As the ruling political party’s name suggests, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) was one of the most influential groups in fighting for independence from the Portuguese in the 1960s and 70s. Today, the MPLA motto ‘the fight continues’ aludes not to an ideological or violent struggle, but rather to the uphill battle towards achieving Angola’s socio-economic development.
As freedom fighter and MPLA secretary general Juliao Mateus Paulo ‘Dino Matrosse’ puts it: “Our motto refers to efforts to end under-development so that the economy becomes stronger and we can redistribute wealth, create jobs, have a strong agricultural sector, combat illiteracy, etc.”
During the war of independence, the MPLA served to unite Angola, defending people and maintaining national integrity, and was duly rewarded in the county’s first parliamentary elections in 1992.
Nineteen years later, the party remains at the head of Angolan politics, and although it has lost terrain to the opposition in some provinces, Dino Matrosse says that the MPLA continues its “struggle” to provide all regions with clean water, energy, schools and healthcare, tools Angolans need to improve their lives and contribute to national development.
0 COMMENTS