Blog 1: Change Unlikely From Angola Election, but Discontent Simmers

     Angolans will vote Friday for a new President, Although the citizens of Angolans are able to vote in a multi-party election the chance of removing their leader from power is slim to none. With the current party in power controlling the media the opposition is allowed little opportunity to campaign and gain supporters. The governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the group currently in power, has ruled the country for three decades. Due to the oppression of the opposition and its supporters it looks like power won't be changing hands any time soon.
    Angola is Africa's second largest producer of crude oil making it a very wealthy country. Sadly, millions of Angolans live bellow poverty in slums. Although the Chinese model of government that the Angolan unofficially fallows has brought slight improvements it is not evening the distribution of wealth. The country has had a long war torn past. When the last civil war ended in 2002 power changed hands. Sense the end of the war the country has become richer from crude with little of this money seen by the struggling people of Angola.
     Uneven distribution of wealth is not uncommon in any country but the imbalance here is extreme. When millions are living with out sufficient medical care, housing and food and a select few are living an extremely lavish lifestyle something needs to be done. It is discouraging to see protesters to The governing Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola forcefully silenced while trying to speak out against the corruption fueling the separation of wealth. Angola is not alone in their struggle for fair government, more equal money displacement and a peaceful, safe place to live.  Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda have experienced similar problems with inequality, violence and uneven distribution of wealth. The problems in Angola and these other countries can not be fixed quickly or simply but if opposing movements can gain more open supporters there is power in numbers. With a history filled with civil war it is unlikely that that a power change will occur peacefully. But there is some hope. Sense the end of the last civil war the Angolans have emphasized the importance of peace in their communities.

The New York Times
August 31, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/world/africa/change-unlikely-from-angola-election-but-discontent-simmers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=world