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Angola Operations
![[JPEG]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jpeg.gif)
Villagers in Benguela Province showing support for the
government at an impromptu rally
Courtesy Richard J. Hough
In addition to a chronic shortage of cadres, the
MPLA-PT faced
numerous obstacles in its first decade as a ruling body.
By late
1988, the MPLA-PT party structure had not yet matured
enough to
respond temperately to criticism, either from within or
from
without. Party leaders dealt harshly with their critics,
and
political participation was still carefully controlled.
Impeded by
civil war, insurgency, economic problems, and the
perception of
elitism within its party ranks, the MPLA-PT campaign to
mobilize
grass-roots support remained in its early stages. Party
membership
was a prerequisite for effective political action, but
channels of
entry into the MPLA-PT were constricted by the party's
entrenched
leadership and centralized authority structure. Critics of
the
MPLA-PT, in turn, felt that after a quarter-century of
warfare,
they were being underserved by a large government
apparatus that
was preoccupied with internal and external security.
Factionalism also slowed the implementation of MPLA-PT
programs. Rather than a strong, unified, vanguard
leadership, the
MPLA-PT presented an elite cadre torn by racial and
ideological
differences. Racial stratification, the legacy of colonial
rule,
permeated the party and society, providing a continuous
reminder of
economic inequities. The MPLA-PT had not established a
reputation
as a leader in the struggle to end racial discrimination,
in part
because of its roots among student elites selected by
colonial
officials. Many early party leaders were mestiços
who had
studied in Europe; some had married whites and were
removed from
the cultural background of their African relatives.
Moreover, some
Angolans still identified Marxist philosophy with European
intellectuals rather than African peasants.
Ideological splits also grew within party ranks during
the
first nine years of dos Santos's regime, overlaying racial
divisions. Divergent views on the role of Marxism in
Angola
produced clashes over domestic and foreign policy. Some
African
MPLA-PT leaders placed nationalist goals ahead of
ideological
goals, such as the radical transformation of society, and
one of
their nationalist goals was the elimination of
mestiço
domination.
The lines between racial and ideological factions
tended to
coincide. On the one hand, strong pro-Soviet views were
often found
among the party's mestiço leaders, who were
inclined to view
Angola's political situation in terms of revolutionary
class
struggle. In their eyes, ethnic, regional, and other
subnational
loyalties were obstacles to political mobilization. Black
African
party militants, on the other hand, often viewed racial
problems as
more important than class struggle, and they hoped to
shape the
MPLA-PT into a uniquely Angolan political structure. For
them,
Soviet intervention brought new threats of racism and
foreign
domination. Traditional ethnic group leaders were, in this
view,
vital to grassroots mobilization campaigns. Race and
ideology did
not always coincide, however. A few staunch ideologues
were black
Africans, while a small number of mestiços espoused
moderate
views and favored nonaligned policies.
Data as of February 1989
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![[JPEG]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/angola/ao04_03b.jpg)
