“A guest is a cloud, it passes, but I’m not a cloud, I stay”
UNITA’s evolution and rehabilitation in the politics of national reconciliation in Angola after 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/1980-864X.2024.1.45500Keywords:
UNITA, Angola, Jonas Savimbi, National reconciliationAbstract
How does an opposition party that lost the war deal with its past and rehabilitate its political strength in a resilient authoritarian regime like Angola’s? In this article, we attempt to answer this question by analyzing the case of UNITA, the largest opposition party in Angola. Despite the MPLA’s dominant narratives on war and peace and predictions of the political neutralization of the loser of the Angolan civil war, UNITA is experiencing growing electoral support. We argue that João Lourenço’s presidency and his national reconciliation policies have provided a political opportunity for UNITA to rehabilitate its image and legacy and to be a voice in the reconciliation process. Through a qualitative study and based on interviews with party members (presidents and deputies) and official speeches, the article analyzes the strategies used by UNITA to celebrate and embrace its past in the context of new initiatives for national reconciliation. This includes the framework of the Commission for the Implementation of the Reconciliation Plan in Memory of the Victims of Political Conflicts in 2019, the management and celebration of Jonas Savimbi’s legacy, and the debate on the construction of national symbols.
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