Despite the boost from higher oil prices, the ruling party has presided over a hefty fall in living standards and broken promises on job creation, President João Lourenço and the ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) approached the 24 August general election still favoured to win. If it does win it won’t be on the strength of the MPLA’s economic record since Lourenço took over from former President José Eduardo dos Santos in September 2017, despite a recent improvement in Angola’s growth prospects as it emerges from half a decade of recession. At least one senior economist questions why, given this record, Angola’s urban poor would return the ruling party to power.