Misplaced Pages

#497502

70-584: In December 1956 it merged into the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( MPLA ). This communist party –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an Angolan political party is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( Portuguese : Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola , abbr. MPLA ), from 1977–1990 called

140-581: A decades-long civil war which involved the Soviet Union , Cuba, South Africa, and the United States. Millions of Angolans died in the aftermath of independence due to armed conflict, malnutrition and disease. After a brief period of stability, Mozambique became embroiled in a civil war which left it one of the poorest nations in the world. The country's situation improved after the 1990s, and multi-party elections have been held. East Timor

210-719: A one-party state . Several thousand Cuban troops remained in the country to combat UNITA fighters and bolster the regime's security. When the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fell, the MPLA abandoned its Marxist–Leninist ideology. On its third congress in December 1990, it declared social democracy to be its official ideology. The MPLA emerged victorious in Angola's 1992 general election, but eight opposition parties rejected

280-400: A stroke in 1968, and was replaced as prime minister by Marcelo Caetano , who adopted a slogan of "continuous evolution", suggesting reforms, such as a monthly pension to rural workers who had never contributed to Portugal's social security . Caetano's Primavera Marcelista (Marcelist Spring) included greater political tolerance and freedom of the press , and was seen as an opportunity for

350-457: A brief training course and had served in the colonies' defensive campaigns at the same rank as academy graduates. In February 1974, Caetano decided to remove General António de Spínola from the command of Portuguese forces in Guinea in the face of Spínola's increasing disagreement with the promotion of military officers and the direction of Portuguese colonial policy. This occurred shortly after

420-508: A coup organised by the Armed Forces Movement (Portuguese: Movimento das Forças Armadas , MFA), composed of military officers who opposed the regime, but it was soon coupled with an unanticipated popular civil resistance campaign. Negotiations with African independence movements began, and by the end of 1974, Portuguese troops were withdrawn from Portuguese Guinea , which became a UN member state as Guinea-Bissau . This

490-578: A growing economy sparked new technical and organisational challenges. On 13 November 1972, Fundo do Ultramar (The Overseas Fund, a sovereign wealth fund ) was enacted with Decreto-Lei n.º 448/ /72 and the Ministry of Defence ordinance Portaria 696/72 to finance the war. The increasing burden of the war effort meant that the government had to find continuous sources of financing. Decreto-Lei n.º 353, of 13 July 1973 and Decreto-Lei n.º 409 of 20 August 1973 were enforced to reduce military expenses and increase

560-466: A military government. It promptly ceased anti-independence fighting in Angola and agreed to transfer power to a coalition of three pro-independence Angolan movements. The coalition quickly broke down and the newly independent Angola broke into a state of civil war . Maintaining control over Luanda and the lucrative oil fields of the Atlantic coastline, Agostinho Neto , the leader of the MPLA, declared

630-531: A profound impact on the country. The revolutionary Armed Forces Movement (MFA) began as an attempt to liberate Portugal from the Estado Novo regime and challenge new military laws which were coming into force . The laws would reduce the military budget and reformulate the Portuguese military. Younger military-academy graduates resented Caetano's programme of commissioning militia officers who completed

700-562: A turbulent period, known as the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso (Ongoing Revolutionary Process). The conservative forces surrounding Spinola and the MFA radicals initially confronted each other covertly or overtly, and Spinola was forced to appoint key MFA figures to senior security positions. Right-wing military figures attempted an unsuccessful counter-coup , leading to Spinola's removal from office. Unrest within

770-803: Is a full-member of the Socialist International grouping of social democratic parties. The armed wing of MPLA was the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). The FAPLA later (1975–1991) became the national armed forces of the country when the MPLA took control of the government. In 1961, the MPLA joined the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), its fraternal party in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde , in direct combat against

SECTION 10

#1732766118498

840-673: The 25 de Abril Bridge began on 5 November 1962. It opened on 6 August 1966 as the Salazar Bridge, named after Estado Novo leader António de Oliveira Salazar . Soon after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge to commemorate the revolution. Citizens who removed the large, brass "Salazar" sign from a main pillar of the bridge and painted a provisional "25 de Abril" in its place were recorded on film. Many Portuguese streets and squares are named vinte e cinco de Abril (25 April), for

