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Angola STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
![[PDF]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf.gif)
Figure 11. Structure of the Government, 1988
Source: Based on information from Tony Hodges,
Angola to the 1990s, London, 1987, 12.
The Constitution
Adopted in November 1975, independent Angola's first
and only
Constitution dedicates the new republic to eliminating the
vestiges
of Portuguese colonialism. The Constitution provides
numerous
guarantees of individual freedom and prohibits
discrimination based
on color, race, ethnic identity, sex, place of birth,
religion,
level of education, and economic or social status. The
Constitution
also promises freedom of expression and assembly.
Constitutional revisions in 1976 and 1980 more clearly
establish the national goal of a revolutionary socialist,
one-party
state. As revised, the Constitution vests sovereignty in
the
Angolan people, guaranteed through the representation of
the party,
and promises to implement "people's power." It also
emphasizes the
preeminence of the party as policy-making body and makes
the
government subordinate to it. Government officials are
responsible
for implementing party policy. Economic development is
founded on
socialist models of cooperative ownership.
Other constitutional guarantees include health care,
access to
education, and state assistance in childhood, motherhood,
disability, and old age. In return for these sweeping
guarantees,
each individual is responsible for participating in the
nation's
defense, voting in official elections, serving in public
office if
appointed or elected, working (which is considered both a
right and
a duty), and generally aiding in the socialist
transformation.
Despite its strong socialist tone, the Constitution
guarantees
the protection of private property and private business
activity
within limits set by the state. National economic goals
are to
develop agriculture and industry, establish just social
relations
in all sectors of production, foster the growth of the
public
sector and cooperatives, and implement a system of
graduated direct
taxation. Social goals include combating illiteracy,
promoting the
development of education and a national culture, and
enforcing
strict separation of church and state, with official
respect for
all religions.
The Constitution also outlines Angola's defense policy.
It
explicitly prohibits foreign military bases on Angolan
soil or
affiliation with any foreign military organization. It
institutionalizes the People's Armed Forces for the
Liberation of
Angola (Forças Armadas Populares de Libertação de Angola
-- FAPLA)
as the nation's army and assigns it responsibility for
defense and
national reconstruction. Military conscription applies to
both men
and women over the age of eighteen
(see Armed Forces
, ch.
5).
Data as of February 1989
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