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$Title{Angola
Front Matter}
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$Author{Irving Kaplan}
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$Date{1978}
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Country:     Angola
Book:        Angola, A Country Study
Author:      Irving Kaplan
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1978

Front Matter

Foreword

     This volume is one of a continuing series of books written by Foreign
Area Studies, The American University, under the Area Handbook Program. Its
title, format, and substance reflect modifications introduced into the series
in 1978. The last page of this book provides a listing of other country
studies published. Each book in the series deals with a particular foreign
country, describing and analyzing its economic, military, political, and
social systems and institutions and examining the interrelationships of those
systems and institutions and the ways that they are shaped by cultural
factors. Each study is written by a multidisciplinary team of social
scientists. The authors seek to provide a basic insight and understanding of
the society under observation, striving for a dynamic rather than a static
portrayal of it. The study focuses on historical antecedents and on the
cultural, political, and socioeconomic characteristics that contribute to
cohesion and cleavage within the society. Particular attention is given to the
origins and traditions of the people who make up the society, their dominant
beliefs and values, their community of interests and the issues on which they
are divided, the nature and extent of their involvement with the national
institutions, and their attitudes toward each other and toward the social
system and political order within which they live.

     The contents of the book represent the work of Foreign Area Studies and
are not set forth as the official view of the United States Government. The
authors have sought to adhere to accepted standards of scholarly objectivity.
Such corrections, additions, and suggestions for factual or other changes that
readers may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions.

William Evans-Smith
Director, Foreign Area Studies
The American University
Washington, D.C. 20016

Acknowledgments

     The authors are grateful to various individuals who gave of their time,
research materials, and special knowledge to provide data and perspective. In
particular they wish to thank Charles Ebinger, vice president of the energy
consulting firm Conant and Associates in Washington D.C. and a frequent writer
on African affairs.

     The authors also wish to express their gratitude to members of the
Foreign Area Studies staff who contributed directly to the preparation of the
manuscript. These persons include Frederica M. Bunge who, in her capacity as
assistant director for research, reviewed all the textual material; Sheila L.
Ross who edited the manuscript; and Harriett R. Blood who prepared the
graphics. The team appreciates as well the assistance provided by Gilda V.
Nimer, librarian, and Ernest Will, publications manager.

     Special thanks are owed to Shannon Swett who, under the direction of
Michael T. Graham of The American University Department of Art, designed the
cover for this volume as well as the illustrations on the title page of each
chapter. The inclusion of photographs in this study was made possible by the
generosity of various individuals and public and private agencies. We
acknowledge our indebtedness especially to those persons who contributed
original work not previously published.

Preface

     When research and writing were completed for the 1967 edition of the Area
Handbook for Angola, the territory was still under Portuguese colonial
domination. Its independence in November 1975-after the regime in Portugal
itself had been overthrown-was followed immediately by civil war involving
the three major anticolonial movements. By 1978 one of these, the Popular
Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de
Angola-MPLA) had to one degree or another established control over most of
Angola, and its government had been recognized as legitimate by most of the
world's states. The regime was, however, still confronted by a range of
economic and international problems and at least residual opposition from the
other movements, and it had also suffered internal dissension.

     This study is based on a variety of published and unpublished sources.
Some lacunae in information were filled and ambiguities clarified through
direct consultation with individuals having firsthand knowledge of Angola.
Substantial gaps and resulting problems of analysis remain, however,
particularly with respect to the structure and dynamics of Angolan society at
both local and national levels. These have been noted in the text. Given the
limits on time and space, some aspects of Angolan society have been treated
briefly or not at all. Where available books and articles provide
amplification of details and interpretation presented in a chapter, the author
has noted them in a paragraph at the end.

     The authors have tried to limit the use of foreign and technical terms.
These are briefly defined where they first appear in any chapter or reference
is made to the Glossary.