910-861: The Angolan Civil War , the MPLA received military and humanitarian support primarily from the governments of Algeria , Brazil , the Bulgarian People's Republic , East Germany , Cape Verde , Czechoslovak Socialist Republic , the Congo , Cuba , Guinea-Bissau , Mexico , Morocco , the Mozambican People's Republic , Nigeria , North Korea , the Polish People's Republic , China , the Romanian Socialist Republic , São Tomé and Príncipe , Somalia ,

980-577: The Angolan Civil War . The party has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975, being the de facto government throughout the civil war and continuing to rule afterwards. On 10 December 1956, in Estado Novo -ruled Portuguese Angola , the underground Angolan Communist Party (PCA) merged with the Party of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola (PLUAA) to form

1050-774: The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (Portuguese: Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho ), is an Angolan social democratic political party . The MPLA fought against the Portuguese Army in the Angolan War of Independence from 1961 to 1974, and defeated the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) in

1120-712: The Portuguese empire in Africa. The following year, the expanded umbrella group Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies (CONCP) replaced FRAIN, adding FRELIMO of Mozambique and the CLSTP, forerunner of the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe (MLSTP). In the early 1970s, the MPLA's guerrilla activities were reduced, due to the fierce counter-insurgency campaigns of

1190-468: The Portuguese military . At the same time, internal conflicts caused the movement to temporarily split into three factions (Ala Presidencialista or Presidentialist Wing, Revolta Activa or Active Revolt, and Revolta do Leste or Eastern Revolt). By 1974/75, this situation had been overcome with renewed cooperation, but it scarred the party. The Carnation Revolution in Lisbon , Portugal in 1974 established

1260-478: The Soviet Union , Sudan , Tanzania , Libya and SFR Yugoslavia . While China did briefly support the MPLA, it also actively supported the MPLA's enemies, the FNLA and later UNITA, during the war for independence and the civil war. The switch was the result of tensions between China and the Soviet Union for dominance of the communist bloc, which almost led to war. In the 1992 election , MPLA-PT won 53.74% of

1330-511: The 1960s, the outbreak of colonial wars in Africa set off significant social changes, among them the rapid incorporation of women into the labour market. Independence movements began in the African colonies of Portuguese Mozambique , Portuguese Congo , Portuguese Angola , and Portuguese Guinea . The Salazar and Caetano regimes responded with diverting more and more of Portugal's budget to colonial administration and military expenditure , and

1400-519: The EEC average, slightly exceeding the level at the height of the revolutionary period. A January 2011 story in the Diário de Notícias (a Portuguese tabloid format newspaper) reported that the government of Portugal encouraged overspending and investment bubbles in public-private partnerships between 1974 and 2010, and the economy has been damaged by risky credit , public debt creation, overstaffing in

1470-578: The EEC average. Due to revolutionary economic policies, oil shocks, recession in Europe and the return of hundreds of thousands of overseas Portuguese from its former colonies, Portugal began an economic crisis in 1974–1975. Real gross domestic product growth resumed as a result of Portugal's economic resurgence since 1985 and adhesion to the European Economic Community (EEC). The country's 1991 per-capita GDP reached 54.9 percent of

SECTION 20

#1732766118498

1540-465: The European Union. The constitution of 1976 guarantees all religions the right to practise, and non-Catholic groups are recognised as legal entities with the right to assemble . Non-Catholic conscientious objectors have the right to apply for alternative military service. The Catholic Church , however, still sought to impede other missionary activity. Construction of what is now called

1610-724: The Land Reform Review Law the following year. Restoration of illegally occupied land began in 1978. In 1960, Portugal's per-capita GDP was 38 percent of the European Economic Community average. By the end of the Salazar period in 1968 it had risen to 48 percent, and in 1973 it had reached 56.4 percent; the percentages were affected by the 40 percent of the budget which underwrote the African wars. In 1975 (the year of greatest revolutionary turmoil), Portugal's per-capita GDP declined to 52.3 percent of

