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People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola - Partido do Trabalho
Leader	José Eduardo dos Santos
President	José Eduardo dos Santos
Founded	December 1, 1956
Headquarters	Luanda, Angola
Youth wing	Youth of MPLA
Ideology	Social democracy (self-declared)[1] 1977-1991: Marxism-Leninism (official)[1]
International affiliation	Socialist International
Seats in the National Assembly	191 / 220
Website
http://www.mpla-angola.org/
Politics of Angola Political parties Elections

The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labour Party (Portuguese: Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola - Partido do Trabalho) is a political party that has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975. The MPLA fought against the Portuguese army in the Angolan War of Independence of 1961-74, and defeated UNITA and the FNLA in the decolonization conflict 1974-75 and the Angolan Civil War of 1975-2002.

Formation[link]

On December 1, 1958, in Portuguese Angola (during the Estado Novo regime) the tiny underground Angolan Communist Party (PCA) merged with the small underground Party of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola (PLUA) to form the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, with Viriato da Cruz, the President of the PCA, as Secretary General.^[2][3] Later other groups merged into MPLA, such as Movement for the National Independence of Angola (MINA) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola (FDLA) ^[4].

The MPLA's core base includes the Mbundu ethnic group and the educated intelligentsia of the capital city, Luanda. The party formerly had links to European and Soviet Communist parties but is now a full-member of the Socialist International grouping of social democratic parties.

The armed wing of MPLA was the Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). The FAPLA later became the national armed forces of the country.

In 1960 the MPLA joined the PAIGC, its fraternal party in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde, in direct combat against the Portuguese empire in Africa. The following year, the expanded umbrella group CONCP replaced FRAIN, adding fellow Marxist-Leninists FRELIMO of Mozambique and the CLSTP, forerunner of the MLSTP of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Independence and civil war[link]

The Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, Portugal in 1974 established a military government that promptly ceased anti-independence fighting in Angola and agreed to hand over 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.

South Africa intervened militarily in favor of the conservative FNLA and UNITA, and Zaire and the United States also heavily aided the two groups. Cuba deployed thousands of troops in 1975 to aid the MPLA, with the Soviet Union aiding both Cuba and the MPLA government during the war. In November 1980, the MPLA had all but crushed UNITA, and the South African forces withdrew. The United States Congress barred further U.S. military involvement in the country, fearing another Vietnam-style quagmire.

Maintaining control over Luanda and the lucrative oil fields of the Atlantic coastline, the MPLA declared Angola's independence on November 11, 1975, the day the Portuguese abandoned the capital. Poet and freedom fighter Agostinho Neto became the first president upon independence, and he was succeeded by José Eduardo dos Santos in 1979.

At its first congress, in 1977, the MPLA adopted Marxism-Leninism as the party ideology and added Partido do Trabalho (Labour Party) to its name.^[1] After a violent internal conflict called Fractionism, it made it clear that it would follow the socialist, not the communist model. However, it maintained close ties with the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc, establishing socialist economic policies and a one-party state. Several thousand Cuban troops remained in the country to combat UNITA insurgents and bolster the regime's security.

This led to civil war with UNITA, which received varying degrees of support from the U.S. and South Africa in the 1980s. The war continued until 2002, when UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi was killed. The two parties promptly agreed to a ceasefire, and a plan was laid out for UNITA to demobilize and become a political party.

In 1990, when the cold war ended, MPLA abandoned its Marxist-Leninist ideology and on its third congress, in December, the party declared social democracy to be its official ideology.^[1]

Electoral history[link]

In the 1992 elections, MPLA-PT won 53.74% of the votes and 129 out of 227 seats in parliament; however, eight opposition parties rejected the 1992 elections as rigged.^[5] 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.^[6]

Human rights record[link]

The MPLA government of Angola has been acused of human rights violations by numerous international organisations, including Amnesty International^[7] and Human Rights Watch.^[8] Rudolph Rummel accused the MPLA of committing democide between 1975 and 1987, when between 100,000 and 200,000 Angolans were killed.^[9] Other incidences of human rights violations include the Halloween Massacre, where tens of thousands of UNITA voters were massacred nationwide by MPLA forces following the Angolan general election of 1992.^[5]

Party organizations[link]

At present, major mass organizations of the MPLA-PT include the Organização da Mulher Angolana (Angolan Women's Organization), União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos (National Union of Angolan Workers), Organização dos Pioneiros de Agostinho Neto (Organization of Pioneers of Agostinho Neto), and the Juventude do MPLA (Youth of MPLA).

