The 27 May in Angola: a view from below

Cuban and MPLA troops, 1970s

A historical paper by Lara Pawson about the 1977 massacre of around 25,000 black members and supporters of the Marxist-Leninist national liberation movement the MPLA, by the MPLA government itself, aided by Cuban troops under the command of Raul Castro.

Attachments

pawson-lara-the-27-may-in-angola.pdf (125.34 KB)

Comments

still a conflict where I am

still a conflict where I am really tempted not to take sides, remember reading from both bourgeois and leftwing sources which weren't uncritical at all towards the Neto wing of the MPLA that the suppressed wing around Nito Alves had some very unpleasant qualities (and probably also the support of the Soviet Union) ... doesn't of course justify what the regime and the Cuban soldiers did towards the loosing side

Entdinglichung wrote: still a

Entdinglichung

still a conflict where I am really tempted not to take sides, remember reading from both bourgeois and leftwing sources which weren't uncritical at all towards the Neto wing of the MPLA that the suppressed wing around Nito Alves had some very unpleasant qualities (and probably also the support of the Soviet Union) ... doesn't of course justify what the regime and the Cuban soldiers did towards the loosing side

Yeah of course. The plotters weren't worthy of support as such (although in terms of their standing up for better quality with the black working class that is entirely valid), however the mass murder of thousands of working class people is inexcusable

the analysis of the Angolan

the analysis of the Angolan Trotskyists back then was probably to some extent correct: the petty bourgeois nationalist wing of the MPLA (backed by Cuba and in control of the majority of the army) against the stalinist/pro-soviet wing (with stronger proletarian/urban poor support and in control of the ministry of the interior); have only a German text about the topic