Angola | Luanda: Anger and despair over horrendous living costs

There is unrest in Luanda. According to media reports, violent protests in Angola's capital have claimed several lives and injured numerous people, as well as caused extensive property damage. Official figures are pending. Clashes with police broke out, and according to the newspaper "O País," they arrested more than 100 people. The protests were triggered by demonstrations scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday against rising living costs. At the same time, taxi drivers have been on strike since Monday against high fuel prices.

Videos and photos circulating online show roadblocks, burning tires, vandalized vehicles and buses, and looting of supermarkets, all of which involved large numbers of people. The hours-long riots in the city center and slums on the outskirts were primarily youths. According to eyewitness reports, police attempted to disperse the crowd by using tear gas and firing gunfire.

Some participants in the riots burned posters bearing the image of President João Lourenço, who returned from a three-day state visit to Portugal on Tuesday. A march to Parliament was violently repelled by police, and a large security presence was deployed at the presidential palace.

Public transport in the city has largely come to a standstill. Many banks and shops remain closed or open only for a few hours a day. Several companies have their employees working from home, waiting for the situation to normalize.

Luanda has been experiencing protests for weeks against the social misery and lack of prospects for young people. More than 9 million of Angola's 37 million inhabitants, with a young average age, live in the metropolis. The explosive situation was sparked by this month's one-third increase in diesel prices. The government of the southern African oil-producing country is thus reducing subsidies to restructure its public finances. A large portion of state revenues goes to foreign creditors as debt service .

Two years ago, violent protests erupted over new gasoline prices. Private taxi operators pass these market fuel costs on to passengers. In the capital, Luanda, many residents rely on the thousands of blue-and-white candongueiros, nine-seat minibuses, that operate on fixed routes.

Since gaining independence 50 years ago, the country has been continuously governed by the once Marxist-oriented liberation movement (MPLA). During the civil war, Angola, with Cuban support, was able to hold its own against the invasion of the apartheid state of South Africa and the US-backed UNITA party. The conflict with its domestic political rival only ended with a ceasefire in 2002. In multi-party elections, the MPLA last won an absolute majority, albeit a narrow one, three years ago.

João Lourenço, re-elected head of state of the presidential republic in 2022, emphasizes the fight against the hydra of corruption in public office and cooperates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The vast majority of the population continues to fail to benefit from the country's wealth—in addition to oil and gas, diamonds and minerals.