Estado Novo (
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
for "
New State", ; also known as the Second Republic) is the name of the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
authoritarian regime installed in 1933, following the army-led
coup d'état of 28 May 1926The 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of Estado Novo , National Revolution , was a military action that put an end to the unstable Portuguese First Republic and initiated the Ditadura Nacional that would last until the Carnation...
against the democratic
First RepublicThe Portuguese First Republic spans a complex 16 year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the Constitutional Monarchy marked by the 5 October 1910 revolution and the 28 May coup d'état of 1926...
. The Estado Novo was developed by
António de Oliveira SalazarAntónio de Oliveira Salazar,
GColIH,
GCTE,
GCSE served as the Prime Minister and dictator of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He was the President of the Republic in 1951, as interim...
, ruler of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. Under the Estado Novo regime, Portugal preserved a vast centuries-long overseas empire with a total area of 2,168,071 km
2.
Prelude
King Charles of Portugal confirmed colonial treaties of the 17th century that stabilized the situation in Portuguese Africa. These agreements were however unpopular in Portugal where they were seen as being to the disadvantage of the country. In addition, Portugal was twice declared bankrupt - on June 14, 1892, and again on May 10, 1902 - causing industrial disturbances, socialist and republican antagonism and press criticism of the monarchy. Carlos responded by appointing
João FrancoJoão Franco Ferreira Pinto Castelo Branco was a Portuguese politician and prime minister in the last years of the Portuguese monarchy. Facing republican dissent, João Franco established an authoritarian government in 1907...
as prime minister and subsequently accepting parliament's dissolution. In 1908, King Charles of Portugal was killed in a
regicide at LisbonThe Lisbon Regicide occurred on 1 February 1908 in the Terreiro do Paço, a public square in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. It involved the murder of Carlos I of Portugal and his heir apparent, Prince Luis Filipe, by assassins with republican sympathies....
. The Portuguese monarchy lasted until 5 October 1910, when through a
revolutionThe revolution of 1910 was a republican coup d'état that occurred in Portugal on 5 October 1910, which deposed King Manuel II and established the Portuguese First Republic....
it was overthrown and Portugal was proclaimed a
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
. The overthrow of the Portuguese monarchy in 1910 led to a sixteen-year struggle to sustain parliamentary democracy under republicanism - the Portuguese First Republic (1910–1926).
The
28th May 1926 coup d'étatThe 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of Estado Novo , National Revolution , was a military action that put an end to the unstable Portuguese First Republic and initiated the Ditadura Nacional that would last until the Carnation...
or, during the period of
Estado Novo, the National Revolution , was a military action that put an end to the chaotic Portuguese First Republic and initiated the
Ditadura NacionalThe Ditadura Nacional was the name of the Portuguese regime initiated by the election of President Óscar Carmona in 1928 that lasted until the adoption of the new constitution in 1933, when the régime changed its name to Estado Novo .-Timeline...
(National Dictatorship) (years later, renamed
Estado Novo).
António de Oliveira SalazarAntónio de Oliveira Salazar,
GColIH,
GCTE,
GCSE served as the Prime Minister and dictator of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He was the President of the Republic in 1951, as interim...
developed the
Estado Novo. The basis of his regime was a platform of stability. Salazar's early reforms benefited the whole nation since they allowed financial stability and therefore economic growth. After the chaotic years of the Portuguese First Republic (1910–1926) when not even public order was achieved, this looked like an impressive breakthrough to most of the population, Salazar achieved his height in popularity at this point. This transfiguration of Portugal was then known as "A Lição de Salazar" - Salazar's Lesson.
Regime
The Estado Novo was an authoritarian regime with an
integralistIntegralism, or integral nationalism, is a perspective according to which society is an organic unity. Although it is marked by its being exclusionary and particularistic, and there has been consideration of its historic role as a sort of proto-fascism or actual fascism , this link remains...
orientation, which differed from fascist regimes by its lack of expansionism, lack of a charismatic leader, lack of party structure and more moderate use of state violence. However it incorporated the same principles for its military from
MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini,
KSMOM GCTE was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism. He became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922 and began using the title Il Duce by...
