"There are acts of political intolerance among us that have to do with shady political agendas", said Esteves Hilário, on Friday, in Luanda, in a meeting with journalists and opinion makers.
"I wouldn't want my political opponent to be prevented from entering a neighborhood, that's not democratic. In a democracy, we have to be aware that we won't always please everyone, and those who don't please us don't become our enemies, they are just our political adversaries in that circumstance", highlighted the secretary of the MPLA's Political Bureau for Information and Propaganda.
"We are all Angolans", reinforced the leader of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party in power in the country since national independence in 1975.
Recently, UNITA, the main opposition party, complained of being the target of alleged acts of intolerance, blaming MPLA activists for attacks on party deputies.
Hilário admitted, on the other hand, that there is dissatisfaction due to the economic situation that Angola is experiencing, including among MPLA activists.
"We know this and we understand," said the official, adding that the ongoing macroeconomic reforms are necessary and that we need to tighten our belts.
"The construction of a country has these birth pains, they are natural", commented the deputy and university professor.
Responding to journalists who questioned him about the President's alleged stubbornness, he considered that João Lourenço is "a cool 'kota' [respected adult, in Angolan slang]", denying that those who have a close relationship with the chief executive have this experience.
"He is a person of convictions, it is different from being stubborn", he highlighted.
Regarding the recent increase in bus prices, which tripled in the last month, the MPLA official stated that it had to do with the withdrawal of subsidies, being "remnants" of a centralized economy.
"What is being done, within the scope of economic reform, is to reduce public subsidies to the economy", he stressed, noting that "unfortunately public money is not elastic" and that what is intended is that future generations are not so penalized by the weight of the debt. "It is obvious that these are unpopular measures, which can only be done with non-populist leaders", highlighted the MPLA spokesperson.
