Journalist and activist Rafael Marques considers the government of repeaters appointed by the President of the Republic to be “terrible”, in an interview with DW, Rafael Marques says that the new government of João Lourenço is an “insult” to the intelligence of Angolans.
The journalist considers that the few changes in the Executive, after the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) suffered heavy losses in the general elections, only demonstrate that the President of the Republic has given up on Angola.
“No matter how much justification the President can give, it is a frankly terrible government. And it is essential that if you want to have a mandate in which you can deserve some respect, some attention and differentiate yourself from citizens, you need to collect yourself, reflect and help yourself, anchor yourself in wisdom, in good advice”, he suggests.
The Activist adds that “the levels of intolerance of Angolan citizens” who criticize the President of the Republic” are the fault of the MPLA itself, a party in power for 47 years, and the “repressive way in which it has always dealt with these issues”.
For Rafael Marques, the most important thing is not whether, in this new term of João Lourenço, protests in the streets will multiply, similar to what the opposition recently promoted.
“If we are sure that this government on repeat is very bad, especially the economic team, then we must organize ourselves with ideas, with critical pressure instruments, so that we have another economic team, so that we have rulers who bet on knowledge and not in incompetence as a way to cover up the new capture of the State in Angola. And that will not happen with street protests. We need to use our heads,” he says.
Hunger and unemployment are the priorities
With the new term still starting, Marques warns that, for now, it is not time to think about municipal elections – in which the opposition hopes to be able to sanction the ruling party. For the journalist who founded the website “Maka Angola”, what do “citizens have to do, if [querem] a different country, is to mobilize its critical forces”.
“If we are accusing the President of having disrespected the intelligence of citizens with the appointment of this Government, we, as citizens, are not going to bet on stupidity to combat the lack of intelligence of the Executive. This government is frankly bad, but civil society and the opposition cannot be worse”, says the activist.
In Marques’ opinion, for now the priority is to think about the issues that increasingly make the lives of Angolans more difficult, such as hunger and unemployment. “It will not be the autarchies that will generate jobs, more health, more education. Just look at the Constitution itself and realize that the autarchies will only be at the municipal level; they will not even be at the provincial or communal level,” he explains.