Angolans expect a change of face but little more, as Dos Santos departs and Joao Lourenco steps up
Lisbon/Luanda — As Joao Lourenco stands on the brink of realising his 16-year ambition to become Angola’s president, many of his fellow citizens wonder whether he can bring about change in one of the world’s most unequal countries. Lourenco, commonly known as J-Lo, first signalled his desire to hold the southern African nation’s top office in 2001 when Jose Eduardo dos Santos hinted he was ready to step down, and then changed his mind. Now with the electoral commission showing the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) winning Wednesday’s election, its candidate, Lourenco, is set to move into the presidential palace overlooking the bay of Luanda, the capital. A former deputy parliamentary speaker and an army general, Lourenco, 63, is a familiar face to most Angolans. He has vowed to fight corruption and poverty in a country where more than a third of the population of 27-million lives on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank. Yet with Dos Santos in pow...
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