     Most ethnic and language names (and some place-names) in Angola originate
in Bantu languages characterized by the use of class prefixes that vary with
the language (thus Ovimbundu for the people, Ochimbundu for an individual, and
uMbundu for the language; Bakongo for the people, Mukongo for an individual,
and kiKongo for the language). Most prefixes are omitted in the country study,
but in order to distinguish between the people called Mbundu (no prefix) and
the Ovimbundu (who without the prefix would also be Mbundu) the prefix for the
latter is retained as are the prefixes for the major Bantu languages
(kiMbundu-spoken by the Mbundu, Umbundu, and Kikongo).

     All measures are given in the metric system. Place-names conform to the
usage in the publications of the United States Board of Geographic Names
except for those names that were changed by the Angolan government after
independence. Some of these changes have been accepted by the board but not
formally published in the gazeteer. The more important of these are noted in
table A. It may be noted that in 1978 the government of Angola had begun to
alter the Portuguese spelling of certain names to a more widely used African
orthography; the most common change was that from cu to kw before vowels and
from cu to ku before consonants: thus the Cuango River becomes the Kwango and
the Cunene River becomes the Kunene. Because these changes had just been
introduced at the time of writing and were not always followed, the older
Portuguese spelling has been employed in this book.

[See Table A.: Selected Place-Name Changes]

     Under Portuguese rule, the major internal divisions of Angola were
called districts. After independence the same units became provinces.
In this book they are referred to as districts in certain historical
contexts, as provinces otherwise (e.g., Benguela District, Benguela
Province).

     The 1967 edition of the Area Handbook for Angola was prepared by
Alexander J. Bastos, Frederick R. Eisele, Sidney A. Harrison, Howard J.
John, and Tura K. Wieland under the chairmanship of Allison Butler Herrick.
Because of the many changes since it was originally written, little
material from the original volume has been incorporated in the present
study.

     In the nearly six months since the research and writing for Angola:
A Country Study were completed, a number of problems confronting the
regime persisted, and some anticipated developments failed to occur.
Moreover, several shifts in governmental structure and in party policy,
of uncertain import, took place.

     Three of the persisting problems, in part interrelated, may be noted.
First, except for the continuing production of Cabindan oil,
the economic situation remained difficult. The availability of food
in late 1978 and early 1979 fell far below expectations, in good part
because of failure to rebuild the system of distribution left in ruins
by the departure of the Portuguese. Second, the Benguela
railroad, important as a potential source of income, was still not
functioning as of early 1979 despite announcements in late 1978 of its
imminent opening. Finally the National Union for the Total Independence of
Angola (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola-UNITA), opposed
to the regime, retained at least some of its effectiveness, manifested
especially in its apparent ability to prevent the opening of the Benguela
railroad and, according to some accounts, in its obstruction of the movement
of foodstuffs from Huambo to the coastal cities. UNITA's effectiveness
depended in good part on help from South Africa (and to a lesser extent
from some others). For that reason the MPLA-Labor Party would like to see
the issue of Namibia settled (with the involvement of the South-West
African People's Organization-SWAPO-which it supports) on the assumption
that South Africa's interest in UNITA would then fade away.

     Angola's economic situation seems to have contributed to several
developments in the regime's policies and in its internal and external
politics. In November 1978 United States Assistant Secretary of State for
African Affairs Richard Moose visited Luanda and held conversations with
several important Angolan officials. In December 1978 Senator George
McGovern met with President Agostinho Neto in Angola. The visits of Moose
and McGovern had no immediate or definite outcomes but, among other things,
they seemed to reflect Neto's interest in establishing relations with the
United States. He did not, however, see the Cuban presence as a barrier to
United States-Angolan relations and would not accede to the departure of
the Cubans as a condition of United States recognition.

