"All of us Angolans have lost our father, we are not here at that moment to judge mistakes, because nobody is perfect. I think Angola lost someone who really wanted to see us well and wanted the best for all Angolans", summarizes Mateus Escuta, coach high school education in history and geography, 20 years old.
Narciso Miranda, an official at the Ministry of the Interior, says that the departure of a President who "has done a lot of good for the nation" is "painful" by helping "a lot of youth and not only".
"It is a great regret and recognition of the effort he made for our country. Let's all cry, all together, one nation", he emphasizes.
The President who ruled Angola for 38 years died in Barcelona, Spain, after a long period of illness.
According to Narciso Miranda, José Eduardo dos Santos "changed the country a lot, brought peace in 2002", but also "it was time for him to leave, he did what he had to do, although he still had a lot to do, but it was time him and we have to accept it, because this is the way for all of us".
For history teacher Mateus Sancofa, 20, the leadership of José Eduardo dos Santos has more negative facts than positive ones.
"The state in which the country finds itself today is a consequence of what came before, in the past", he emphasizes.
According to Mateus Sancofa, José Eduardo dos Santos was loved by the population because he ensured Angolans had their basic needs, namely health, food and education.
"And consequently, the population, receiving these goods, lost focus on what are the riches of our country", observed the young man, adding that the deviations benefited "the so-called 'marimbondos'", bringing negative consequences for the country".
João Lourenço, the current head of state, "is fighting to take the country out of a pit into which the President, who unfortunately died today, has placed the country," he said.
Despite being young, Mateus Sancofa said he began to monitor the country's economic and socio-political dynamics between 2014 and 2015, considering it still premature to say that the current governance is better than the previous one.
"Corruption is something that came from the time of José Eduardo dos Santos and the [current] executive just came to fight to end something that has been going on for several years", he stressed, regretting that the former President of the Republic did not get to witness the next general elections on the 24th of August this year.
For his part, Mateus Escuta lists, among the benefits provided to Angolans by José Eduardo dos Santos, the low price of the basic food basket and the effort made to organize the country after decades of war.
In a comparative analysis between the current government and that of José Eduardo dos Santos, Mateus Escuta considers that the current head of state "is fighting a lot against corruption", which was not the case in the time of the former President of the Republic.
"These reforms that the current President has made show that he is correcting some mistakes of the past government. José Eduardo dos Santos had mistakes in the matter of corruption, nepotism and education too, these are things that are trying to be resolved now", he underlined.
For the young man, five days of mourning decreed by the government are enough because the country has to move forward.
"We cannot be stagnant. He passed away, it's ok, he was a hero for our country, let's honor his memory yes, not only in the five days I suggest, but for all eternity and for the generation to come", he said.
