPLA's worst showing at the polls in 30 years. However, nearly all opposition parties considered the result to be a fake.[49]
| Election | Party candidate | Votes | % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | José Eduardo dos Santos | 1,953,335 | 49.57% | Elected Y |
| 2012 | 4,135,503 | 71.85% | ElectedY | |
| 2017 | João Lourenço | 4,907,057 | 61.08% | ElectedY |
| 2022 | 3,209,429 | 51.17% | ElectedY |
| Election | Party leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | José Eduardo dos Santos | Indirect election | 229 / 229 | New |  1st | Sole legal party | |
| 1986 | Indirect election | 173 / 290 |  56 |  1st | Sole legal party | ||
| 1992 | 2,124,126 | 53.74% | 129 / 220 | 44 | 1st | Majority government | |
| 2008 | 5,266,216 | 81.64% | 191 / 220 | 62 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 2012 | 4,135,503 | 71.85% | 175 / 220 | 16 | 1st | Supermajority government | |
| 2017 | João Lourenço | 4,907,057 | 61.08% | 150 / 220 | 25 | 1st | Supermajority government |
| 2022 | 3,209,429 | 51.17% | 124 / 220 | 26 | 1st | Majority government | |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)The MPLA adopted Marxism in 1976, which strengthened its ties to Cuba and the Soviet Union.
O conclave, o primeiro convocado pelo presidente do partido e chefe de Estado, João Lourenço, decorreu sob o lema "MPLA e os Novos Desafios"[The conclave, the first called by the party's president and head of state, João Lourenço, took place under the slogan "MPLA and the New Challenges".]
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