     Just before McGovern's visit a change in Angola's government took
place, the significance of which is not clear. The prime minister and two vice
prime ministers were dismissed, as were the ministers of housing and
interior commerce and the vice minister of interior commerce. The third
vice prime minister resigned under fire. The positions of the prime
minister and vice prime ministers were abolished. The former prime minister,
Lopo do Nascimento, however, retained his membership in the Central
Committee of the party, and former vice prime minister Jose Eduardo dos
Santos was appointed minister of national planning, an important post.
President Neto's official explanation was that the government had become
too cumbersome and that the abolition of the four top ministerial posts
would permit more direct and efficient communication between the president
and the heads of the substantive ministries. An effort was also made to
include representatives of ethnic groups other than Mbundu and mestico in the
party's Political Bureau and Central Committee.

     In the view of observers the abolition of the posts was simply a
convenient way of dealing with at least some of the incumbents who differed
with Neto on the issue of distancing Angola from the communist states and
approaching the West more closely. Approaches to the West were less a matter
of ideological reorientation than response to the inability or unwillingness
of ideologically closer states to be of greater help economically. For
example, Neto found it necessary to turn to Western oil companies for
exploration along the Angolan coast, and there were other cases when aid or
advice from communist states bore little fruit. The dismissal of the ministers
of housing and interior commerce may be traced to their failure to cope with
the difficult problems within their jurisdictions, but ideology may have been
involved. In late 1978 President Neto had decided that private entrepreneurs
were to be given some freedom to see what they could do, particularly in
transport and trade, although he made a point of insisting on the ultimately
socialist orientation of his regime. That shift may have met with internal
opposition.

     These observations notwithstanding, a clear tendency in Angolan policy
cannot be discerned, and much probably depends upon the satisfactory
settlement of the complex of issues connected with UNITA, South Africa, and
Namibia. If these constraints can be dealt with, and the military support of
the Cubans and the Soviet Union become less important, other changes may be
possible.

                                   * * *

     President Neto died in Moscow on September 10, 1979, after surgery for
cancer. Shortly thereafter dos Santos was chosen as head of state by the
Central Committee of the MPLA-Labor Party and party chairman. At the time of
Neto's death the economic and political problems noted earlier had not yet
been resolved.

     At least some of the intra-MPLA-Labor Party conflict that had resulted
in an attempted coup shortly after independence in 1975 apparently continued.
In part that conflict may be attributed to personal quests for power, but some
of it reflected ideological and practical differences over the role of the
Soviet Union and Cuba. Also affecting intraparty and intragovernmental
relations and decisions are the ways in which Africans and mesticos see each
other and interact. It may be noted that the new president is, like Neto, a
black African in a party in which mesticos continue to play an important
role. Although he received his higher education in the Soviet Union, there are
conflicting reports on his political orientation. In any case, some observers
have suggested that he was chosen quickly in an effort to forestall overt
strife over the succession issue.

     The actual consequences of the changes were, in early October 1979,
impossible to foresee. There was some speculation that Neto's death might
permit a rapprochement between the MPLA-Labor Party and UNITA, but there was
no immediate public sign of it. Despite dos Santos' background as a student
in the Soviet Union, the direction of Angola's foreign policy in the
immediate future was also not clear.

Country Profile

[See Global Map: Map of Angola on the globe.]

Country

Formal Name: People's Republic of Angola.

Short Form: Angola.

Term for Nationals: Angolans.

Capital: Luanda.

     Preindependence Political Status: Parts of coastal region a colony of
Portugal since fifteenth century. De jure control over entire territory
awarded at Berlin Conference of 1884-85. De facto control not until 1920s.
Status changed to Overseas Province in July 1953. Liberation movements began
forming in late 1950s. Three of them, the Movement for the Liberation of
Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola-MPLA), the National Front
for the Liberation of Angola (Frente Nacional de Libertacao de Angola-FNLA),
and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Uniao Nacional
para a Independencia Total de Angola-UNITA), embroiled in bitter fighting not
only with colonial power but also with each other at time of 1974 coup in
Portugal. Civil war, continued after independence on November 11, 1975, won by
MPLA with Soviet and Cuban help.