's system. Salazar was a
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
traditionalist who believed in the necessity of control over the forces of economic modernisation in order to defend the religious and rural values of the country, which he perceived as being threatened. One of the pillars of the regime was the
PIDEThe Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado or PIDE , was the main tool of repression used by the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal, the Estado Novo....
, the secret police. Many political dissidents were imprisoned at the
TarrafalTarrafal was a prison camp in Cape Verde, then a Portuguese colony, set up by the dictator António de Oliveira Salazar before World War II , where anti-fascist opponents of his right-wing regime were sent...
prison in the African archipelago of
Cape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago located in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa, opposite Mauritania and Senegal....
, on the capital island of Santiago, or in local jails. Strict state censorship was in place.
The Estado Novo enforced Nationalist and
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
values on the Portuguese population. The whole education system was focused toward the exaltation of the Portuguese Nation and its 5 century old overseas territories (the
Ultramar). The motto of the regime was
Deus, Pátria e Familia (meaning God, Fatherland and Family and obviously intended as a counterpart to the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...
's "
Liberté, égalité, fraternitéLiberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity ", is the national motto of France, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not really institutionalized until the...
"). After 1945, the main
raison d'être of the regime became resistance to the wave of decolonization which swept Europe after the end of World War II.
The Estado Novo accepted the idea of
corporatismCorporatism is a system of economic, political, and social organization where corporate groups such as business, ethnic, farmer, labour, military, patronage, or religious groups are joined together into a single governing body in which the different groups are mandated to negotiate with each other...
as an economic model. This policy was pursued in order to protect the elites and defend oligarchic
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
as the economic system, under state paternalist supervision. Although Salazar refused to sign the
Anti-Comintern PactThe Anti-Comintern Pact was concluded between Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan on November 25, 1936 and was directed against the Communist International in general, and the Soviet Union in particular....
in 1938, the
Portuguese Communist PartyThe Portuguese Communist Party , or PCP, is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist.The party was founded in 1921 as the Portuguese...
was intensely persecuted. So were Anarchists, Liberals, Republicans and anyone opposed to the regime. The only allowed party was the
União Nacional (National Union), which encompassed a wide range of right-wing politics, passing through
monarchismMonarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
,
corporatismCorporatism is a system of economic, political, and social organization where corporate groups such as business, ethnic, farmer, labour, military, patronage, or religious groups are joined together into a single governing body in which the different groups are mandated to negotiate with each other...
, para-
fascismFascism, , comprises a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology and a corporatist economic ideology developed in Italy. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in...
,
nationalismNationalism is an ideology, a sentiment, a form of culture, or a social movement that focuses on the nation. It is a type of collectivism emphasizing the collective of a specific nation...
and
capitalismCapitalism is an economic and social system in which the means of production are privately controlled; labor, goods and capital are traded in a market; profits are distributed to owners or invested in technologies and industries; and wages are paid to labor...
.
The
Legião NacionalThe Portuguese Legion was a Portuguese paramilitary state organization founded in 1936 during dictator António de Oliveira Salazar's right-wing regime, the Estado Novo. It was dissolved in 1974....
was a Popular Militia similar to the Italian
BlackshirtsThe Blackshirts were Fascist paramilitary groups in Italy during the period immediately following World War I and until the end of World War II...
. For young people there was the
Mocidade PortuguesaThe Mocidade Portuguesa was a Portuguese youth organization under the right-wing regime of the Estado Novo. Membership was compulsory between the ages of 7 and 14, and voluntary until the age of 25....
, an organization similar in organization (but not in ideology) to the
Hitler YouthThe Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung .-Origins:The first NSDAP-related organization of German youth was the Jugendbund...
. These two organizations were heavily supported by the State and imposed a martial style of life.
Despite similarities in their political structures, and mutual distrust of Communism, the Third Reich and Estado Novo had little time for each other. Portuguese authorities assisted Germany in secretly supporting nationalist forces in the
Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
, however both Salazar and the Portuguese public felt they could not trust Hitler, especially as Germany began to dominate its neighbors in the years leading up to the Second World War. During the Second World War Portugal remained neutral. It was bound by the 550-year old Treaty of Windsor, the world's oldest diplomatic alliance, to afford assistance to Britain. Portugal refused to declare war on the
Axis powersThe Axis powers comprised the countries that were opposed to the Allies during World War II. The three major Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers...
