Speaking to Lusa, the journalist said that the last 20 years represent, above all, the greatest opportunity that Angolans have had, since Independence, "to take the reins of their own destiny, to build a State in which the human factor is respected, preserved and developed".
This did not happen because, after the peace, there was the complete capture of the State, a situation that continues to this day.
"We have had a new government for five years that has been trying to fight corruption, but that has maintained the structures that led to the capture of the State, which means that a mentality of looting continues to prevail at the level of the rulers, the ruling families, who continue to look at the country as a source of wealth to take abroad, and not to build a better citizen", criticized the researcher.
Rafael Marques stressed that, more than talking about numbers, it is necessary to act on mentalities, so that everyone is "more human, more solidary" and there is "some notion of the State and concern for the common well-being".
Therefore, what Angola achieved was a "rotten peace" that did not go beyond the silence of arms: "A social peace was not built, it can only be built when the main function of the Government is the protection of the citizen".
The activist argues that it is the way in which citizens are looked at that helps to create a society that is more supportive and more concerned with the common good, "with less selfishness in the Government, with fewer thieves in the public administration".
"As long as human beings are not valued, there will be very little we can do for the good of the country. The big difference when we look at developed or developing countries is the creation of space for valuing human beings", he added, indicating that the bureaucracy and structure of the Angolan public administration have worked in the opposite direction to the development of the citizen.
"If we continue to be brutish and don't start using our heads, our sovereignty will always be vulnerable to any smart-ass who discovers our weaknesses. Many Angolans stole millions of dollars and today they are in distress because the money stayed with foreign partners or It's frozen outside. The country lost and they lost too", pointed out Rafael Marques.