Geography

     Size: Total area, 1,246,700 square kilometers of which Cabinda Enclave
7,270 square kilometers.

     Topography and Drainage: Most of country is plateau descending in west to
coastal fringe of varying width, in north gradually, farther south more
precipitously. Parts of western section of plateau (Benguela-Bie Plateau in
center, Humpata Highland in south) reach 2,500 meters or more. Eastern half of
country mostly flat, open plateau at somewhat lower altitudes. Mayombe
Hills of Cabinda Enclave still have some rain forest cover, but forest
elsewhere minimal except along rivers. Most rivers originate in central
Angola. Some flow directly west to Atlantic. Two important rivers have more
indirect route to Atlantic: the Cuanza, first flowing north, then west; the
Cunene, first flowing south. Rivers in northwest flow north to join Congo
River, thence to Atlantic. Rivers running through southeast quadrant join
either Zambezi River flowing to Indian Ocean or Cubango River (in Botswana,
the Okavango) to Okavango Swamp. Tributaries of Okavango and several southern
rivers flowing to Atlantic are dry much of year.

     Climate: Clearly defined wet and dry seasons; in north rainy season for
up to seven months, from as early as September to as late as May; in south
about four months, November through February. Generally precipitation higher
in north and in interior. Coast south of Benguela is desert. Southern
interior largely semiarid. Temperatures decrease with distance from equator
and with altitude. Coolest months July and August.

Society

     Population: Census of 1970 gave (provisional) 5,646,166 but obstacles to
accurate count. Estimated population for mid-1977 of about 6.3 million does
not take into account perhaps 500,000 refugees and others outside the country.
Annual growth rate in mid-1970s about 2.4 percent. Most densely settled areas
are highlands and parts of coastal zone including cities and towns of Luanda,
Lobito, Benguela, and Mocamedes. Most of east Angola very sparsely populated
as is far northwest. By 1970 urban population had grown to more than 15
percent, but departure of Portuguese (largely urban) and return of Africans
to villages during period of civil strife brought urban growth to a
(presumably temporary) halt.

     Languages: Official language Portuguese, but a number of languages and
dialects (almost all of Bantu group) corresponding to ethnolinguistic
categories and sections into which they are divided are spoken. Some tongues,
e.g., western dialect of kiMbundu, serve as lingua francas for part of
country. Government interested in developing orthography for local languages
for educational purposes.

     Ethnic Groups: Portuguese and others have lumped Angola's African
communities into limited number of ethnolinguistic categories presumably
exhibiting considerable linguistic and cultural homogeneity. Most, however,
are internally varied, and communities at margins between any two categories
are often mixed. Degree of ethnic identity is also fairly recent and variable.
Last count in terms of these categories in 1960 showed Ovimbundu at about 37
percent, Mbundu at about 23 percent (these two are categories wholly within
country), and Kongo at nearly 14 percent of population. Lunda-Chokwe (quite
heterogeneous) range between 8 and 9 percent. Nganguela (perhaps even more
varied) come to about 7 percent. Others, mainly in far south, much smaller.
Mesticos (of Euro-African ancestry) perhaps 2 to 3 percent in mid-1970s, but
significant because of role in ruling party and educational level.

     Religion: Estimates of religious affiliation unreliable, and situation
after independence uncertain. Estimates since 1960 of number of Roman
Catholics have put them at from roughly 40 percent to more than 50 percent of
population, Protestants from 14 to 18 percent, maybe only 10 percent. At least
30 percent are adherents of indigenous religions, and many others formally
attached to Christian churches continue to accept religious belief and
practice of indigenous origin.

     Education and Literacy: Educational facilities for Africans very limited
in Portuguese era. Some schooling carried on by missions. All education
nationalized after independence. Great shortage of facilities and teachers
(Cubans and others filling in to some extent). Ideological training and
economic development heavily emphasized. Universal primary education hoped for
by 1980. In 1977 about 1 million in primary schools, about 100,000 in
secondary schools, but quality of education suffers from shortages. At
independence literacy rate estimated at 15 percent. Later estimates put it at
20 percent; government stresses adult literacy programs and claims some
success.

