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{{Short description|Ruling party of Angola since 1975}}
{{For|the rebel group in Mali|People's Movement for the Liberation of Azawad}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola
| native_name      = Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola
| logo             = MPLA Party logo.svg
| logo_size        = 115px
| colorcode        = {{Party color|MPLA}}
| abbreviation     = MPLA
| leader1_title    = Chairman
| leader1_name     = [[João Lourenço]]
| leader2_title    = {{nowrap|Secretary-General}}
| leader2_name     = Paulo Pombolo
| founders         = [[Ilídio Machado]]<br />[[Viriato da Cruz]]<br />[[Mário Pinto de Andrade]]<br />[[Lúcio Lara]]
| founded          = 10 December 1956<br>({{age in years and days|1956|12|10}})
| merger           = [[Party of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola|PLUAA]]<br />[[Angolan Communist Party|PCA]]
| headquarters     = [[Luanda]], [[Luanda Province]]
| newspaper        = ''[[Jornal de Angola]]''
| wing1_title      = [[Military|Armed wing]]
| wing1            = [[People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola]]<br>(1956–1993)
| youth_wing       = [[Youth of MPLA]], [[Agostinho Neto Pioneer Organization]]
| womens_wing      = [[Organization of Angolan Women]]
| membership       = 3,000,000<ref>{{cite news |date=18 August 2022 |title= MPLA: João Lourenço diz que teve a coragem de lutar contra a corrupção  |trans-title= |url=https://observador.pt/2022/08/18/mpla-joao-lourenco-diz-que-teve-a-coragem-de-lutar-contra-a-corrupcao/ |language=Portuguese |work=[[Observador]] |publisher= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830151951/https://observador.pt/2022/08/18/mpla-joao-lourenco-diz-que-teve-a-coragem-de-lutar-contra-a-corrupcao/ |archive-date=30 August 2022 }}</ref>
| membership_year  = 2022
| ideology         = {{ubl|class=nowrap|
 |[[Nationalism|Angolan nationalism]]<ref name=fernando>{{cite book |last1=Andresen Guimarães |first1=Fernando |date=2001 |title=The Origins of the Angolan Civil War: Foreign Intervention and Domestic Political Conflict, 1961–76 |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-230-59826-3 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |doi=10.1007/978-0-230-59826-3 |doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Péclard |first1=Didier |date=31 August 2021 |title=Nationalism, Liberation, and Decolonization in Angola |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-640 |journal=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Academic – African History]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.640 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
 |[[Social democracy]]<ref name=social>{{cite book |last1=C. Docherty |first1=James |last2=Lamb |first2=Peter |date=2006 |title=Historical Dictionary of Socialism |url=https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781442258266/Historical-Dictionary-of-Socialism-Third-Edition |publisher=Scarecrow Press |page=276 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=poddar>{{cite book |editor-last1=Poddar |editor-first1=Prem |editor-last2=S. Patke |editor-first2=Rajeev |editor-last3=Jensen |editor-first3=Lars |date=2008 |title=A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures – Continental Europe and its Empires |url= |publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]] |pages=480–481 |quote= }}</ref>
 |[[Democratic socialism]]<ref name=social/><ref name="MPLA">{{cite web |title=Estatuto do MPLA |url=https://mpla.ao/ao/documentos/estatuto-do-mpla/ |website=MPLA.ao |publisher=MPLA |access-date=8 June 2022 |archive-date=8 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608072225/https://mpla.ao/ao/documentos/estatuto-do-mpla/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 |[[African socialism]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web | title=Agostinho Neto'S Deeds Discussed at Round Table in Nigeria - Angola | url=https://www.africa-press.net/angola/all-news/agostinho-netos-deeds-discussed-at-round-table-in-nigeria | access-date=2025-07-30 | website=www.africa-press.net}}</ref>
 |'''1976–1990:'''<ref name=bogdan>{{cite book |editor-last1=Szajkowski |editor-first1=Bogdan |date=1981 |title=Marxist Governments: A World Survey |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-1-349-04329-3 |publisher=[[Macmillan Publishers]] |pages=72–76 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-04329-3 |isbn=978-1-349-04331-6 }}</ref><ref name=fernando/><ref name=afro>{{cite book |last1=Hodges |first1=Tony |date=2001 |title=Angola: From Afro-Stalinism to Petro-Diamond Capitalism |url= |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ball |first1=Jeremy |date=20 November 2017 |title=The History of Angola |url-access=subscription |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-180 |journal=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Academic – African History]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=20 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.180 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 |quote=The MPLA adopted Marxism in 1976, which strengthened its ties to Cuba and the Soviet Union. }}</ref>
