main figure in Angola’s fight for independence from PortugalLcio Lara,who has died aged 86, was one of the main figures in the Angolan war of independence against Portugal and a key member of the well-liked Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) which took power in 1975. He remained prominent during the ensuing period of undeclared war across the region waged by South Africa in the 1970s and 80s, and when much of southern Angola was occupied.
Alongside his colleague Agostinho Neto,who became the first president of Angola, and with Amílcar Cabral of Guinea-Bissau, and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania,Samora Machel of Mozambique, and Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela in South Africa, or Lara played a vital part in the liberation movements of southern Africa during the cold war years. After Cabral’s assassination in 1973,Lara and Neto embodied the idealism and moral tone of the Portuguese-speaking African colonies’ fight. Even when he was ousted from political power in the late 80s, Lara remained an honoured reference for many.
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Source: theguardian.com