     Health: Preindependence data on health personnel irrelevant given
departure of Portuguese and concentration of most personnel and facilities in
urban areas. Regime's health program stresses education and health
maintenance; extension of maintenance and care to rural areas. Health
described as right of the people. Pending training of adequate numbers
of African health personnel, Cubans and others provide substantial technical
aid and manpower. Data on disease from preindependence period weak because
based only on those seeking help in modern facilities or reporting illness to
health authorities. Nevertheless indicate that Angola affected by full range
of tropical diseases and others. Tuberculosis and typhoid reported; tetanus,
especially tetanus affecting infants, fairly frequent but rarely reported;
variety of childhood diseases of which measles most frequently noted. Of
diseases affecting persons of all ages, incidence of malaria is high. Figures
for influenza and venereal disease also fairly high. Not reported but known to
affect many Africans, schistosomiasis; helminthiasis. Deficiencies in
nutrition and sanitation contribute to susceptibility to disease.

Government and Politics

     Form: Republic with power centered in president; 1975 Constitution
amended in 1978, projects People's Assembly. Meanwhile Council of the
Revolution, comprising high officials of government, party, and military,
supreme organ. Council of Ministers is government executive organ, comprising
president, prime minister, three deputy prime ministers, ministers, and
directors of various state secretariats.

     Administrative Divisions: National territory divided into seventeen
provinces, each headed by an appointed commissioner responsible to prime
minister (see fig. 1). Country divided into provinces, districts
(municipios), and communas. Urban communes are divided into wards (barrios)
and rural communes into settlements (povocaoes).

     Politics: Internal politics dominated by division between small ruling
elite committed to Marxism-Leninism and vast majority-most of them
rural-struggling to survive under difficult economic conditions, and by
continuing fight against FNLA and UNITA. A single party, MPLA-Labor Party,
successor since December 1977 to the MPLA, defines the regime's official
policies. Although party and government structures are separate, party's
highest organ, Political Bureau, is de facto supreme executive organ of
nation.

     Judicial System: Stated goal is establishment of People's Courts under
professional and lay judges at all levels. By mid-1978 a beginning had been
made to train lay judges, but no comprehensive court system had yet been
established. People's Revolutionary Courts to deal with matters affecting
security had, however, been instituted.

     Foreign Relations: Official policy of nonalignment, but close dependency
on Soviet Union and Cuba. Efforts made in mid-1978 to ameliorate formerly
hostile relations with Zaire and South Africa and to establish more cordial
ties with Western states.

Economy

     Salient Features: In 1978 economy in midst of structural changes designed
eventually to replace former system by centrally planned socialist one.
Nationalizations and establishment of agricultural and other cooperatives were
part of process, but great shortage of trained indigenous personnel to take
over from departed Portuguese, as well as political cadres to promote economic
objectives, had led to acceptance for time being of large private sector and
participation by foreign interests. Lack of information prevented assessment
of economy's effectiveness, but earnings from petroleum exports, supplemented
by those from coffee, appeared roughly sufficient in late 1970s to offset
great drop in production in almost all economic sectors that occurred after
1974.

     Agriculture: So-called traditional subsector-which cultivates food crops
mainly for home consumption, including cassava, maize, beans, oil palm,
peanuts, and potatoes, and a few cash crops, such as cotton and coffee-has
been little affected by postindependence socialization of economy. In
contrast formerly almost completely Portuguese commercial subsector-which
produced essentially same food crops, except cassava, and also sugarcane,
sisal, sunflower seeds, citrus fruits, bananas, pineapples, and tobacco-has
undergone radical changes with many large plantations and farms transformed
into state farms and smaller units into cooperatives.