 |[[Communism]]<ref name=bogdan/><ref name=poddar/><ref name=afro/>
 |[[Marxism-Leninism]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Drew |editor-first1=Allison |date=1 May 2013 |chapter=16 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/35402/chapter-abstract/302648393?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false |chapter-url-access=subscription |title=The Oxford Handbook of the History of Communism |url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/35402 |url-access= |publisher=[[Oxford University Press|Oxford Academic]] |pages=285–302 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199602056.013.003 }}</ref><ref name=Report>{{cite report |date=February 1990 |title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices For 1989 |url=https://archive.org/stream/countryreportson1989unit/countryreportson1989unit_djvu.txt |location=US |publisher=Department of State |access-date=2025-05-20}}</ref>
 |[[Left-wing nationalism]]<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Vanaik  |first1=Achin |date=13 December 2021 |title=Humanitarian Intervention Is a Cloak for Military Aggression |url=https://jacobin.com/2021/12/humanitarian-intervention-cloak-military-aggression-human-rights |url-status=live |magazine=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |publisher= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701020108/https://jacobin.com/2021/12/humanitarian-intervention-cloak-military-aggression-human-rights |archive-date=1 July 2022 }}</ref>
 |[[Pan-Africanism]]<ref name="auto"/>
}}
| position         = {{ubl|class=nowrap|
 |[[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]
 |'''1976–1990:'''
 |[[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
}}
| national         = 
| international    = [[Socialist International]] (since 2006)<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Socialism|year=2006|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|The Scarecrow Press]]|isbn=978-0-8108-5560-1|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/34254398/Docherty-Historical-Dictionary-of-Socialism|first1=Peter|last1=Lamb|edition=Second|first2=James C.|last2=Docherty|access-date=12 September 2017|archive-date=23 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223115609/http://www.scribd.com/doc/34254398/Docherty-Historical-Dictionary-of-Socialism|url-status=dead |page=270 }}</ref>
| affiliation1_title = African affiliation
| affiliation1     = {{hlist|[[Former Liberation Movements of Southern Africa|FLMSA]]|[[Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies|CONCP]]}}
| colours          = {{colorbox|{{Party color|MPLA}}|border=silver}} [[Red]]
| anthem           = 
| seats1_title     = [[National Assembly (Angola)|National Assembly]]
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|124|220|hex={{party colour|MPLA}}}}
| seats2_title     = [[SADC Parliamentary Forum|SADC PF]]
| seats2           = {{Composition bar|0|5|hex={{party colour|MPLA}}}}
| seats3_title     = [[Pan-African Parliament]]
| seats3           = {{Composition bar|0|5|hex={{party colour|MPLA}}}}
| symbol           = 
| flag             = File:Flag of MPLA.svg
| flag_title       = Party flag
| slogan           = {{plainlist|
*{{*}} "Peace, Work and Liberty"
*{{*}} "MPLA e os Novos Desafios"<ref>{{cite news |date=15 June 2019 |title= Comité central do MPLA alargado para 497 membros  |trans-title=MPLA central committee enlarged to 497 members |url=https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/economia/mundo/africa/detalhe/comite-central-do-mpla-alargado-para-497-membros |language=Portuguese |work=[[Jornal de Angola]] |publisher= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616142042/https://www.jornaldenegocios.pt/economia/mundo/africa/detalhe/comite-central-do-mpla-alargado-para-497-membros |archive-date=16 June 2019 |quote=O conclave, o primeiro convocado pelo presidente do partido e chefe de Estado, João Lourenço, decorreu sob o lema "MPLA e os Novos Desafios" |trans-quote=The conclave, the first called by the party's president and head of state, João Lourenço, took place under the slogan "MPLA and the New Challenges". }}</ref>
}}
| website          = {{Official URL}}
| country          = Angola
}}
The '''People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola''' ({{langx|pt|Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola}}, [[Abbreviation|abbr.]] '''MPLA'''), from 1977 to 1990 called the '''People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party''' ({{Langx|pt|Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola – Partido do Trabalho|link=no}}), is an [[Angola]]n  [[social democratic]] [[political party]]. The MPLA fought against the [[Portuguese Army]] in the [[Angolan War of Independence]] from 1961 to 1974, and defeated the [[UNITA|National Union for the Total Independence of Angola]] (UNITA) and the [[National Liberation Front of Angola]] (FNLA) in the [[Angolan Civil War]]. The party has ruled Angola since the country's independence from [[Portugal]] in 1975, being the ''de facto'' government throughout the civil war and continuing to rule afterwards.

