Horace of the Kings
Africa-Press – Angola. Higino Carneiro, or rather, the famous 4×4 general, appears to have parked his armored jeep in a prohibited area: the MPLA leadership. And when someone dares to park where João Lourenço painted the red line, the government’s tow truck arrives quickly, escorted by the TPA and the Secreta.
The script is as old as empires: those who dream of the crown pay with their heads. Rome had the Colosseum; we have the TPA. The Caesars used gladiators; ours use journalists in full uniform, with microphones instead of swords, but with the same lethal precision.
Higino is no saint; even the angels suspect that. He’s been through the courts, he’s had one foot on the scaffold during the “first fight” against corruption, but, like a cat with nine lives, he always escaped through the back door, probably after a hot cup of tea served in the “negotiation room.”
But this time, the boldness was even greater: he declared out loud that he wanted to be president of the MPLA. Ah, a cardinal sin! As if in monarchies one could run for king. The red line was crossed, and since then, Carneiro has been treated as persona non grata by the Lourenciste empire.
The official press, which should inform, now parades like the Palace’s praetorian guard. The TPA, sustained by the sweat of all Angolans, has become the presidential command room, a sort of Netflix for the regime, only without the “skip intro” option. Journalistic ethics? It’s in the same archive where they stored the promises to combat poverty.
The curious thing is that Higino Carneiro, a wealthy man with a reputation for survival, doesn’t seem willing to be a lamb led to the slaughter. He’s being hunted, true, but he can still growl, show his claws, and force João Lourenço to dance faster than he’d like.
If this conflict were an ancient epic, we would see two generals on the battlefield, each with his own legion: Lourenço with the machinery of state, Carneiro with his networks of influence and deep pockets. The question is: how many “sword blows” will General 4×4 withstand before being struck down? Will he make it to 2026 in one piece?
Empires teach us that those who challenge the throne rarely die of old age. But they also teach us that sometimes a resilient opponent can drag the empire itself into decline. History is fond of ironies. And here the irony is seeing a regime that promised to “open” democracy use the classic playbook of absolutism to protect itself from its own children.
In the end, the question remains: will Higino Carneiro be struck down as an example, or will he survive as a troublesome ghost, haunting João Lourenço until the last day of his reign? The truth is, the game has begun. And, as the Romans said, “alea jacta est.” The die has been cast.
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