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Angola Organizational Weaknesses
The Angolan African organizations active before 1961
weredisorganized and lacked resources, membership, and
strong
leadership. There were a number of reasons for these
weaknesses.
First, their members were not prepared for either a
political or a
military struggle during the 1950s, however attractive
they may
have found nationalist ideals. Second, they were divided
socially
as well as ethnically. There were gulfs between the
mestiços
and the assimilados, on the one hand, and the
indígenas, on the other hand, that frequently
resulted in
the pursuit of different goals. Third, although a
substantial
proportion of the white community also wanted Angola to
break away
from Portuguese domination, it hoped to perpetuate the
colonial
regime in every aspect except its control by Lisbon.
Finally, there was a critical lack of capable black
leaders in
the 1950s. The newly developing elite was not large enough
to run
a nationalist movement, and traditional leaders, focused
on ethnic
issues, were not prepared to lead such a movement. Church
leaders,
who might have been capable as national movement leaders,
did not
enter the struggle unless disaffected or until they became
targets
of police repression.
Data as of February 1989
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