==Formation==
The articulation for the founding of the MPLA took place, mainly, within two political organizations: the [[Party of the United Struggle for Africans in Angola]] (PLUAA), founded in 1953 by [[Viriato da Cruz]]<ref name="commparty">{{cite book|year=1977|title=Africa Year Book and Who's who|pages=238}}</ref><ref name="merger">{{cite book|last=Tvedten|first=Inge|year=1997|title=Angola: Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction|url=https://archive.org/details/angolastrugglefo00tved|url-access=registration|pages=[https://archive.org/details/angolastrugglefo00tved/page/29 29]}}</ref> and Matias Miguéis, which operated incipiently until 1954 due to a lack of mass mobilization, being overshadowed by other anti-colonial political and cultural nationalist groups that already operated in Angola and Portugal, and; the [[Angolan Communist Party]] (PCA), founded in December 1955 as a Luanda-based cell of the [[Portuguese Communist Party]] (PCP), initially grouping together prominent leaders of Angolan nationalism, such as [[Viriato da Cruz]], [[Ilídio Machado]], [[Mário António]] and [[António Jacinto]], and, soon after, [[Lúcio Lara]], [[Mário Pinto de Andrade]] and [[Joaquim Pinto de Andrade]].

The PCA leadership realized that the growth of the nationalist struggle was hindered by the reluctance to accept the [[Marxist-Leninist]] [[class struggle]] that the party proposed, as well as by the persecution imposed by the Estado Novo regime on any organization of a communist or socialist nature. Viriato da Cruz, a member of both organizations, arranged for the merger and organization of the PCA with the PLUAA — the latter a non-communist party and, from mid-1955 onwards, already with a mass popular organization. Discussions advanced towards the formation of a broad-front nationalist movement that would encompass diluted organizations within it, without using symbols or explicitly disseminating Marxist-Leninist theories. Thus, on December 10, 1956, in a meeting at Ilídio Machado's house in Luanda, he, Viriato da Cruz and Mário Pinto de Andrade wrote the "Manifesto of 1956" for a "broad Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola", as a program for regrouping nationalist struggles. In addition to the aforementioned names who led the PLUAA and the PCA, the following joined the manifesto creating the MPLA: [[Liceu Vieira Dias]], Chico Machado, Germano Joy Gomes, Manuel dos Santos Capicua, Noé Saúde, [[Deolinda Rodrigues]], Manuel Bento Ribeiro, [[Paulo Teixeira Jorge]], Adriano Sebastião Kiwima and [[Amílcar Cabral]]. Ilídio Machado, a key member of the PCA and the African National League, was elected the first president of the MPLA, remaining in office until his arrest in 1959. Anticipating the siege by the Portuguese political police, Ilídio Machado ordered the withdrawal of part of the MPLA leadership from Luanda by September 1957, entrusting Mário de Andrade and Viriato da Cruz with the formation of a foreign relations nucleus and headquarters in exile in [[Paris]] and [[Frankfurt am Main]]. Ilídio Machado, Joaquim de Andrade, Sebastião Kiwima and [[Manuel Pedro Pacavira]] remained in Luanda leading the actions of the MPLA. When arrested, Ilídio Machado was replaced by the secretary-general Mário de Andrade, who held the position in exile between 1959 and 1960; of leadership, only [[António Jacinto]], Pacavira and Joaquim de Andrade remained in Angola coordinating the activities of the movement that still had few militants. Other groups later merged into MPLA, such as the [[Movement for the National Independence of Angola]] (MINA) and the [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Angola]] (FDLA).<ref>John Marcum, ''The Angolan Revolution'', vol. I, ''The Anatomy of an Explosion (1950–1962)'', Cambridge/Mass. & London, MIT Press, 1969.</ref>

