Angola is a blank spot on the map of Africa in Europe
Published: Sunday, Jan 14th 2024, 10:30
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For the Swiss, Angola is almost a blank spot on the map of Africa. According to Aaiún Nin, this is a structural problem.
The former Portuguese colony is rich in natural resources and is now one of the largest oil producers in the world. According to Nin, those who profit from this are interested in the country remaining unstable and without much observation.
The troops of UNITA (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola) and the MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola), which jointly declared independence from Portugal in 1975, quickly became pawns in the Cold War. The ruling MPLA was supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union, UNITA by the USA. The 27-year civil war left behind at least one million landmines and a destroyed infrastructure by 2002.
While there was no major investment in reconstruction in the rest of the country, the capital Luanda is now considered the most expensive metropolis in the world thanks to the oil boom, ahead of Hong Kong, Tokyo, Zurich and Singapore.
This wealth flows into the coffers of international investors - increasingly towards China - but also into those of the daughter of former President dos Santos, who steered the country's fortunes for almost 40 years. The extent of the corruption became public at the latest with the Luanda Leaks of 2020, which also documented Swiss offshore accounts.
The same political party, the MPLA, is still in power today. Human Rights Watch (HRW) repeatedly reports censorship and arbitrary arrests of political activists, artists and demonstrators. "I have nothing good to say," says Aaiún Nin about the current situation.
©Keystone/SDA
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