Editing Angola (section)

===Angolan Civil War===
{{Main|Angolan Civil War}}
[[File:President MPLA, heer Neto door Den Uyl ontvangen premier Den Uyl en A Neto (r), Bestanddeelnr 927-8518 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Agostinho Neto]], first [[President of Angola]].]]
Throughout the war of independence, the three rival nationalist movements were severely hampered by political and military factionalism, as well as their inability to unite guerrilla efforts against the Portuguese.<ref name=Rothschild1>{{cite book|last=Rothschild|first=Donald|title=Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Pressures and Incentives for Cooperation|date=1997|pages=115–120|publisher=The Brookings Institution|location=Washington|isbn=978-0815775935}}</ref> Between 1961 and 1975 the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA competed for influence in the Angolan population and the international community.<ref name=Rothschild1/> The [[Soviet Union]] and [[Cuba]] became especially sympathetic towards the MPLA and supplied that party with arms, ammunition, funding, and training.<ref name="Rothschild1"/> They also backed UNITA militants until it became clear that the latter was at irreconcilable odds with the MPLA.<ref name=Revolution>{{cite book|last=Domínguez|first=Jorge|title=To Make a World Safe for Revolution: Cuba's Foreign Policy|date=1989|pages=131–133|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0674893252}}</ref>

The collapse of Portugal's [[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]] government following the 1974 [[Carnation Revolution]] suspended all Portuguese military activity in Africa and the brokering of a ceasefire pending negotiations for Angolan independence.<ref name=Rothschild1/> Encouraged by the [[Organisation of African Unity]], Holden Roberto, Jonas Savimbi, and MPLA chairman [[Agostinho Neto]] met in [[Mombasa]] in early January 1975 and agreed to form a coalition government.<ref name="Weigert">{{cite book|title=Angola: A Modern Military History|last=Weigert|first=Stephen|year=2011|location=Basingstoke|publisher=Palgrave-Macmillan
|isbn=978-0230117778|pages=56–65}}</ref> This was ratified by the [[Alvor Agreement]] later that month, which called for general elections and set the country's independence date for 11 November 1975.<ref name="Weigert"/> All three factions, however, followed up on the ceasefire by taking advantage of the gradual Portuguese withdrawal to seize various strategic positions, acquire more arms, and enlarge their militant forces.<ref name="Weigert"/> The rapid influx of weapons from numerous external sources, especially the Soviet Union and the United States, as well as the escalation of tensions between the nationalist parties, fueled a new outbreak of hostilities.<ref name="Weigert"/> With tacit American and Zairean support the FNLA began massing large numbers of troops in northern Angola in an attempt to gain military superiority.<ref name=Rothschild1/> Meanwhile, the MPLA began securing control of Luanda, a traditional Ambundu stronghold.<ref name=Rothschild1/> Sporadic violence broke out in Luanda over the next few months after the FNLA attacked the MPLA's political headquarters in March 1975.<ref name="Weigert"/><ref name="Spikes">{{cite book|title=Angola and the Politics of Intervention: From Local Bush War to Chronic Crisis in Southern Africa|last=Spikes|first=Daniel|year=1993|location=Jefferson|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0899508887|pages=143–144}}</ref> The fighting intensified with street clashes in April and May, and UNITA became involved after over two hundred of its members were massacred by an MPLA contingent that June.<ref name="Weigert"/> An upswing in Soviet arms shipments to the MPLA influenced a decision by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] to likewise provide substantial covert aid to the FNLA and UNITA.<ref name=Vanneman>{{cite book|last=Vanneman|first=Peter|title=Soviet Strategy in Southern Africa: Gorbachev's Pragmatic Approach|url=https://archive.org/details/sovietstrategyin00vann|url-access=registration|date=1990|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sovietstrategyin00vann/page/48 48–49]|publisher=Hoover Institution Press|location=Stanford|isbn=978-0817989026}}</ref>

