"It is historic (the visit) because it is the first by a President of the United States of America (USA) to Angola, but it is more symbolic and media-friendly than practical in terms of relations between the two countries and the explanation is very simple: Angola's internal issues – democracy and human rights – must be resolved here", Rafael Marques told Lusa this Wednesday.
Angola is currently experiencing the "greatest violation" of its citizens' rights, reflected in the "hunger that is rampant throughout the country", said the journalist, highlighting that "little or nothing" has been done to safeguard the right to food in the country.
The right to food "is a fundamental right and little or nothing has been done to alleviate the burden of the dismantling of the Government, the economy, on the way of life of citizens and these issues will not be resolved by the USA, they must be resolved by President (of the Republic) João Lourenço", he pointed out.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden, who arrived in Luanda on Monday night, will spend the second and last day of his visit to Angola on Wednesday, visiting the city of Lobito, in the province of Benguela, where he will take part in an international conference on the Lobito Corridor.
This corridor, which has significant investment from the US and the European Union, will connect the port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia for the transport of minerals and other products across the Atlantic.
For Rafael Marques, Joe Biden's visit should not be seen as a "panacea" for solving Angola's problems, insisting that those who must solve them "are those who lead the country's destiny".
Those who are leading the government "must listen to the cries of the population, must present concrete public policies to improve the living conditions of citizens and, above all, must know how to govern and have leaders who are not as mediocre and arrogant" as the current ones, he criticised.
The activist, who was in the audience of dignitaries who attended Joe Biden's speech on Tuesday during his visit to the National Slavery Museum in Luanda, reaffirmed that solutions to Angola's problems must be found internally.
"Expecting foreign entities to come and solve our problems is a sign of immaturity. The country is ours and we are the ones who have to solve the problems," he stressed.
The director of the "Makaangola" portal also considered that the Lobito Corridor will not solve the problems of Angolans and will not change the country's economy, arguing that the infrastructure is of great value to the Americans.
The Lobito Corridor "is a project and should be treated as such. It will not solve the problems of Angolans, it will not change the economy. That is just talk. It has a geopolitical and geostrategic value for the US," he said.
He also argued that Angolans need food production, employment and other conditions "that only a competent government, with serious and responsible people, can provide". "We don't have them, we need a serious government", he stressed.
"We have a government that serves the President (of the Republic) and the President (of the Republic) serves himself, he is the only one who decides and has power. Our lives will not change, because we have a bad government", concluded Rafael Marques.