The MPLA's core base includes the [[Ambundu]] ethnic group and the educated [[intelligentsia]] of the capital city, [[Luanda]]. The party formerly had links to European and Soviet [[communist parties]], but today is a full-member of the [[Socialist International]] grouping of [[social democratic]] parties. The armed wing of MPLA was the [[People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola]] (FAPLA). The FAPLA later (1975–1991) became the national armed forces of the country when the MPLA took control of the government.

In 1961, the MPLA joined the [[African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde]] (PAIGC), its [[fraternal party]] in [[Guinea-Bissau]] and [[Cabo Verde]], in direct combat against the [[Portuguese empire]] in Africa. The following year, the expanded umbrella group [[Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies]] (CONCP) replaced FRAIN, adding [[FRELIMO]] of [[Mozambique]] and the CLSTP, forerunner of the [[Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe]] (MLSTP).

In the early 1970s, the MPLA's guerrilla activities were reduced, due to the fierce counter-insurgency campaigns of the [[Portuguese military]]. At the same time, internal conflicts caused the movement to temporarily split into three factions (Ala Presidencialista or Presidentialist Wing, Revolta Activa or Active Revolt, and Revolta do Leste or Eastern Revolt). By 1974/75, this situation had been overcome with renewed cooperation, but it scarred the party.<ref>Benjamin Almeida (2011). ''Angola: O Conflito na Frente Leste''. Lisbon: Âncora. {{ISBN|978 972 780 3156}}.</ref>

==Independence and civil war==
The [[Carnation Revolution]] in [[Lisbon]], Portugal in 1974 established a military government. It promptly ceased anti-independence fighting in Angola and agreed to transfer power to a coalition of three pro-independence Angolan movements. 

The coalition quickly broke down and the newly independent Angola broke into a state of [[Angolan Civil War|civil war]]. Maintaining control over Luanda and the lucrative oil fields of the Atlantic coastline, [[Agostinho Neto]], the leader of the MPLA, declared the independence of the Portuguese [[Overseas Province of Angola]] as the [[People's Republic of Angola]] on 11 November 1975, in accordance with the [[Alvor Accords]].<ref name=beginning>{{cite book|last=Rothchild|first=Donald S.|year=1997|title=Managing Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Pressures and Incentives for Cooperation|pages=115–116 |isbn=0-8157-7593-8|publisher=Brookings Institution Press}}</ref> 

UNITA and FNLA together declared Angolan independence in [[Huambo]]. These differences reignited civil war between UNITA & FNLA and the MPLA, with the latter winning the upper hand. Agostinho Neto became the first president upon independence. He was succeeded after his death in 1979 by [[José Eduardo dos Santos]].

[[File:Mpla.jpg|thumb|left|MPLA poster. The slogan translates as "Victory is certain".]]

In 1974–1976, [[South Africa]] and [[Zaire]] intervened militarily in favor of FNLA and UNITA. The [[United States]] strongly aided the two groups. [[Cuba]] in turn intervened in 1975 to aid the MPLA against South African intervention, and the [[Soviet Union]] aided both Cuba and the MPLA government during the war. 

