African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde a guerrilla warfare campaign in cooperation with its fraternal party umbrella group, the CONCP, during the Portuguese Colonial War. By 1973 the PAIGC controlled Guinea-Bissau, while Portugal's own Carnation Revolution in 1974 effectively dissolved the empire, relinquishing Cape Verde within the next year. After the wars of national liberation, the PAIGC established a socialist state within both territories under Amilcar Cabral's brother, Luís Cabral. Following a military coup in Guinea-Bissau that ousted Cabral in November 1980, the Cape Verde portion of the party became the PAICV in January 1981; it was headed by the President of Cape Verde, Aristides Pereira.
Santa Cruz, Cape Verde Praia were separated to become the Municipality of Santa Cruz. In 2005, a southern parish of the municipality was split off to become the Municipality of São Lourenço dos Órgãos. At the federal level, it belongs to the constituency of Santiago North. Since 2004, the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) is the ruling party of the municipality. The results of the latest elections, in 2016: The municipality of Santa Cruz is twinned with: Santa Cruz, Cape Verde Santa Cruz is a "concelho" (municipality) of Cape Verde. It is situated in the eastern part of the island