, but granted the allies access to establish military bases on the
AzoresThe Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about from Lisbon and about from the east coast of North America. The two westernmost Azorean islands actually lie on the North American plate...
. In 1942 Australian troops briefly occupied
Portuguese TimorPortuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
in advance of their occupation by the Japanese, who had already captured
MacauThe Macau Special Administrative Region , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong...
.
Economy
During the 1940s and 1950s Portugal experienced economic growth due to increased raw material exports to the war-ravaged and recovering nations of Europe. Salazar managed to discipline the Portuguese economy, after the chaotic First Portuguese Republic of 1910–1926. A brand new road system was built, new bridges spanned the rivers and the Educational Program was able to build a primary school in each Portuguese town (an idea developed and begun during the democratic First Republic). Some liberal economic reforms advocated by elements of the ruling party, which were successfully implemented under similar circumstances in neighboring Spain, were rejected out of fear that industrialization would destabilize the regime and its ideological base and would strengthen the Communists and other left-wing movements. In 1962 the "
Academic CrisisThe Academic Crisis is the name given to a Portuguese governmental policy instigated in 1962 by the Portuguese dictatorial regime entailing the boycott and closure of several student associations and organizations, including the National Secretariat of Portuguese Students...
" occurred. The regime, fearing the growing popularity of democratic ideas among the students, carried out the boycott and closure of several student associations and organizations, including the important National Secretariat of Portuguese Students. The students, with strong support from the
Portuguese Communist PartyThe Portuguese Communist Party , or PCP, is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist.The party was founded in 1921 as the Portuguese...
, responded with demonstrations which culminated on March 24 with a huge student demonstration in Lisbon that was brutally suppressed by the shock police, which led to hundreds of student injuries. Immediately thereafter, the students began a strike that marked a significant point in the resistance against the regime. The fear of many young men for the dangers of the
Portuguese Colonial WarThe Portuguese Colonial War , also known as the Overseas War in Portugal or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974...
resulted in hundreds of thousands of Portuguese workers each year leaving to seek better economic and political conditions in more developed countries, or to escape conscription. In over 15 years nearly one million emigrated to France, another million to the USA, many hundreds of thousands to Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Luxembourg, Venezuela or Brazil. Political parties, such as the
Socialist PartyThe Socialist Party is a centre-left political party in Portugal. It was founded on April 19, 1973 in the German city of Bad Münstereifel, by militants from Portuguese Socialist Action ....
, persecuted at home, were established in exile. The only party which managed to continue (illegally) operating in Portugal during all the dictatorship was the Portuguese Communist Party.
The liberalization of the Portuguese economy gained a new impetus under Salazar's successor, Prime Minister Marcello José das Neves Caetano (1968-74), whose administration abolished industrial licensing requirements for firms in most sectors and in 1972 signed a free trade agreement with the newly enlarged
European CommunityThe European Community is the first of the three pillars of the European Union created under the Maastricht Treaty . It is based upon the principle of supranationalism and has its origins in the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union. If the Treaty of Lisbon comes into...
. Under the agreement, which took effect at the beginning of 1973, Portugal was given until 1980 to abolish its restrictions on most community goods and until 1985 on certain sensitive products amounting to some 10 percent of the EC's total exports to Portugal. Starting in 1960,
EFTAEFTA may refer to:* European Family Therapy Association, an NGO.* European Fair Trade Association, an association of eleven Fair Trade importers in nine European countries....
membership and a growing foreign investor presence contributed to Portugal's industrial modernization and export diversification between 1960 and 1973. Caetano moved on to foster economic growth and some social improvements, such as the awarding of a monthly pension to rural workers who had never had the chance to pay social security. Some large scale investments were made at national level, such as the building of a major oil processing center in
SinesSines is a municipality in the district of Setúbal, Portugal, with a total area of 203.0 km² and a rapidly growing population of 13,531 inhabitants. It is located at the centre of the Alentejo coast and part of the St. Vincent and Southwest Alentejo Coast Natural Park.The present Mayor is...
