This new system created even more divisions in Angolan society by separating the population into groups, which actively competed with one another.  The old Afro-Portuguese families, who often identified economically and culturally with the white settlers, saw their historical privileges taken away and became increasingly critical of the colonial government and at odds with white settlers.  Mestiços also felt threatened by the newly educated class of Africans, who were seen as usurping their traditional roles in the colonial hierarchy.  This split within the assimilado group carried on through the civil war, with the MPLA leadership coming mostly from the older established group, and the leaders of FNLA and UNITA from the newer group. 