In August 1975, the MPLA requested direct assistance from the Soviet Union in the form of ground troops.<ref name=Vanneman/> The Soviets declined, offering to send advisers but no troops; however, Cuba was more forthcoming and in late September dispatched nearly five hundred combat personnel to Angola, along with sophisticated weaponry and supplies.<ref name=Revolution/> By independence, there were over a thousand Cuban soldiers in the country.<ref name=Vanneman/> They were kept supplied by a massive [[Cuba–Angola airbridge|airbridge]] carried out with Soviet aircraft.<ref name=Vanneman/> The persistent buildup of Cuban and Soviet military aid allowed the MPLA to drive its opponents from Luanda and blunt an abortive intervention by Zairean and [[South Africa]]n troops, which had deployed in a belated attempt to assist the FNLA and UNITA.<ref name="Weigert"/> The FNLA was largely annihilated after the decisive [[Battle of Quifangondo]], although UNITA managed to withdraw its civil officials and militia from Luanda and seek sanctuary in the southern provinces.<ref name=Rothschild1/> From there, Savimbi continued to mount a determined insurgent campaign against the MPLA.<ref name=Vanneman/>
[[File:Cuban PT-76 Angola.JPG|thumb|Soviet made Cuban PT-76 tank in Luanda during the [[Cuban intervention in Angola]], 1976]]
Between 1975 and 1991, the MPLA implemented an economic and political system based on the principles of [[scientific socialism]], incorporating [[Planned economy|central planning]] and a [[Marxist–Leninist]] [[one-party state]].<ref name=Arming>{{cite book|last=Ferreira|first=Manuel|editor1-last=Brauer|editor1-first=Jurgen|editor2-last=Dunne|editor2-first=J. Paul|title=Arming the South: The Economics of Military Expenditure, Arms Production and Arms Trade in Developing Countries|date=2002|publisher=Palgrave-Macmillan|location=Basingstoke|isbn=978-0-230-50125-6|pages=251–255}}</ref> It embarked on an ambitious programme of [[Nationalization|nationalisation]], and the domestic private sector was essentially abolished.<ref name="Arming"/> Privately owned enterprises were nationalised and incorporated into a single umbrella of state-owned enterprises known as ''Unidades Economicas Estatais'' (UEE).<ref name="Arming"/> Under the MPLA, Angola experienced a significant degree of modern [[industrialisation]].<ref name=Arming/> However, corruption and graft also increased and public resources were either allocated inefficiently or simply embezzled by officials for personal enrichment.<ref name=SSG1>{{cite book|last=Akongdit|first=Addis Ababa Othow|title=Impact of Political Stability on Economic Development: Case of South Sudan|date=2013|pages=74–75|publisher=AuthorHouse Ltd, Publishers|location=Bloomington|isbn=978-1491876442}}</ref> The ruling party survived an [[1977 Angolan coup d'état attempt|attempted coup d'état]] by the [[Maoism|Maoist]]-oriented [[Communist Organization of Angola|Communist Organisation of Angola]] (OCA) in 1977, which was suppressed after a series of bloody political purges left thousands of OCA supporters dead.<ref name=Tucker1>{{cite book|last=Tucker|first=Spencer|title=Encyclopedia of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency: A New Era of Modern Warfare|date=2013|pages=374–375|publisher=ABC-CLIO Ltd, Publishers|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-1610692793}}</ref>

The MPLA abandoned its former Marxist ideology at its third party congress in 1990, and declared [[social democracy]] to be its new platform.<ref name=Tucker1/> Angola subsequently became a member of the [[International Monetary Fund]]; restrictions on the market economy were also reduced in an attempt to draw foreign investment.<ref name=Tordoff1>{{cite book|last=Tordoff|first=William|title=Government and Politics in Africa|edition=Third|date=1997|pages=97–98|publisher=Palgrave-Macmillan|location=Basingstoke|isbn=978-0333694749}}</ref> By May 1991 it reached a peace agreement with UNITA, the [[Bicesse Accords]], which scheduled [[Angolan general election, 1992|new general elections]] for September 1992.<ref name=Tordoff1/> When the MPLA secured a major electoral victory, UNITA objected to the results of both the presidential and legislative vote count and returned to war.<ref name=Tordoff1/> Following the election, the [[Halloween massacre (Angola)|Halloween massacre]] occurred from 30 October to 1 November, where MPLA forces killed thousands of UNITA supporters.<ref>{{cite book|last=W. James|first=Martin|year=2004|title=Historical Dictionary of Angola|pages=161–162|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1538111239}}</ref>