1680-580: The MFA between leftist forces often close to the Communist Party , and more moderate groups often allied with the Socialists eventually led to the group's splintering and dissolution. This stage of the PREC lasted until the coup of 25 November 1975 , led by a group of far-left officers, specifically Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. It was said to be a Communist plot to seize power, in order to discredit

1750-411: The MPLA adopted Marxism–Leninism as the party ideology. It added Partido do Trabalho (Labour Party) to its name. After Nito Alves 's attempted coup in 1977, Neto ordered the killing of suspected followers and sympathisers of "orthodox communism" inside and outside the party. During the coup, Cuban forces stationed in Angola sided with the MPLA leadership against the coup organizers. Estimates for

1820-536: The MPLA were responsible for between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in democide from 1975 to 1987. The MPLA government of Angola has been accused of human rights violations such as arbitrary arrest and detention and torture by international organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch . The MPLA government hired Samuels International Associates Inc in 2008 to help improve Angola's global image and "'facilitate' its meetings with senior U.S. officials". At present, major mass organizations of

1890-644: The MPLA-PT include the Angolan Women's Organization ( Organização da Mulher Angolana or O.M.A.), National Union of Angolan Workers ( União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos or U.N.T.A.), Agostinho Neto Pioneer Organization ( Organização de Pioneiros de Agostinho Neto or O.P.A.), and the Youth of MPLA ( Juventude do MPLA or J.M.P.L.A.). During both the Portuguese Colonial War and

1960-746: The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, with Viriato da Cruz , the president of the PCA, as secretary general. Other groups later merged into MPLA, such as the Movement for the National Independence of Angola (MINA) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola (FDLA). The MPLA's core base includes the Ambundu ethnic group and the educated intelligentsia of the capital city, Luanda . The party formerly had links to European and Soviet communist parties , but today

2030-471: The Portuguese Army had retreated. A consequence of the Carnation Revolution was the sudden withdrawal of Portuguese administrative and military personnel from its overseas colonies. Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese Africans returned to Portugal, becoming known as the retornados . These people—workers, small business people, and farmers—often had deep roots in the former colonies. Angola began

2100-643: The bush, and the South African forces withdrew. The United States Congress barred further U.S. military involvement in the country, against the wishes of President Ronald Reagan , as the representatives feared getting into a situation similar to the Vietnam War . In 1976 the FNLA withdrew its troops to their bases in Zaire . Part of them joined the 32 Battalion , formed by South Africa in order to receive anti-MPLA Angolans. At its first congress in 1977,

2170-400: The country became increasingly isolated from the rest of the world, facing increasing internal dissent, arms embargoes and other international sanctions . By the early-1970s, the Portuguese military was overstretched and there was no political solution in sight. Although the number of casualties was relatively small, the war had entered its second decade; Portugal faced criticism from

Angolan Communist Party - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-572: The country became increasingly polarised. Thousands of left-wing students and anti-war activists avoided conscription by emigrating illegally , primarily to France and the United States . Meanwhile three generations of right-wing militants in Portuguese schools were guided by a revolutionary nationalism partially influenced by European neo-fascism , and supported the Portuguese Empire and an authoritarian regime. The war had

2310-424: The day of the revolution. The Portuguese Mint chose the 40th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution for its 2014 2 euro commemorative coin . Freedom Day (25 April) is a national holiday , with state-sponsored and spontaneous commemorations of the civil liberties and political freedoms achieved after the revolution. It commemorates the 25 April 1974 revolution and Portugal's first free elections on that date

2380-400: The decolonisation period, and established multi-party political systems by the early 1990s. By a treaty signed in 1974, Portugal recognised the incorporation of former Portuguese India into India . The 1961 annexation of the tiny Portuguese colony of Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá by Benin was also recognised by Portugal in 1975. A 1978 Portuguese offer to return Macau to China

2450-571: The disc jockey at Emissores Associados de Lisboa gave the time signal Falta cinco minutos às vinte e três at 10:55 p.m. on 24 April before turntabling Paulo de Carvalho 's " E Depois do Adeus " (Portugal's entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest ). This alerted rebel captains and soldiers to begin the coup. The second signal came at 12:20 a.m. on 25 April, when Rádio Renascença broadcast " Grândola, Vila Morena " (a song by Zeca Afonso , an influential political folk musician and singer, many of whose songs were banned from Portuguese radio at