In November 1980, the MPLA had all but pushed UNITA into the bush, and the South African forces withdrew. {{citation needed|date=August 2023}} The [[United States Congress]] barred further U.S. military involvement in the country, against the wishes of President [[Ronald Reagan]], as the representatives feared getting into a situation similar to the [[Vietnam War]]. In 1976 the FNLA withdrew its troops to their bases in [[Zaire]]. Part of them joined the [[32 Battalion (South Africa)|32 Battalion]], formed by South Africa in order to receive anti-MPLA Angolans.

At its first congress in 1977, the MPLA adopted [[Marxism–Leninism]] as the party ideology. It added ''Partido do Trabalho'' (Labour Party) to its name.<ref name=poddar/>

After [[Nito Alves]]'s attempted ''coup'' in 1977, Neto ordered the killing of suspected followers and sympathisers of "orthodox communism" inside and outside the party. During the coup, Cuban forces stationed in Angola sided with the MPLA leadership against the coup organizers.<ref>Georges A. Fauriol and Eva Loser. ''Cuba: The International Dimension'', 1990, p. 164.</ref> Estimates for the number of Alves' followers killed by Cuban and MPLA troops in the aftermath range from 2,000 — 70,000 dead, with some placing the death toll at 18,000.<ref>Sulc, Lawrence. "Communists coming clean about their past atrocities", ''Human Events'' (13 October 1990): 12.</ref><ref>Ramaer, J. C. ''Soviet Communism: The Essentials''. Second Edition. Translated by G. E. Luton. Stichting Vrijheid, Vrede, Verdediging (Belgium), 1986.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BlJAwAAQBAJ|title=In the Name of the People: Angola's Forgotten Massacre|last=Pawson|first=Lara|date=30 April 2014|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9781780769059|language=en}}</ref> 

After the violent internal conflict called [[Fractionism]], the MPLA declared that it would follow the socialist, not the communist, model. But it did maintain close ties with the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc, establishing [[Socialism|socialist]] economic policies and a [[one-party state]]{{citation needed| reason=no support for 70,000 gives besides "Human Events", which as reliable as Pravda.|date=June 2015}}. Several thousand Cuban troops remained in the country to combat UNITA fighters and bolster the regime's security.

When the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union fell, the MPLA abandoned its Marxist–Leninist ideology. On its third congress in December 1990, it declared [[social democracy]] to be its official ideology.<ref name=poddar/>

The MPLA emerged victorious in Angola's 1992 general election, but eight opposition parties rejected the election as rigged. UNITA sent negotiators to Luanda, where they were killed. As a consequence, hostilities erupted in the city, and immediately spread to other parts of the country. Tens of thousands of UNITA and FNLA sympathizers were subsequently killed nationwide by MPLA forces, in what is known as the [[Halloween Massacre (Angola)|Halloween Massacre]]. The civil war resumed.<ref name=Dictionary>[https://books.google.com/books?id=V_qm7zPo87oC&dq=Angola+Halloween+Massacre&pg=PA67 ''Historical Dictionary of Angola'' by W. Martin James, Susan Herlin Broadhead] on Google Books</ref><ref>National Society for Human Rights, ''Ending the Angolan Conflict,'' Windhoek, Namibia, 3 July 2000.</ref><ref>John Matthew, Letters, ''The Times'', UK, 6 November 1992 (election observer).</ref><ref>[http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/ang1992elect3.htm Angola: Resumption of the civil war] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902221909/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/ang1992elect3.htm |date=2 September 2010 }} EISA</ref> 

The war continued until 2002, when UNITA leader [[Jonas Savimbi]] was killed. The two parties agreed to a ceasefire, and a plan was laid out for UNITA to demobilize and become a political party. More than 500,000 civilians were killed during the civil war.<ref name=angolagate>{{cite web|author=Madsen, Wayne |date=17 May 2002 |url=http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=2576 |title=Report Alleges US Role in Angola Arms-for-Oil Scandal |publisher=CorpWatch |access-date=10 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105182138/http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=2576 |archive-date=5 January 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Human rights observers have accused the MPLA of "genocidal atrocities", "systematic extermination", "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity during the civil war."<ref>National Society for Human Rights, Press Releases, 12 September 2000, 16 May 2001.</ref> Political scientist [[Rudolph Rummel]] estimated that the MPLA were responsible for between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in [[democide]] from 1975 to 1987.<ref>[http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.TAB1.GIF "Power Kills"], Hawaii.edu</ref>

