Election Fever

It’s an exciting time to be in Angola. On August 31st, Angolans will go to the polls to elect their national leaders for only the second time since the end of the civil war in 2002. The last election held in 2008 was considered to be a failure since it did not meet international requirements. A Presidential election was supposed to take place in 2009 but was postponed and then cancelled under the 2010 constitution. Therefore, President Dos Santos, who has been in power for 33 years, has never been popularly elected.

This is a pivitol moment in this country’s history. Whatever happens in the next month will determine how this young democracy has progressed in the past 10 years, or if it can even be considered a democracy at all. A recent Human Rights Watch report claims that the climate in Angola is not conducive for free and fair elections. In the months leading up to the elections, the MPLA has restricted freedoms through intimidation and attacks against journalists, political violence, and excessive force against peaceful protesters.

HRW Report

August 1st marked the official start to the campaign season in Angola. Literally, overnight the city transformed into an MPLA carnival. The abandonded construction sites that litter the Luanda landscape miraculously and suddenly came to life. Everywhere I look, there is an enormous poster of the President’s face surrounded by what appear to be leftover Christmas lights. Schools have closed and the parties have begun. Trucks filled with supporters and hundreds of motorcyclists wearing red helmets with a big yellow star swarm the streets. The term in Portuguese for this type of activity is “confusão,” literally translated to “confusion.” This seems fitting. The ruling party is attempting to trick the citizens of Luanda into thinking that everything is great and that the government is taking care of everyone. They keep the population complacent with beer and music while subliminally spreading the message that it’s best to keep things exactly as they are. Don’t rock the boat. You don’t want war again, do you?

Political campaigns look vastly different than they do in the US, but I have to wonder if our way isn’t just as manipulative. While Americans are bombarded by attack ads and personal information about the candidates that is totally irrelevant, Angolans are attending parties and collecting free stuff. Both are popularity contests. Republicans and Democrats alike allege that they want to debate the real issues and the future of the country, but at the end of  the day, it’s all about winning. It all comes down to which side can make their candidate more likeable, down to earth, a man who is worthy of sharing a beer with the “average American.” Perhaps this system here in Angola is more honest. They don’t even pretend that this election is about the issues affecting the Angolan people – unemployment, poverty, health, education. No, it’s about who can throw the best parties and make the most noise.  As far as I know, the youth MPLA are not encouraging healthy political debates at their block parties. They are blasting music, passing out beers, and adorning their guests in red, black, and yellow.

The strongest opposition party, UNITA, is barely visible in the capital, and most believe that the MPLA will win by a landslide – the legitimacy of that victory will be debatable and the reaction of the people unpredictable.  

The Pausa

As I mentioned before, all schools in Angola will be closed for one month due to the elections. Originally, I was told that this break or pausa would begin on August 15th. On Thursday, August 9th, I went to class at 8:00am as usual and began teaching. Around 9:00,  a gentleman entered my classroom and told me that the pausa begins NOW and I need to stop teaching immediately. Knowing that this man was an employee of the university, but not a member of the administration, I kindly told him that I would continue my class until it was over at 9:30.

I then discovered from my students that the night before, the Ministry of Education announced on TV and radio that the election pausa would begin on the 9th rather the 15th. There was no reason given, obviously. About half of the students had heard the news, but the others had not. I was completely in the dark. Once again, I am being forced to adapt to a situation in which I have no control.

The students are by no means excited about the pausa. We just had a 6-week semester break, returned to class for a week and a half, and now we don’t have classes again. They feel cheated and that their education is not a priority, which it’s not.

I am also not enthusiastic about this forced vacation. In another city, I’m sure I would be pretty fired up about having a month off, but not here. I’m scrambling to find ways to keep myself busy. Idle time is the enemy in Luanda, but the coloring helps.