Angola marks 51 years of independence and recalls that Brazil was the first to recognize it

This is a translation of the original article in Portuguese. Read the original (Português).

Angola celebrated 51 years of independence on November 11, and the country’s leading publication recalled a detail that speaks directly to Brazil: the Brazilian government was the first to recognize the new republic, on the very day of the proclamation, in 1975.

The information comes from a list published by Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reproduced by the Angolan newspaper Jornal de Angola. According to the document, 22 countries recognized the People’s Republic of Angola between November 11 and December 6, 1975. After Brazil came the Soviet Union and other countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. Portugal, the former colonial power, recognized independence only on February 22, 1976.

The central event of this year’s commemorations took place in Luena, in the province of Moxico, and was presided over by Vice President Esperança da Costa. According to the Angolan newspaper O País, she called for the consolidation of national unity, investment in human capital and the reduction of inequalities between the country’s regions, and pointed to food self-sufficiency and economic diversification as current challenges. The Political Bureau of the MPLA, the ruling party, issued a message describing the building of a better Angola as a collective responsibility.

The special edition of the Jornal de Angola reconstructs the path to 1975. The chronology begins with the start of the armed struggle in Luanda on February 4, 1961, and the revolt in the north in March of the same year, passes through the revolution in Portugal in April 1974 and the Alvor Agreements in January 1975, and arrives at the proclamation.

The newspaper also recalls the speech given by Agostinho Neto on that November 11. After a minute of silence for those who died in the struggle, the Central Committee of the MPLA declared the People’s Republic of Angola created. The speech accused Portugal of disrespecting the Alvor Agreements, denounced the invasion of the south of the country by South African forces, and announced that the FAPLA would become part of the national army.

A large part of the pages is dedicated to the memory of those who lived through the period. Former combatants and traditional authorities from Quitexe, Quibaxe and Nambuangongo speak of forced labor, colonial exploitation and the flight of populations into the bush after the attacks of March 1961. Witnesses recall hearing the independence announcement on Rádio Nacional de Angola, some of them at the fighting fronts.

There are also stories of people born on the very day of the proclamation, such as journalist Cátia Ornelas, in Luanda, and singer Bela Essandjo, in Huambo. Young people interviewed by both newspapers assess the country’s advances and challenges, cite education, roads and the business environment, and call for more space for young people.

For Brazil, the date revives a chapter of foreign policy that is little remembered here: amid war and rivalry between powers, the country was the first to say yes to the independence of Africa’s largest Portuguese-speaking nation.

Reporting from Jornal de Angola (Edição especial de 11 de novembro, páginas 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 30 e 32 (Angola)), O País (Páginas 5 e 10 (Moxico e Angola)).