. Notwithstanding the concentration of the means of production in the hands of a small number of family-based financial-industrial groups, Portuguese business culture permitted a surprising upward mobility of university-educated individuals with middle-class backgrounds into professional management careers. Before the 1974
Carnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
, the largest, most technologically advanced (and most recently organized) firms offered the greatest opportunity for management careers based on merit rather than on accident of birth. In 1960, at the initiation of Salazar's more outward-looking economic policy, Portugal's per capita GDP was only 38 percent of the European Community (EC-12) average; by the end of the Salazar period, in 1968, it had risen to 48 percent; and in 1973, under the leadership of
Marcelo CaetanoMarcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano,
GCTE,
GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was prime minister from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974.-Prime Minister:In August 1968, at 79, Salazar suddenly...
, Portugal's per capita GDP had reached 56.4 percent of the EC-12 average. On a long term analysis, after a long period of economic divergence before 1914, and a period of chaos during the
Portuguese First RepublicThe Portuguese First Republic spans a complex 16 year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the Constitutional Monarchy marked by the 5 October 1910 revolution and the 28 May coup d'état of 1926...
, the Portuguese economy recovered slightly until 1950, entering thereafter on a path of strong economic convergence with the wealthiest economies of Western Europe, until the Carnation Revolution in April 1974. Portuguese economic growth in the period 1950-1973 under the Estado Novo regime (and even with the effects of an expensive war effort in African territories against independence guerrilla groups), created an opportunity for real integration with the developed economies of Western Europe. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and firms changed their patterns of production and consumption, bringing about a structural transformation. Simultaneously, the increasing complexity of a growing economy raised new technical and organizational challenges, stimulating the formation of modern professional and management teams.
Education
Until the 1960s, post-
primary educationA primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
was limited to a tiny elite. In general, teenagers used to leave school and start to work early. In contrast with other European nations, the country had had a poor record in educational policies since the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century the illiteracy rate was at over 80 percent and higher education was reserved for a small percentage of the population. 68.1 percent of Portugal's population was still classified as illiterate by the 1930 census. Portugal's literacy rate by the 1940s and early 1950s remained low for
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
n and
Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
an standards at the time. However, in the 1960s the country made public education available for all children between the ages of six and twelve, founded universities in the overseas provinces of Angola and Mozambique (the University of Luanda and the University of Lourenço Marques during the period of
Adriano MoreiraAdriano José Alves Moreira , is a Portuguese statesman, deputy, politician, lawyer and professor...
as Minister of the Overseas Provinces), recognized the Portuguese Catholic University in 1971, and by 1973 a wave of new state-run universities were founded across mainland Portugal (the
Minho UniversityThe University of Minho or Universidade do Minho is a public university in Portugal, divided in the following spaces:* Largo do Paço , in Braga* Campus of Gualtar, in Braga* Superior School of Nursing, in Braga...
, the
New University of LisbonThe New University of Lisbon was established in 1973 and is the youngest of the three public universities of Lisbon, in Portugal....
, the
University of ÉvoraThe University of Évora is a public university in Évora, Portugal.-History:The University of Évora, the second oldest in Portugal, was founded in the 16th century by Cardinal Infante Dom Henrique , and by the Pope Paul IV, and it was delivered to the Society of Jesus.The Jesuit college...
, and the University of Aveiro - Veiga Simão was the Minister in charge for education by then). The last two decades of the Estado Novo, from the 1960s to the 1974
Carnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
, were marked by strong investment in
secondary and university educationEducation in Portugal is regulated by the State through two ministries - the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. There are a system of public education and also many private schools at all levels of education...
, which experienced in this period the fastest growth of Portuguese education's history.
The end of the regime
The end of the Estado Novo began with the uprisings in the colonies in the 1960s. The independence movements active in Portuguese Angola, Portuguese Mozambique and
Portuguese GuineaPortuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...
were supported by both the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
, which both wanted to end all colonial empires and expand their own spheres of influence. For the Portuguese ruling regime, the overseas empire was a matter of
national interestThe national interest, often referred to by the French term raison d'État, is a country's goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. The notion is an important one in international relations where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist school.The...
. The wars had the same effects in Portugal as the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
in the United States, or the Afghanistan War in the Soviet Union; they were unpopular and caused relatively high losses of troops for little gain, but first of all, they were expensive lengthy wars, leading many to question the continuation of the war and, by extension, the government. Although Portugal was able to maintain some superiority in the colonies by its use of elite paratroopers and special operations troops, the foreign support to the guerrillas made them more maneuverable, allowing them to inflict losses on the Portuguese army.
