Angola

The Final Days of the Neto Regime

By the late 1970s, Angolan head of state Agostinho Neto had reached a better understanding of the motivations behind the 1977 Nitista coup attempt. Accordingly, he sought a more pragmatic approach to balancing the diverse personalities and schools of thought within the government and party. In December 1978, Neto began a series of government and party reorganizations designed to increase the powers of the president, purge both ruling structures of incompetent and corrupt officials, and balance ethnic, racial, and ideological elements. By abolishing the offices of prime minister and deputy prime minister, Neto was able to deal directly with his ministers rather than through intermediaries. The reorganization also resulted in the dismissal or reassignment of a large number of senior party officials. Neto effected the most dramatic change in the MPLA-PT Political Bureau, which had been dominated by mestiços and Mbundu. He reorganized the Political Bureau by appointing officials, including three Bakongo and two Cabindan members, who gave it a broader ethnic representation (see Structure of Government , ch. 4). These reorganizations were accompanied by a partial amnesty that included the release from prison and return from exile of members of the Active Revolt, many of whom Neto reintegrated into the party. Furthermore, Neto welcomed back to Angola a number of FNLA members and, according to some sources, even made friendly overtures to Chipenda. By 1979 Neto had largely succeeded in molding the MPLA-PT into a cohesive organization of carefully selected cadres.

Neto also pursued a foreign policy designed to weaken external support for UNITA (and what was left of the FNLA and FLEC) and to secure friendly relations with as many states as possible for both security and economic reasons. Included in this last goal was a July 1979 foreign investment law that provided more attractive benefits for foreign investors and that Neto designed primarily to encourage further Western investment in oil exploration.

Data as of February 1989

Angola - TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION

• Chapter. 1. Historical Setting
  • PRECOLONIAL ANGOLA AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE
    • Kongo Kingdom
    • Ndongo Kingdom
    • The Defeat of Kongo and Ndongo
    • Matamba and Kasanje Kingdoms
    • Lunda and Chokwe Kingdoms
    • Ovimbundu and Kwanhama Kingdoms
    • The Dutch Interregnum, 1641-48
  • ANGOLA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
    • Slave Trading in the 1700s
    • Portuguese Settlers in Angola
  • THE 1800s: TURMOIL IN PORTUGAL, REFORM AND EXPANSION IN ANGOLA
    • The Early Nineteenth Century
    • Abolition of the Slave Trade
    • Expansion and the Berlin Conference
  • SETTLEMENT, CONQUEST, AND DEVELOPMENT
    • The Demographic Situation
    • Military Campaigns
    • Administration and Development
  • ANGOLA UNDER THE SALAZAR REGIME
    • Angola under the New State
    • Salazar's Racial Politics
  • RISE OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM
    • Roots of Discontent
    • African Associations
      • The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
      • The National Front for the Liberation of Angola
    • Organizational Weaknesses
    • Beginning of Revolution
  • ANGOLAN INSURGENCY
    • Ascendancy of the MPLA
    • Emergence of UNITA
    • Liberation Movements in Cabinda
    • Portuguese Economic Interests and Resistance to Angolan Independence
    • The Portuguese Coup d'Etat and the End of the Colonial Era
  • COALITION, THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT, AND CIVIL WAR
    • Foreign Intervention
    • Collapse of the Transitional Government
    • South African Intervention
  • INDEPENDENCE AND THE RISE OF THE MPLA GOVERNMENT
    • Transformation into a Marxist-Leninist Party and Internal Dissent
    • Shaba Invasion and the Nitista Plot
    • Strengthening Ties with the Soviet Union and Its Allies
    • Economic Problems and the Implementation of Socialist Policies
    • The UNITA Insurgency and the South African Threat
    • The Final Days of the Neto Regime
  • THE DOS SANTOS REGIME
    • Steps Toward a Stronger Party and Political Discord
    • The Namibia Issue and Security Threats in the 1980s
    • Second Party Congress