"The Political Bureau of the MPLA Central Committee learned, with deep resignation, of the death of General Paulo Pfluger Barreto Lara, which took place on March 22, 2022, in the City of Porto, Portuguese Republic, due to illness, at the age of 65".
Paulo Lara was the son of the historic leader and former founder of the MPLA Lúcio Lara.
"Involved body and soul in the cause of Angolan nationalism through the inseparable walk with his father, the late nationalist Lúcio Lara, General Paulo Lara has an impeccable record of services rendered to the Angolan nation", the statement said.
Paulo Lara began his military life in 1972, in the province of Cabinda, as a guerrilla of the MPLA, and was a founding member of the Tchiweka Documentation Association.
"The fearless and respected general Paulo Lara also stood out for the research he carried out on the period of the armed struggle for national liberation and as a mentor and director of the 'Trilhos da Independência' project, which aimed to collect and preserve relevant documents from the memory of the period in the history of Angola and the struggle of all peoples under colonial occupation", signals the MPLA.
After retiring from the army, Paula Lara dedicated herself to teaching and joined the Advanced Center for African Studies at Universidade Agostinho Neto.
"The Political Bureau of the MPLA Central Committee considers that the death of General Paulo Lara represents the loss of one of the most brilliant sons of Angola, who dedicated the best years of his life to her, as well as the disappearance of an illustrious intellectual concerned with the preservation of the collective memory of the Angolan people", the statement said.