The international community isolated Portugal due to the long
Colonial WarThe Portuguese Colonial War , also known as the Overseas War in Portugal or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974...
. The situation was aggravated by the death of Salazar, the strong man of the regime, in 1970. His replacement was one of his closest advisors,
Marcelo CaetanoMarcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano,
GCTE,
GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was prime minister from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974.-Prime Minister:In August 1968, at 79, Salazar suddenly...
, who tried to slowly democratize the country, but could not hide the obvious dictatorship that oppressed Portugal. By the early 1970s, the
Portuguese Colonial WarThe Portuguese Colonial War , also known as the Overseas War in Portugal or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974...
continued to rage on, requiring a steadily increasing budget. The Portuguese military was overstretched and there was no political solution or end in sight. While the human losses were relatively small, the war as a whole had already entered its second decade. The Portuguese ruling regime of Estado Novo faced criticism from the international community and was becoming increasingly isolated. It had a profound impact on Portugal - thousands of young men avoided
conscriptionConscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by an established authority. It is most often used in the specific sense of requiring citizens to serve in the armed forces...
by emigrating illegally, mainly to France and the US.
The war in the colonies was increasingly unpopular in Portugal itself as the people became weary of war and balked at its ever-rising expense. Many ethnic Portuguese of the African overseas territories were also increasingly willing to accept independence if their economic status could be preserved. In 1974, the
Carnation RevolutionThe Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
in
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
, organized by left-wing Portuguese military officers - the Armed Forces Movement (MFA), overthrew the Estado Novo regime.
The military-led coup can be described as the necessary means of bringing back democracy to Portugal, ending the unpopular
Colonial WarThe Portuguese Colonial War , also known as the Overseas War in Portugal or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974...
where thousands of Portuguese soldiers had died, and replacing the authoritarian
Estado Novo (New State) regime and its secret police which repressed elemental
civil libertiesCivil liberties are rights in Freedom that protect an individual from the government of the nation in which they reside. Civil liberties set limits on government so that its members cannot abuse their power and interfere unduly with the lives of private citizens.Common civil liberties include the...
and political freedoms. However, the military coup's organization started as a professional class protest of
Portuguese Armed ForcesThe armed forces of Portugal, commonly known as the Portuguese Armed Forces encompasses a Navy , an Army and an Air Force...
captainThe army rank of Captain is an officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically the commander, or second in command, of a company or squadron...
s against a decree law: the
Dec. Lei nº 353/73 of 1973. Younger military academy graduates resented a program introduced by Marcello Caetano whereby university graduates who completed a brief training program and had served in the overseas territories' defensive campaigns, could be commissioned at the same rank as academy graduates. The
MFAThe Movement of the Armed Forces was an organisation of lower-ranked left-leaning officers in the Portuguese Armed Forces which was responsible for the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, a military coup in Lisbon which ended the corporatist New State regime in Portugal, the Portuguese...
-led
National Salvation JuntaThe National Salvation Junta was a group of military officers designated to maintain the government of Portugal in April 1974, after the Carnation Revolution had overthrown the Estado Novo dictatorial regime. This junta functioned between 1974 and 1976, following a communiqué of its president,...
, a military junta, took the power. By 1975, all the Portuguese African territories were independent and the country held its first democratic elections in 50 years.
See also
- Timeline of Portuguese history - Second Republic: Authoritarian Estado Novo
-1926:*May 27, The General Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa arrives at Braga with the purpose of initiating a Coup d'état.*The Republican Government and Prime Minister António Maria da Silva, knowing of the forthcoming coup, try to organize resistance believing the uprising can be defeated.*May...
- The Portuguese Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC ,...
- Estado Novo (Brazil)
Estado Novo was the name of the authoritarian government installed in Brazil by President Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, which lasted from 1937 to 1945. It was modeled on the Estado Novo regime in Portugal.-Great Depression:...
- Yves Guérin-Sérac
- Jacques Ploncard, a French Petainist
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
, counsellor of Salazar
- Portuguese Legion (Estado Novo)
The Portuguese Legion was a Portuguese paramilitary state organization founded in 1936 during dictator António de Oliveira Salazar's right-wing regime, the Estado Novo. It was dissolved in 1974....