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Vol 5 (AAC) No 12

Published 1st October 2012


Angola

Beijing bets on Dos Santos

China’s backing of the MPLA ensured leverage and oil supplies – even if activists rail against the influx of unskilled Chinese labour

China may advocate a policy of non-interference, but that did not stop it taking a pretty prominent place in Angola’s 31 August elections, from the campaign trail and the debates through to charges of manipulation of the electoral register. The campaign of the governing Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) and its long-serving leader, José Eduardo dos Santos, was dominated by public inaugurations of new Chinese-built schools, hospitals and airports, many of which had been waiting ready for months or were not complete and closed straight after their official opening.

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