The national flag of Angola came into use at independence on November 11, 1975. It is split horizontally into an upper red half and a lower black half. Like in some other African countries this flag is a modification of the ruling party's flag. The guerrilla movement and later governing party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) used the same design with a golden star in the centre. Red stood for socialism and black for Africa. The star was modelled after the red star of the Soviet Union, which sponsored the MPLA. Later the explanation was made less partywise: The red is for the blood spilt by Angolans during their independence struggles, while the black is for the continent of Africa. The symbol in the middle is of a crossed cog wheel (representing workers and industry) and machete (representing the peasantry) with a gold star. It was adopted during a time when Angola had a Marxist government, and it thus supposed to evoke the image of the hammer and sickle found on the flag of the former Soviet Union, a common symbol of Communism. The flag is most recently described and explained in article 162 of the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Angola (Constitution) of August 25, 1992. The Angola flag has remained controversial. Some see it as an excessively political symbol, pointing out the similarity with the MPLA's party flag. It has also been criticised for representing memories of Angola's bloody and violent past, instead of hope for the future.