But Angola's schools are badly funded. Joao Castro Lemos, an Imperial Santana administrator, said many of his students didn't have basic supplies such as pencils.
A clinic FESA built for residents of the dirt-poor Pentrangol neighborhood of Luanda had similar problems. The pharmacy's shelves held only a few medications, mostly antibiotics. There was an X-ray room, but FESA hadn't supplied an X-ray machine. The only ambulance, pictured in FESA's 2002 annual report, broke down long ago.
In a treatment room for malnourished kids, about 30 women and children sat on mattresses on the floor while a nurse made a thin meat broth. The storeroom was empty save for a few sacks of cornmeal, four onions, powdered milk and a powder to make soybean porridge. Much of the clinic's paltry supplies were provided by European charities and the Japanese government.
Leader's Birthday Party
Every August, FESA sponsors a week of festivities in honor of Dos Santos' birthday, from concerts to soccer tournaments. Last year, state TV, radio and newspapers featured extensive coverage of "FESA Week" events. TV announcers read numerous tributes to Dos Santos from Angolan political figures. One sports radio station even featured a lengthy special report on the president's soccer prowess as a teenager.
A group of the president's business allies flew in Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias for two concerts. One was a private affair; the other was a "Social Gala for All of Society," but the $200 admission price limited the audience to Angola's elite.
The high point of the week is a party on Aug. 28, Dos Santos' birthday. On that morning last year, hundreds of people converged on a soccer stadium, many of them bused or trucked in by FESA. They wore foundation T-shirts and waved little flags with its insignia.
"Let's make a celebration for our president," an emcee shouted. Children representing Angola's provinces sang and danced. A contingent from Cabinda, where ChevronTexaco's operations are based, had their hair arranged in long, spiky cornrows and wore white fringed skirts. Another group representing peasants from northern Uige province carried hoes on their shoulders.
After the performance, Dos Santos cut a huge, three-tier cake as the audience sang "Happy Birthday."
In parting remarks to state TV, he said: "I'm happy because it's my birthday. But I'd be happier if our country was different, if there weren't children on the street, if there was less misery."
Times staff writer Warren Vieth and researcher Mark Madden in Washington contributed to this report.
*
COMING NEXT
Latin America has replaced the Middle East as the leading source of oil imports to the United States. In Colombia, an important U.S. ally and key to stability in the region, Washington's efforts to fight the drug trade have expanded to battling leftist guerrillas and helping secure oil operations that the rebels attack.