Foreign support[link]

During both the Portuguese Colonial War and the Angolan Civil War, the MPLA received military and humanitarian support primarily from the governments of Algeria, Bulgaria, East Germany,^[10] Cape Verde Islands, Czechoslovakia,^[11] the Congo, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, North Korea, the People's Republic of China, Romania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somalia, ^[12] the Soviet Union, Sudan,^[11] Tanzania, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia. While China did briefly support the MPLA,^[13] it 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.^[14][15]

See also[link]

• History of Angola
• Cuba in Angola
• African independence movements
• List of current Angolan ministers (All MPLA)
• Mário Pinto de Andrade
• Anarchy in the U.K. (song by the Sex Pistols which mentions the MPLA)

Literature[link]

• Inge Brinkmann, War, Witches and Traitors: Cases from the MPLA's Eastern Front in Angola (1966-1975), Journal of African History, 44, 2003, pp. 303-325
• Mario Albano, Angola:una rivoluzione in marcia, Jaca Book, Milano 1972

References[link]

External links[link]

• (Portuguese) MPLA official site
• MPLA campaign site

v t e Political parties in Angola National Assembly Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (191) National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (16) Social Renewal Party (8) National Liberation Front of Angola (3) New Democracy Electoral Union (2) Unrepresented Angolan Democratic Forum Angolan National Democratic Party Democratic Angola – Coalition Democratic Party for Progress – Angolan National Alliance Liberal Democratic Party Democratic Renewal Party Party of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of Angola Social Democratic Party Portal:Politics List of political parties Politics of Angola

Tapper Zukie (or Tappa Zukie) (born David Sinclair, 1955, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae deejay and producer.^[1]

Biography[link]

Tapper was the nickname given to him by his grandmother in his youth, while Zukie was a name that came from his friends' association as a young boy - their gang was called 'The Zukies'.^[1]

In 1973 his mother, concerned with Zukie's tendency to get into trouble, sent him to England to stay with some relatives.^[1] Producer Bunny Lee arranged with the UK-based entrepreneur Larry Lawrence for him to undertake some recording sessions and concerts, opening for U-Roy the day after his arrival in London.^[1] Zukie's first release was the single "Jump & Twist", produced by Lawrence.^[1] Around this time he also recorded material for Clem Bushay, which would later form part of the Man Ah Warrior album, issued in 1973.^[2]

Zukie returned to Jamaica, cutting "Judge I Oh Lord" for Lloydie Slim and "Natty Dread Don't Cry" for Lee.^[2] After an argument with Lee that resulted in the police being called, the two made peace with Lee giving Zukie some riddims to record over, and taking these and others from Joseph Hoo Kim, he toasted over them at King Tubby's studio, these forming the album MPLA (released in 1976).^[1][2]

The Man Ah Warrior album had gained Zukie a cult following in the UK, and he returned there in 1975, releasing the track "MPLA" as a single, which was sufficiently successful for Klik to issue the album of the same name in the UK.^[2] One notable fan of MPLA was Patti Smith, who gave Zukie a support slot on her UK tour, reissued Man a Warrior on her Mer label, and contributed sleeve-notes to his 1977 album Man From Bosrah.^[1][2]

This period of success allowed Zukie to set up his own 'Stars' record label, and he began to produce other artists, including Junior Ross & The Spear, Prince Alla, Errol Dunkley, Ronnie Davis, and Horace Andy.^[1] Two dub albums emerged in 1977: Escape From Hell and Tapper Zukie In Dub.

A deal with Virgin Records subsidiary Frontline saw the release of two further albums in 1978 - Peace In The Ghetto and Tapper Roots, while he also continued to release records on his Stars label in Jamaica.

After 1976, he concentrated on producing music in Jamaica, working with such reggae musicians as The Mighty Diamonds, Max Romeo, Ken Boothe, Sugar Minott and U-Roy.

In 1978 he scored a big hit with "Oh Lord", which spent six weeks on top of the Jamaican charts. Also popular that summer was "She Want a Phensic".^[1]

In the mid-1980s, Zukie was more prolific as a producer, working with artists such as The Mighty Diamonds, Sugar Minott, and Max Romeo.^[1] In 1986 he released a new album of his own, Raggamuffin.^[1] He continued to concentrate on production, although another album was released in 1996, Deep Roots.^[1]

Zukie has a few children, but only one is following in Zukie's footsteps. Noel Bonds aka BranNEW [1] is making his mark in the hip hop music industry.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Man a Warrior (1973), Klik
• M.P.L.A. (1976), Klik - reissued (1978), Virgin
• Escape From Hell (1977), Stars
• Tapper Zukie in Dub (1977), Stars
• The Man From Bozrah (1978), Stars
• Peace in the Ghetto (1978), Virgin
• Tapper Zukie International (1978), Stars
• Blackman (1978), Stars
• Tapper Roots (1978), Stars/Front Line
• Raggy Joey Boy (1982), Stars
• Earth Running (1983), Mobiliser
• People Are You Ready? (1983), Stars
• Ragamuffin (1986), World Enterprise
• Deep Roots (1996), RAS

Compilations[link]

• Living in the Ghetto, Stars
• Cork & Tar (2004), Tappa
• Dub 'Em Zukie (2004), Jamaican Recordings
• Musical Intimidator: The Anthology (2004), Trojan
• The Best of the Frontline Years (2004), Virgin
• From the Archives, RAS

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tapper Roots Discussion Radio 1's Mark and Lard discuss Tapper Zukies 'Tapper Roots' album cover.
• Discography at Roots Archives.

Eduardo Dos Santos (born October 14, 1983 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a Argentine footballer currently playing for CF La Piedad of the Liga de Ascenso in Mexico.

Teams[link]

• Estudiantes de Buenos Aires 2005
• Talleres de Remedios de Escalada 2005-2006
• Defensores de Belgrano 2006-2007
• Douglas Haig 2007-2008
• Almagro 2008-2009
• Rangers 2009
• Albinegros de Orizaba 2010-2011
• CF La Piedad 2011-

External links[link]

• Profile at BDFA Profile at

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