Álvaro Cunhal
Álvaro Cunhal | |
---|---|
General Secretary of the Portuguese Communist Party | |
In office 31 March 1961 – 5 December 1992 | |
Preceded by | Bento Gonçalves |
Succeeded by | Carlos Carvalhas |
Member of the Assembly of the Republic | |
In office 3 June 1976 – 12 August 1987 | |
Constituency | Lisbon |
Personal details | |
Born | Álvaro Barreirinhas Cunhal 10 November 1913 Coimbra, Portugal |
Died | 13 June 2005 Lisbon, Portugal | (aged 91)
Political party | Portuguese Communist Party (1931–2005) |
Domestic partner | Isaura Moreira (1960–1965) |
Children | Ana Cunhal |
Alma mater | University of Lisbon |
Álvaro Barreirinhas Cunhal (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈalvɐɾu kuˈɲal]; 10 November 1913 – 13 June 2005) was a Portuguese communist revolutionary and politician. He was one of the major opponents of the dictatorial regime of the Estado Novo. He served as secretary-general of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) from 1961 to 1992.[1]
Arrested in 1940 and subjected to torture, he resumed the struggle as soon as he was released, after a few months' imprisonment. He took part in the reorganization of the PCP in 1940-1941. From 1941 to 1949, Cunhal lived "underground" and became the de facto party leader. Arrested by the PIDE in 1949, he remained in prison for 11 years until a spectacular escape from the seaside Peniche Fortress prison in 1960. After the overthrow of the dictatorship on April 25, 1974, he was a minister in several provisional governments; he was elected deputy to the Constituent Assembly in 1975 and deputy to the Assembly of the Republic from 1976.
Life
Cunhal was born in
While in prison, Cunhal submitted his final thesis on the topic of
Back in Portugal, Cunhal took charge of the newly-legalized Portuguese Communist Party and led the party through the political upheavals which followed the revolution. He was minister without portfolio in several of the provisional governments which followed the revolution of 1974. A faction of army officers seen as aligned with the party dominated the post-revolutionary provisional governments, with the pro-communist prime minister Vasco Gonçalves leading four provisional governments, which brought accusations that the party was attempting to take power via the military. Cunhal was largely responsible for the party's hardline attitude, particularly its hostility towards the Socialist Party led by Soares, which prevented the formation of a united left.
Cunhal left his office in 1992. He was succeeded by Carlos Carvalhas, but his voice remained important in the following years, and he consistently sided with the party's most orthodox wing. He also revealed that under the pseudonym Manuel Tiago he had been the author of several neo-realistic novels. His drawings, made while in prison, were published, revealing his sensibility for the arts, as was also shown by his translation of King Lear by Shakespeare (edited in his last years, and originally written under the female pseudonym Maria Manuela Serpa).
Álvaro Cunhal died in Lisbon in 2005, after several years out of the public eye. His funeral took place on 15 June in Lisbon and was attended by more than 250,000 people.[3][4]
His only remaining sister
Works
- IV Congresso do Partido Communista Português — O Caminho Para o Derrubamento do Fascismo.
- Duas intervenções numa reunião de quadros.
- Rumo à Vitória - As Tarefas do Partido na Revolução Democrática e Nacional.
- A Questão do Estado, Questão Central de Cada Revolução.
- A Verdade e a Mentira sobre a Revolução de Abril.
- Acção Revolucionária, Capitulação e Aventura.
- O Partido Com Paredes de Vidro.
- A Revolução Portuguesa - O Passado e o Futuro.
- Fracasso e Derrota do Governo de Direita do PSD/Cavaco Silva.
- O 1º Governo PSD e a Resistência Democrática.
- Falência da Política de Direita do PS (1983–1985).
- Os Chamados Governos de Iniciativa Presidencial.
Fiction works under the pseudonym Manuel Tiago
Cunhal was also a fiction writer, with several novels under the pseudonym Manuel Tiago, which he recognized as his own only in 1995. He also made the drawings for the original edition of Soeiro Pereira Gomes' book Esteiros. He published the following books under the pseudonym of Manuel Tiago:
- Até Amanhã, Camaradas (adapted to television series in 2005).
- Cinco Dias, Cinco Noites (adapted to film in 1996).
- A Estrela de Seis Pontas.
- A Casa de Eulália.
- Lutas e Vidas. Um conto.
- Os Corrécios e outros Contos.
- Um Risco na Areia.
- Fronteiras.
- Sala 3 e outros contos.
All the above titles have appeared in English, translated by Eric A. Gordon, published by International Publishers. In the same order:
- Until Tomorrow, Comrades (2023)
- Five Days, Five Nights (2020)
- The Six-Pointed Star (2020)
- Eulalia's House (2021)
- The Slackers and Other Stories (2021)
- A Line in the Sand (2022)
- Border Crossings (2021)
- The 3rd Floor and Other Stories of the Portuguese Resistance (2021) includes Lutas e Vidas (Struggle and Life)
See also
Further reading
- Cunha, Carlos. The Portuguese Communist Party’s Strategy for Power, 1921–1986 (Garland, 1992). online
References
- ^ Carlos Cunha, The Portuguese Communist Party’s Strategy for Power, 1921–1986 (Garland, 1992).
- ^ "Álvaro Cunhal defendeu a tese de licenciatura há 73 anos".
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
- ^ "A última vontade". www.dn.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-03-07.