==Human rights record==
The MPLA government of Angola has been accused of [[human rights]] violations such as [[arbitrary arrest and detention]] and torture<ref name="zerr">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7018226.stm|title=UN reports Angola 'torture' abuse|publisher=BBC News|access-date=28 September 2007 | date=28 September 2007}}</ref> by international organisations, including [[Amnesty International]]<ref>[http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/africa/angola Angola]. Amnesty USA.</ref> and [[Human Rights Watch]].<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/angola Angola]. Human Rights Watch.</ref> The MPLA government hired Samuels International Associates Inc in 2008 to help improve Angola's global image and "'facilitate' its meetings with senior U.S. officials".<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/how-a-us-agency-cleaned-up-rwandas-genocide-stained-image/article542612/ "How a U.S. agency cleaned up Rwanda's genocide-stained image"], ''The Globe and Mail''.</ref>

==Party organizations==
At present, major mass organizations of the MPLA-PT include the [[Angolan Women's Organization]] (''Organização da Mulher Angolana'' or O.M.A.), [[National Union of Angolan Workers]] (''União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos'' or U.N.T.A.), [[Agostinho Neto Pioneer Organization]] (''Organização de Pioneiros de Agostinho Neto'' or O.P.A.), and the [[Youth of MPLA]] (''Juventude do MPLA'' or J.M.P.L.A.).

==Foreign support==
During both the [[Portuguese Colonial War]] and the [[Angolan Civil War]], the MPLA received military and humanitarian support primarily from the governments of [[Algeria]], [[Brazil]],<ref name="Brazilian pilots">{{Cite web|url=https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/unita/en0510991.htm|title=KWACHA UNITA PRESS THE NATIONAL UNION FOR THE TOTAL INDEPENDENCE OF ANGOLA UNITA STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE POLITICAL COMMISSION 1999 – Year of Generalised Popular Resistance – COMMUNIQUE NO. 39/CPP/99|website=Federation of American Scientists|access-date=3 December 2022|archive-date=5 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220805192503/https://irp.fas.org/world/para/docs/unita/en0510991.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Bulgarian People's Republic]], [[East Germany]],<ref name="bulgaria">{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Herbert M|year=2004|title=Ambiguous Order: Military Forces In African States|pages=81}}</ref> [[Cape Verde]], [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic]],<ref name="czech">{{cite book|last=Wright|first=George|year=1997|title=The Destruction of a Nation: United States Policy Towards Angola Since 1945|pages=9–10}}</ref> [[People's Republic of the Congo|the Congo]], [[Cuba]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mexico]], [[Morocco]], the [[Mozambican People's Republic]], [[Nigeria]], [[North Korea]], the [[Polish People's Republic]], [[China]], the [[Romanian Socialist Republic]], [[São Tomé and Príncipe]], [[Somalia]],<ref name="romania">{{cite book|last=Nzongola-Ntalaja|first=Georges|author2=Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein|year=1986|title=The Crisis in Zaire|pages=193–194}}</ref> the [[Soviet Union]], [[Sudan]],<ref name="czech"/> [[Tanzania]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mongabay.com/history/angola/angola-ascendancy_of_the_mpla.html|title=Angola-Ascendancy of the MPLA|website=www.mongabay.com|access-date=6 July 2017}}</ref> [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|Libya]]<ref>{{Citation |first=Mahmoud |last=Gebril |title=Imagery and Ideology in U.S. Policy Toward Libya 1969–1982 |year=1988 |page=70}}</ref> and [[SFR Yugoslavia]]. While China did briefly support the MPLA,<ref name="china">{{cite book|last=China Study Centre (India)|year=1964|title=China Report|pages=25}}</ref> it also actively supported the MPLA's enemies, the FNLA and later UNITA, during the war for independence and the civil war. The switch was the result of [[Sino-Soviet split|tensions between China and the Soviet Union]] for dominance of the communist bloc, which almost led to war.<ref name="foreign">{{cite book|last=Walker|first=John Frederick|year=2004|title=A Certain Curve of Horn: The Hundred-Year Quest for the Giant Sable Antelope of Angola|pages=146}}</ref><ref name="otherforeign">{{cite book|last=Nzongola-Ntalaja|first=Georges|author2=Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein|year=1986|title=The Crisis in Zaire|pages=194}}</ref>

