Today we return to Africa for the second time this week.
Almost everything I know about Angola is from the tv show Deutschland 86 where East German spies attempt to smuggle weapons to Angola.
The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) did actually foster a relationship with the Marxist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) who were engaging in a civil war in Angola. Angola slid into civil war after Portugal (in the classic form of almost every European colonial power) left Angola in 1975 with very few plans and an enormous power vacuum.
The GDR provided aid, arms (off the books, naturally) and hoped to set up trading relations with the future MPLA government. Think coffee and diamonds for Trabants. The MPLA were also supported by Soviet Union and Cuba who sent over 30,000 troops to help (mostly) win the war.
After winning the civil war, José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s new president set about reforming agriculture in Angola with Cubas help growing sugar. Apparently growing Cuban sugar in Angola is not a good idea. Within a few years most of Angolas farmland become infertile and mass starvation spread throughout the country.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the discovery of vast oil reserves, Angola’s Marxist government embraced free-market capitalism with a twist. José Eduardo dos Santos decided to make Angola’s oil wealth a family business, putting his daughter Isabel in charge of monetising (and keeping most of) the black gold.
Isabel dos Santos is now Africa’s richest person while Angola is one of the most corrupt and unequal countries on the planet. Oil represents 97% of Angolan exports with almost all of the profits going to the dos Santos family.
Today half of the Angolan population still has no access to clean water, and two-thirds of children suffer from malnutrition. All while the capital Luanda is filled with glistening high rises and $5000/month apartments.
If you’re interested in learning more I really recommend this VisualPolitik video.
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