2520-641: The dos Santos family ( Jerónimo Martins ). One of the largest was the Companhia União Fabril (CUF), with a wide range of interests including cement, petro and agro chemicals, textiles, beverages, naval and electrical engineering, insurance , banking, paper, tourism and mining, with branches, plants and projects throughout the Portuguese Empire. Other medium-sized family companies specialised in textiles (such as those in Covilhã and

2590-442: The early-1970s. Rural families engaged in agriculture and forestry. Income from the colonies came from resource extraction, of oil, coffee, cotton, cashews, coconuts, timber, minerals (including diamonds), metals (such as iron and aluminium), bananas, citrus, tea, sisal, beer, cement, fish and other seafood, beef and textiles. Labour unions were subject to severe restrictions, and minimum wage laws were not enforced. Starting in

2660-494: The election as rigged. UNITA sent negotiators to Luanda, where they were killed. As a consequence, hostilities erupted in the city, and immediately spread to other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of UNITA and FNLA sympathizers were subsequently killed nationwide by MPLA forces, in what is known as the Halloween Massacre . The civil war resumed. The war continued until 2002, when UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi

2730-426: The fact that almost no shots were fired, and from restaurant worker Celeste Caeiro who offered carnations to soldiers when the population took to the streets to celebrate the end of the dictatorship. Other demonstrators followed suit and placed carnations in the muzzles of guns and on soldiers' uniforms. In Portugal, 25 April is a national holiday ( Portuguese : Dia da Liberdade , Freedom Day) that commemorates

2800-471: The first constitutional government, led by centre-left socialist Mário Soares , took office. Before April 1974, the intractable Portuguese colonial war in Africa consumed up to 40 percent of the Portuguese budget. Although part of Guinea-Bissau became independent de facto in 1973, Bissau (its capital) and the large towns were still under Portuguese control. In Angola and Mozambique independence movements were active in more remote rural areas from which

2870-414: The formation of large conglomerates . The regime maintained a policy of corporatism which resulted in the placement of much of the economy in the hands of conglomerates including those founded by the families of António Champalimaud ( Banco Totta & Açores , Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor , Secil , Cimpor ), José Manuel de Mello ( Companhia União Fabril ), Américo Amorim ( Corticeira Amorim ) and

Angolan Communist Party - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-578: The government (and the opposition) were planning the succession of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco . Franco died a year and a half later, in 1975. Four civilians were shot dead by government forces under the Directorate General of Security, whose personnel involved were later arrested by the MFA for their murders. After the coup, power was held by the National Salvation Junta (a military junta). Portugal experienced

3010-611: The independence of the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola as the People's Republic of Angola on 11 November 1975, in accordance with the Alvor Accords . UNITA and FNLA together declared Angolan independence in Huambo . These differences reignited civil war between UNITA & FNLA and the MPLA, with the latter winning the upper hand. Agostinho Neto became the first president upon independence. He

3080-593: The international community, and was becoming increasingly isolated. In 1973 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for Portugal's immediate withdrawal from Guinea. Atrocities such as the Wiriyamu Massacre undermined the war's popularity and the government's diplomatic position, although details of the massacre are still disputed. The war became unpopular in Portugal, and

3150-601: The main headquarters of the Lisbon military police, the National Republican Guard , at the Largo do Carmo. This building was surrounded by the MFA, which pressured him to cede power to General Spínola. Caetano and President Américo Tomás were sent to Brazil; Caetano spent the rest of his life there, and Tomás returned to Portugal a few years later. The revolution was closely watched by neighbouring Spain, where

3220-465: The military coup into a popular revolution "led by radical army officers, soldiers, workers and peasants that toppled the senile Salazar dictatorship, using the language of socialism and democracy. The attempt to radicalise the outcome", noted a contemporary observer of the time, "had little mass support and was easily suppressed by the Socialist Party and its allies." Caetano found refuge in