     Forestry, Fisheries, and Livestock: Forests cover about three-fifths of
country but consist mostly of savanna growth of value principally to domestic
economy. Abundance of marine life along coast and offshore formed basis for
major industry during Portuguese period. In 1978 Angolan government, plagued
by shortage of equipment and qualified personnel, still far short of restoring
operations to earlier levels. Cattle mainly restricted to central and
southwestern areas, free of tsetse fly. Considerable damage reported during
civil conflicts, and condition of industry largely unknown in 1978.

     Mining and Industry: Rich deposits of petroleum, diamonds, and iron ore;
in 1978 only petroleum under intensive exploitation. Manufacturing sector
capable of producing wide range of consumer goods and some intermediate
products, but output well below potential because of lack of spare parts and
raw materials and in particular of trained technicians and managers. An
unknown number of manufacturing establishments nationalized, principally
enterprises abandoned by owners.

     Electric Power: Installed capacity over 580,000 kilowatts in 1974, of
which about three-quarters hydroelectric. Main generating plants in western
part of country serving northern, central, and southern areas through three
separate producing and distributing systems. During Portuguese period
household use confined chiefly to Portuguese residential sections of cities
and towns. Consumption pattern unknown in 1978.

     Foreign Trade: Information on foreign trade since independence dependent
on data provided by trading partners. Principal export in late 1970s
petroleum, accounting for estimated four-fifths of export values in 1978;
coffee and diamonds other important items. Food and consumer goods apparently
constituted most of imports, probably followed by transport equipment.
Principal trading partners (1977): main suppliers Federal Republic of Germany
(West Germany), Portugal, United States, Japan, members of the European
Economic Community; main purchasers United States (petroleum, coffee),
Portugal, Netherlands, West Germany, Japan.

Transport and Communications

     Railroads: About 2,900 route kilometers comprising three separate main
lines running inland from ports of Luanda, Lobito, and Mocamedes, and one
small local line serving Porto Amboim area. Benguela railroad from Lobito
transverses country to connect with line in Zaire; civil strife in 1975 halted
international traffic, not resumed through late 1978.

     Roads: Good all-weather system of some 35,800 kilometers in 1975
(situation uncertain in late 1978) and additional 36,500 kilometers of rough
dirt roads. Most provincial capitals connected by paved roads.

     Air Service: Domestic services provided by government air line
Transportes Aereos de Angola (TAAG) to most provincial capitals and a few
other important towns. TAAG also flew to several European and African
capitals, and a number of international air lines had flights to Belas
International Airport at Luanda.

     Ports and Shipping: Major ports at Luanda, Lobito, and Mocamedes;
Cabinda also in this category because of volume of petroleum exports. Minor
ports of Porto Amboim and Ngunza handled coffee exports; Porto Alexandre
and Bahia dos Tigres important smaller fishing ports. National merchant
marine established early 1978.

     Telecommunications: Telephone (over 30,000 subscribers registered in
1972), telegraph, and telex services connect principal cities and towns;
ground satellite station at Cacuaco near Luanda used in international
service. Main radio station at Luanda, with regional stations (twelve in
operation in 1977) located at various points throughout country. Radio
receivers estimated at 116,000 in mid-1970s; no television service as of
1978.

National Security

     Armed Forces: People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (Forcas
Armadas Populares Libertacao de Angola-FAPLA) includes army of 30,000, navy
of 700, and air force of 800. Conscription inaugurated in 1978.

     Units: Army has brigades and battalions of flexible organizations and
manning levels.

     Equipment: Mostly of Soviet origin including MiG aircraft, T-54 tanks,
and truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers.

     Police: National police force-People's Police Corps of Angola (Corpo de
Policia Popular de Angola-CPPA) and secret police-Directorate of Information
and Security of Angola (Direcao de Informacao a Seguranca de Angola-DISA).

     Militia: People's Defense Organization (Organizacao de Defesa
Popular-ODP).

[See Figure 1.: Major Administrative Divisions]