From Cabinda to Cunene': Monuments and the Construction of Angolan Nationalism since 1975

Since coming to power in 1975, the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) government of Angola has constructed a nationalist narrative that serves to honour and legitimise its rule. This article analyses the concrete and symbolic articulations of this dominant national narrative through the lens of monuments: the Heroínas monument, the Agostinho Neto Mausoleum, the Kifangondo monument, and the Museum of the Armed Forces at São Miguel Fort. Due to the exclusivist nationalism presented in these spaces, alternative narratives and dissenting voices use unofficial arenas such as blogs to exchange ideas and question dominant narratives. Activists have also appropriated certain monuments to challenge dominant discourses publicly.