3290-636: The northwest), ceramics, porcelain, glass and crystal (such as those in Alcobaça , Caldas da Rainha and Marinha Grande ), engineered wood (such as SONAE , near Porto ), canned fish ( Algarve and the northwest), fishing, food and beverages (liqueurs, beer and port wine ), tourism (in Estoril , Cascais , Sintra and the Algarve ) and agriculture (the Alentejo , known as the breadbasket of Portugal) by

3360-480: The number of Alves' followers killed by Cuban and MPLA troops in the aftermath range from 2,000 — 70,000 dead, with some placing the death toll at 18,000. After the violent internal conflict called Fractionism , the MPLA declared that it would follow the socialist, not the communist, model. But it did maintain close ties with the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc, establishing socialist economic policies and

3430-442: The number of officers by incorporating militia and military-academy officers as equals. According to government estimates, about 900,000 hectares (2,200,000 acres) of agricultural land were seized between April 1974 and December 1975 as part of land reform ; about 32 percent of the appropriations were ruled illegal. In January 1976, the government pledged to restore the illegally occupied land to its owners in 1976, and enacted

3500-409: The opposition to gain concessions from the regime. In 1969, Caetano authorised the country's first democratic labour union movement since the 1920s. However, after the elections of 1969 and 1973 , hard-liners in the government and the military pushed back against Caetano, with political repression against communists and anti-colonialists . The Estado Novo regime's economic policy encouraged

3570-578: The opposition used the limited political freedoms allowed during the brief election period to protest, withdrawing their candidates before the election to deny the regime political legitimacy . The Estado Novo's political police, the PIDE (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado, later the DGS, Direcção-Geral de Segurança and originally the PVDE, Polícia de Vigilância e Defesa do Estado), persecuted opponents of

SECTION 50

#1732766118498

3640-412: The powerful Communist Party. It was followed by a successful counter-coup by more centrist officers, and was marked by constant friction between liberal-democratic forces and leftist-communist political parties. Portugal's first free election was held on 25 April 1975 to write a new constitution replacing the 1933 constitution in force during the Estado Novo era. Another election was held in 1976, and

3710-498: The public sector, a rigid labour market and mismanaged European Union 's structural and cohesion funds for almost four decades. Prime Minister José Sócrates ' cabinet was unable to foresee or forestall this when symptoms first appeared in 2005, and could not ameliorate the situation when Portugal was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2011 and required financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and

3780-722: The publication of Spínola's book, Portugal and the Future , which expressed his political and military views of the Portuguese Colonial War. Several military officers who opposed the war formed the MFA to overthrow the government in a military coup . The MFA was headed by Vítor Alves , Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho and Vasco Lourenço, and was joined later by Salgueiro Maia . The movement was aided by other Portuguese army officers who supported Spínola and democratic civil and military reform. The coup had two secret signals. First,

3850-407: The regime, who were often tortured, imprisoned or killed. In 1958, General Humberto Delgado , a former member of the regime, stood against the regime's presidential candidate, Américo Tomás , and refused to allow his name to be withdrawn. Tomás won the election amidst claims of widespread electoral fraud, and the Salazar government abandoned the practice of popularly electing the president and gave

3920-427: The revolution it was an underdeveloped country with poor infrastructure , inefficient agriculture and some of the worst health and education indicators in Europe. Pre-revolutionary Portugal had some social and economic achievements. After a long period of economic decline before 1914, the Portuguese economy recovered slightly until 1950. It began a period of economic growth in common with Western Europe, of which it

3990-426: The revolution. By the 1970s, nearly a half-century of authoritarian rule weighed on Portugal. The 28 May 1926 coup d'état implemented an authoritarian regime incorporating social Catholicism and integralism . In 1933, the regime was renamed the Estado Novo (New State). António de Oliveira Salazar served as Prime Minister until 1968. In sham elections the government candidate usually ran unopposed, while

4060-425: The streets – mingling with, and supporting, the military insurgents. A central gathering point was the Lisbon flower market, then richly stocked with carnations (which were in season). Some of the insurgents put carnations in their gun barrels , an image broadcast on television worldwide which gave the revolution its name. Although no mass demonstrations preceded the coup, spontaneous civilian involvement turned

