Called by various groups of activists and civil society in 12 provinces of Angola and some countries in the diaspora, the unemployment march brought together young people and students who left around 12:30 am at the Santana cemetery, after negotiating with the police the route to go, towards Largo da Independência (1st of May).
Chanting slogans such as "Freedom Justice, Employment, Education", many of the youths displayed homemade posters with messages of revolt and rejection from the ruling party, the MPLA: "Angola is a country ruling by murderers", read one of them. "Promise is not eaten", criticized another. "MPLA: dream killer", accused another poster, while the 500,000 jobs promised by the president were the message written on another poster.
Some of the young people wore white T-shirts with the words "Unemployment marginalizes" and invoking article 76 of the Constitution. "Employment is a right enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic," claimed Laurindo Mande, a law student at Jean Piaget University.
Speaking to Lusa, the 22-year-old stressed that, in addition to not having created jobs, "there was a worsening of the financial and social life of youth" and considered that the government should invest more in business.
Donito Carlos, from the Kilamba Kiaxi Intervention Platform, accused João Lourenço of not creating "nor 10 percent of the job he promised" and made a negative assessment of the government: "It has regressed in individual freedoms, it has not kept its promises, the fight against corruption is a palliative in which he chose people of his convenience. In short, it is a disaster. Angolans know that nothing has changed, the regime is the same, only the figures have changed".
The parade thickened along the route, when dozens of "zungueiras" joined the youth, also dissatisfied with the living conditions. "Zungueira is our mother, don't hit the zungueiras", they sang at one point.
As the march progressed, the voices also became louder and more angry shouting "João Lourenço is getting ready" and "2022, you will like it", in an allusion to the general elections scheduled for that year.
Many were joining the protesters on the way, making live videos with mobile phones and sharing on social networks, in a march that always followed a rhythmic step.
The demonstrators arrived at approximately 2:00 pm at Largo da Independência, the agreed place for the end and where they were expected by the mounted police, dog brigades and riot police, with the mission of containing the protest and, despite the provocations, did not react.
While some exalted tried to breach the police barrier, elements of the organization of the march tried to control the mood, appealing to the enforcement of the police guidelines.
Osvaldo Caholo, the only soldier of the "15 + 2", related to the case of 17 Angolan activists convicted in 2016 for "preparatory acts of rebellion", assures Lusa: "We will do our utmost so that there are no confrontations with the police".
Regarding João Lourenço's three years in office, the activist stated that "there was only a change of flies, power is like dung". "As long as Angola is hostage to these mafias, I have no hope. Angola's problem is not José Eduardo dos Santos nor João Lourenço is the MPLA mafia," he stressed.
For Osvaldo Caholo, "the MPLA pretends that it is democratic, UNITA pretends that it is democratic, the only truth is the suffering of the Angolan people".
Magui António, a 28-year-old zungueira, also joined the march: "We are suffering", she regretted, deserving the agreement of her zunga colleagues who quickly join her in a chorus of complaints: lack of jobs, lack of schools, lack of hospitals, markets are lacking, say the salespeople, complaining about the inspectors who "steal their business" (products for sale).
In Largo das Heroínas, where the protesters went and concentrated in the meantime, to spend the night and do a lookout, Fernando Sakuela Gomes said: "In times of covid, the important thing is to have bread on the table and not PIIM [infrastructure investment program] infrastructure in the municipalities] on the road ".
"Our intention is effectively democracy. We want to build the citizens 'republic and not the militants' republic," the young activist of the Agir Cacuaco Project told Lusa.
The demonstration ended somewhat abruptly when a group of young people started a riot and threw stones, forcing police intervention and the release of tear gas to contain the disturbances and disperse the most agitated.
The police confirmed that some youths will be taken to the police station and identified, and then released.
