Many Angolans Aren't Impressed by President Biden's Visit

Angolan authorities have made a big deal of the visit, declaring that the next two days will be work-free in Luanda, the country’s capital. Biden's arrival also led to heavy traffic. Online, not too many Angolans are enthused by the disruptions to their daily routine, although the work-free days are welcome.

Speaking to VOA Português, several citizenssaid there is unrest in Luanda, and others added that they don’t know the purpose of the visit. X user @Santosngolamuc1lamented the blocking of several roads in response to the VOA Português report.

X user @TallAngolanshared a video of a long, unmoving traffic. "It's not even Biden's fault, but our leaders who humiliate themselves for everything and nothing just for money," @eudembobatchilywrote in response to the video.

Back in October, less than a week before Biden was initially scheduled to visit, the anonymous aggregate X account @Angolansposted a video of emergency road repairs as a way for the Angolan government to impress Biden.

Biden's trip was postponed from mid-October due to Hurricane Milton in Florida. Before flying to Angola, the American presidentstopped by Cape Verde, where he met with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva. The choice of Angola is strategic, as a significant focus for Biden will be the railway project that connects the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to the Angolan port city of Lobito.

When completed, the railway will link the mines in the DRC and Zambia's copper belt to Lobito for export to the West. Congo has rich deposits of lithium and copper and is estimated to have more than half of the world's cobalt deposits.

Observers have stated that the move is for the U.S. togain a competitive foothold in Africa as China's economic influence grows. Angola had aresource-for-infrastructure deal with China, exchanging crude oil for infrastructural projects, including repairs on the Benguela railway line, which was largely destroyed during decades of civil war and will form part of the Lobito corridor when fully renovated.

Parts of Luanda have been decorated with posters of Angolan President João Lourenço and Biden, announcing the U.S. president's visit as a hype affair. "African leaders love bending over backward to impress these Western leaders who just want their resources," the handler of @Angolanswrote in a post.

Many Angolans are unimpressed that the government is making a big deal out of Biden's visit. The country faces a cost-of-living crisis, and Lourenço has been accused of forcefully responding to civil dissent. Earlier this year, Angolan lawmakers approved a lawbanning public protests in response to last year's deadly demonstrations against the hike in petrol prices as well as this June’s widespread protests against the country's economic decline.