4130-549: The task to the National Assembly . Portugal's Estado Novo government remained neutral in the second world war, and was initially tolerated by its NATO post-war partners due to its anti-communist stance. As the Cold War developed, Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc states vied with each other in supporting guerrillas in the Portuguese colonies , leading to the 1961–1974 Portuguese Colonial War . Salazar had

4200-448: The time). The MFA gave the signals to take over strategic points of power in the country. The content of the songs was largely uncontroversial—censorship would have prevented more inflammatory songs—their broadcasting was a signal, not a direct call to arms. Six hours later, the Caetano government relented. Despite repeated radio appeals from the "captains of April" (the MFA) advising civilians to stay home, thousands of Portuguese took to

4270-408: The vote. The largest opposition party, UNITA, secured 44% of the vote and 90 parliamentary seats. The tight race was the MPLA's worst showing at the polls in 30 years. However, nearly all opposition parties considered the result to be a fake. Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( Portuguese : Revolução dos Cravos ), also known as the 25 April (Portuguese: 25 de Abril ),

SECTION 60

#1732766118498

4340-453: The votes and 129 out of 227 seats in parliament; however, eight opposition parties rejected the 1992 elections as rigged . In the next election , delayed until 2008 due to the civil war, the MPLA won 81.64% of the vote and 191 out of 220 parliamentary seats. In the 2012 legislative election , the party won 71.84% of the vote and 175 of 220 parliamentary seats. In the 2022 general election , MPLA won 124 parliamentary seats and about 51% of

4410-473: Was invaded by Indonesia , and remained occupied until 1999 . There were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths from 1974 to 1999 (about 18,600 killings and 84,200 deaths from hunger and illness), most of which were incurred during the Indonesian occupation. After a long period of one-party rule, Guinea-Bissau experienced a brief civil war and a difficult transition to civilian rule in 1998. Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe avoided civil war during

4480-432: Was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Lisbon, producing major social, economic, territorial, demographic, and political changes in Portugal and its overseas colonies through the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso . It resulted in the Portuguese transition to democracy and the end of the Portuguese Colonial War . The revolution began as

4550-406: Was characterised by robust annual growth in GDP (6.9 percent), industrial production (nine percent), consumption (6.5 percent), and gross fixed capital formation (7.8 percent). The revolutionary period experienced a slowly-growing economy, whose only impetus was its 1986 entrance into the European Economic Community . Although Portugal never regained its pre-revolution growth, at the time of

4620-440: Was followed in 1975 by the independence of Cape Verde , Mozambique , São Tomé and Príncipe and Angola in Africa and the declaration of independence of East Timor in Southeast Asia . These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Angola and Mozambique), creating over a million Portuguese "returned" – the retornados . The Carnation Revolution got its name from

4690-409: Was killed. The two parties agreed to a ceasefire, and a plan was laid out for UNITA to demobilize and become a political party. More than 500,000 civilians were killed during the civil war. Human rights observers have accused the MPLA of "genocidal atrocities," "systematic extermination," "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity during the civil war." Political scientist Rudolph Rummel estimated that

4760-499: Was refused, as the Chinese government did not want to risk jeopardising negotiations with the UK over returning Hong Kong. The territory remained a Portuguese colony until 1999, when it was transferred to China with a joint declaration , and enacted a " one country, two systems " policy similar to that of Hong Kong . The Portuguese economy changed significantly between 1961 and 1973. Total output (GDP at factory cost) had grown by 120 percent in real terms. The pre-revolutionary period

4830-436: Was succeeded after his death in 1979 by José Eduardo dos Santos . In 1974–1976, South Africa and Zaire intervened militarily in favor of FNLA and UNITA. The United States strongly aided the two groups. Cuba in turn intervened in 1975 to aid the MPLA against South African intervention, and the Soviet Union aided both Cuba and the MPLA government during the war. In November 1980, the MPLA had all but pushed UNITA into

4900-400: Was the poorest country until the 1980s. Portuguese economic growth between 1960 and 1973 (under the Estado Novo regime) created an opportunity for integration with the developed economies of Western Europe despite the colonial war. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and companies changed their patterns of production and consumption. The increasing complexity of

#497502