"Two out of three Angolans are deeply dissatisfied with their government and are pessimistic about the future country, according to the first independent opinion survey carried out in Angola since the confinement," write EXX Africa analysts in the survey's presentation.
"In the last three months, this sense has triggered protests against the Government, which were brutally repressed by the security forces", added in the text sent to Lusa, and in which it is foreseen "a strong rise in tension and the risk of instability" .
Considering that "the recent violence resembles the scenes seen in protests against police abuses in Nigeria", EXX Africa writes that "the poll shows a notable shift in political support for the Government party in the past three years and a deterioration in the environment in Angola, on the eve of the 2022 elections, which promise to be the most strongly contested in the country's history ".
According to the opinion poll in October, there are five main reasons for EXX Africa to conclude a likely increase in tension and instability: mismanagement of the pandemic crisis, unemployment, bribes and corruption, crime and insecurity and lack of confidence .
"Angolans feel that the crisis of the new coronavirus has been poorly managed and that the Government has used the crisis as an opportunity to repress social unrest and limit political and journalist freedoms," they write, pointing out that "the poll shows that the collapse of Angolan economy was happening long before the pandemic, with a specific concern about massive unemployment and the weak prospects for the country ".
In addition, EXX Africa points out, the survey shows that "Angolans are disillusioned with the political motivations of cracking down on corruption and many say they saw little improvement in curbing corrupt practices and state bureaucracy during the current government."
The survey also shows that "many Angolans do not look at the pandemic as the primary cause of the country's socio-economic crisis and most would like to be able to leave the country and go to live elsewhere".
The Angolan economy is expected to suffer this year for the fifth consecutive year of recession, hoping that in 2021 it will be able to recover its positive growth trajectory.