== Electoral history ==
In the [[1992 Angolan presidential election|1992 election]], MPLA-PT won 53.74% of the votes and 129 out of 227 seats in parliament; however, eight opposition parties rejected the 1992 elections as [[rigged election|rigged]].<ref name="Multiple1992">National Society for Human Rights, ''Ending the Angolan Conflict'', Windhoek, Namibia, 3 July 2000</ref> In the [[2008 Angolan parliamentary election|next election]], delayed until 2008 due to the civil war, the MPLA won 81.64% of the vote and 191 out of 220 parliamentary seats.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121021162648/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10053620.htm "Angolan ruling party gains about 82% of votes in legislative race"]. [[Xinhua]]. 17 September 2008.</ref> In the [[2012 Angolan legislative election|2012 legislative election]], the party won 71.84% of the vote and 175 of 220 parliamentary seats.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120903232012/http://www.eleicoes2012.cne.ao/paginas/paginas/dat99/DLG999999.htm "Eleicoes Gerais 2012: Resultados"]. Comissao Nacional Eleitoral Angola. Retrieved 29 November 2012.</ref>

In the 2022 [[2022 Angolan general election|general election]], MPLA won 124 parliamentary seats and about 51% of the vote. The largest opposition party, UNITA, secured 44% of the vote and 90 parliamentary seats. The tight race was the MPLA's worst showing at the polls in 30 years. However, nearly all opposition parties considered the result to be a fake.<ref>{{cite news |title=Angola after the election: No rest for the opposition – DW – 09/16/2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/angola-after-the-election-no-rest-for-the-opposition-nor-the-president/a-63154361 |work=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== Presidential elections ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Election
!Party candidate
!Votes
!%
!Result
|-
![[1992 Angolan general election|1992]]
| rowspan="2" |[[José Eduardo dos Santos]]
|1,953,335
|49.57%
|'''Elected''' {{Y}}
|-
![[2012 Angolan general election|2012]]
|4,135,503
|71.85%
|'''Elected'''  {{Y}}
|-
![[2017 Angolan legislative election|2017]]
| rowspan="2" |[[João Lourenço]]
|4,907,057
|61.08%
|'''Elected'''  {{Y}}
|-
![[2022 Angolan legislative election|2022]]
|3,209,429
|51.17%
|'''Elected'''  {{Y}}
|}

=== National Assembly elections ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
!Election
! Party leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! Position
! Result
|-
![[1980 Angolan legislative election|1980]]
| rowspan="5" |[[José Eduardo dos Santos]]
| colspan="2" |''Indirect election''
|{{Composition bar|229|229|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|New
|{{increase}} 1st
|{{yes|Sole legal party}}
|-
![[1986 Angolan legislative election|1986]]
| colspan="2" |''Indirect election''
|{{Composition bar|173|290|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|{{decrease}} 56
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes|Sole legal party}}
|-
![[1992 Angolan general election|1992]]
|2,124,126
|53.74%
|{{Composition bar|129|220|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|{{decrease}} 44
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Majority government}}
|-
![[2008 Angolan legislative election|2008]]
|5,266,216
|81.64%
|{{Composition bar|191|220|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|{{increase}} 62
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Supermajority government}}
|-
![[2012 Angolan legislative election|2012]]
|4,135,503
|71.85%
|{{Composition bar|175|220|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|{{decrease}} 16
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Supermajority government}}
|-
![[2017 Angolan legislative election|2017]]
| rowspan="2" |[[João Lourenço]]
|4,907,057
|61.08%
|{{Composition bar|150|220|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|{{decrease}} 25
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Supermajority government}}
|-
![[2022 Angolan general election|2022]]
|3,209,429
|51.17%
|{{Composition bar|124|220|hex={{party color|MPLA}}}}
|{{decrease}} 26
|{{steady}} 1st
|{{yes2|Majority government}}
|}

