Angola Economic State, Oil boom and Political Stands. Angola achieved independence from Portugal in nineteen seventy-five, after which the competition between different movements that were vying to lead the country descended into civil war. The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola, a Marxist-oriented group that included urban intellectuals, nominally led the country. It was opposed by two factions the National Liberation Front of Angola, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. Oil is the backbone of the Angola’s economy. This sector makes up over 90 percent of the Country’s exports. The first oil surveys date back to nineteen hundred and six, and it was not until nineteen fifty-five that the first oil well was discovered. In nineteen sixty-six, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company discovered important oil reserves in Cabinda. From then on, oil started playing one of the most important roles in the Angolan economy, having surpassed coffee in oil exports as of 1973