== In popular culture ==
* In 1976, reggae singer [[Tapper Zukie]] dedicated the song and album titled "M.P.L.A" to the movement.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/05/tappa-zukie-feature|title=Man Ah Warrior: The Tappa Zukie Story|date=4 May 2015|access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref>
* [[Pablo Moses]] dedicated the song "We Should be in Angola" (which appeared on his album ''Revolutionary Dream'') to the MPLA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Pablo-Moses-Revolutionary-Dream/master/204011|title=Pablo Moses – Revolutionary Dream|access-date=5 July 2021|website=Discogs|year=1975 }}</ref>
* [[The Sex Pistols]] singer [[John Lydon]] referred to the MPLA in the lyrics of "[[Anarchy in the U.K.]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genius.com/Sex-pistols-anarchy-in-the-uk-lyrics|title=Sex Pistols – Anarchy in the UK lyrics|access-date=5 July 2021|website=Genius}}</ref>
* The reggae band [[The Revolutionaries]] devoted an extended [[Dub music|dub]] mix record to the movement entitled "MPLA", recorded at [[Channel One Studios|Channel One]], engineered by [[King Tubby]] and released on the "Well Charge" label. The bass line and rhythm was based on "Freedom Blues" by [[Little Richard]]. The Revolutionaries also released an extended [[discomix]] entitled "Angola". Both tracks were later released on the ''Revolutionary Sounds'' album featuring [[Sly and Robbie]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Revolutionaries-Revolutionary-Sounds/release/1158893|title=Revolutionaries – Revolutionary Sounds|access-date=5 July 2021|website=Discogs|year=1976 }}</ref>
* The video game ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops II|Call of Duty: Black Ops 2]]'' features a level in which the player fought alongside the UNITA and Jonas Savimbi against the MPLA.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jan/14/call-of-duty-publisher-sued-by-family-of-angolan-rebel|title=Call of Duty publisher sued by family of Angolan rebel|newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 January 2016|via=www.theguardian.com|last1=Stuart |first1=Keith }}</ref>
* The video game ''[[Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain]]'' sets Missions 13–29 within the environs of the [[Angola]]-[[Zaire]] border region. Several references to the MPLA, CFA, and UNITA are made—with the in-universe mercenary group Diamond Dogs (led by [[player character]] [[Venom Snake]]) clashing with or aiding them in different missions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission 13 Pitch Dark |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/metal-gear-solid-5-the-phantom-pain/Mission_13_Pitch_Dark |website=Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain Wiki Guide |date=September 2015 |publisher=IGN |access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=June 2025}}

==See also==
* [[African independence movements]]
* [[Cuban intervention in Angola]]
* [[History of Angola]]
* [[List of current Angolan ministers]] (all MPLA members)
* [[Mário Pinto de Andrade]]
* [[Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [[David Birmingham]], ''A Short History of Modern Angola'', London: Hurst, 2015
* Inge Brinkmann, "War, Witches and Traitors: Cases from the MPLA's Eastern Front in Angola (1966–1975)", ''Journal of African History'', 44, 2003, pp.&nbsp;303–325
* Mario Albano, ''Angola: una rivoluzione in marcia'', Milano: Jaca Book, 1972
* [[Lúcio Lara]], ''Um amplo movimento: Itinerário do MPLA através de documentos e anotações'', vol. I, ''Até Fevereiro de 1961'', 2ª ed., Luanda: Lúcio & Ruth Lara, 1998; vol. II, ''1961–1962'', Luanda: Lúcio Lara, 2006; vol. III, ''1963–1964'', Luanda: Lúcio Lara, 2008

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://www.mpla.ao/}} {{In lang|pt}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120831220428/http://www.mpla2012.ao/ MPLA campaign site]
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