Carnation Revolution

Independence movements began in the African colonies of

By the early-1970s, the Portuguese military was overstretched and there was no political solution in sight. Although the number of casualties was relatively small, the war had entered its second decade; Portugal faced criticism from the international community, and was becoming increasingly isolated. In 1973 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for Portugal's immediate withdrawal from Guinea.^[18] Atrocities such as the Wiriyamu Massacre undermined the war's popularity and the government's diplomatic position, although details of the massacre are still disputed.^{[17][19][20][21][22][23][24]}

The war became unpopular in Portugal, and the country became increasingly polarised. Thousands of left-wing students and anti-war activists avoided conscription by emigrating illegally, primarily to France and the United States. Meanwhile three generations of right-wing militants in Portuguese schools were guided by a revolutionary nationalism partially influenced by European neo-fascism, and supported the Portuguese Empire and an authoritarian regime.^[25]

The war had a profound impact on the country. The revolutionary

Revolution

In February 1974, Caetano decided to remove General António de Spínola from the command of Portuguese forces in Guinea in the face of Spínola's increasing disagreement with the promotion of military officers and the direction of Portuguese colonial policy. This occurred shortly after the publication of Spínola's book, Portugal and the Future, which expressed his political and military views of the Portuguese Colonial War. Several military officers who opposed the war formed the MFA to overthrow the government in a military coup. The MFA was headed by Vítor Alves, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho and Vasco Lourenço, and was joined later by Salgueiro Maia. The movement was aided by other Portuguese army officers who supported Spínola and democratic civil and military reform. It is speculated that Francisco da Costa Gomes actually led the revolution.^{[citation needed]}

The coup had two secret signals. First, the disc jockey at Emissores Associados de Lisboa gave the time signal Falta cinco minutos às vinte e três at 10:55 p.m. on 24 April before turntabling

Caetano found refuge in the main headquarters of the Lisbon military police, the National Republican Guard, at the Largo do Carmo. This building was surrounded by the MFA, which pressured him to cede power to General Spínola. Caetano and President Américo Tomás were sent to Brazil; Caetano spent the rest of his life there, and Tomás returned to Portugal a few years later. The revolution was closely watched by neighbouring Spain, where the government (and the opposition) were planning the succession of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Franco died a year and a half later, in 1975.

Four civilians were shot dead by government forces under the Directorate General of Security, whose personnel involved were later arrested by the MFA for their murders.

Aftermath

After the coup, power was held by the

The conservative forces surrounding Spinola and the MFA radicals initially confronted each other covertly or overtly, and Spinola was forced to appoint key MFA figures to senior security positions. Right-wing military figures attempted an unsuccessful

This stage of the PREC lasted until the coup of 25 November 1975, led by a group of far-left officers, specifically Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. It was said to be a Communist plot to seize power, in order to discredit the powerful Communist Party. It was followed by a successful counter-coup by more centrist officers, and was marked by constant friction between liberal-democratic forces and leftist-communist political parties.^[33] Portugal's first free election was held on 25 April 1975 to write a new constitution replacing the 1933 constitution in force during the Estado Novo era. Another election was held in 1976, and the first constitutional government, led by centre-left socialist Mário Soares, took office.

Decolonisation

Before April 1974, the intractable Portuguese colonial war in Africa consumed up to 40 percent of the Portuguese budget. Although part of Guinea-Bissau became independent de facto in 1973, Bissau (its capital) and the large towns were still under Portuguese control. In Angola and Mozambique independence movements were active in more remote rural areas from which the Portuguese Army had retreated.

A consequence of the Carnation Revolution was the sudden withdrawal of Portuguese administrative and military personnel from its overseas colonies. Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese Africans returned to Portugal, becoming known as the retornados. These people—workers, small business people, and farmers—often had deep roots in the former colonies.

Angola began a

East Timor was invaded by Indonesia, and remained occupied until 1999. There were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths from 1974 to 1999 (about 18,600 killings and 84,200 deaths from hunger and illness), most of which were incurred during the Indonesian occupation.^[34]

After a long period of one-party rule, Guinea-Bissau experienced a brief civil war and a difficult transition to civilian rule in 1998. Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe avoided civil war during the decolonisation period, and established multi-party political systems by the early 1990s. By a treaty signed in 1974, Portugal recognised the incorporation of former Portuguese India into India.^[35] The 1961 annexation of the tiny Portuguese colony of Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá by Benin was also recognised by Portugal in 1975.^{[citation needed]}

A 1978 Portuguese offer to return

.

Economic issues

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The

Pre-revolutionary Portugal had some social and economic achievements.[36] After a long period of economic decline before 1914, the Portuguese economy recovered slightly until 1950. It began a period of economic growth in common with Western Europe, of which it was the poorest country until the 1980s. Portuguese economic growth between 1960 and 1973 (under the Estado Novo regime) created an opportunity for integration with the developed economies of Western Europe despite the colonial war. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and companies changed their patterns of production and consumption. The increasing complexity of a growing economy sparked new technical and organisational challenges.^[37][38]

On 13 November 1972, Fundo do Ultramar (The Overseas Fund, a sovereign wealth fund) was enacted with Decreto-Lei n.º 448/ /72 and the Ministry of Defence ordinance Portaria 696/72 to finance the war.^[39] The increasing burden of the war effort meant that the government had to find continuous sources of financing. Decreto-Lei n.º 353, of 13 July 1973 and Decreto-Lei n.º 409 of 20 August 1973 were enforced to reduce military expenses and increase the number of officers by incorporating militia and military-academy officers as equals.^{[26][40][41][42]}

According to government estimates, about 900,000 hectares (2,200,000 acres) of agricultural land were seized between April 1974 and December 1975 as part of land reform; about 32 percent of the appropriations were ruled illegal.^{[full citation needed]} In January 1976, the government pledged to restore the illegally occupied land to its owners in 1976, and enacted the Land Reform Review Law the following year. Restoration of illegally occupied land began in 1978.^[43][44]

In 1960, Portugal's per-capita GDP was 38 percent of the European Economic Community average. By the end of the Salazar period in 1968 it had risen to 48 percent, and in 1973 it had reached 56.4 percent; the percentages were affected by the 40 percent of the budget which underwrote the African wars. In 1975 (the year of greatest revolutionary turmoil), Portugal's per-capita GDP declined to 52.3 percent of the EEC average. Due to revolutionary economic policies, oil shocks, recession in Europe and the return of hundreds of thousands of overseas Portuguese from its former colonies, Portugal began an economic crisis in 1974–1975.^[45]

Real gross domestic product growth resumed as a result of Portugal's economic resurgence since 1985 and adhesion to the European Economic Community (EEC). The country's 1991 per-capita GDP reached 54.9 percent of the EEC average, slightly exceeding the level at the height of the revolutionary period.^[46]

A January 2011 story in the Diário de Notícias (a Portuguese tabloid format newspaper) reported that the

The constitution of 1976 guarantees all religions the right to practise, and non-Catholic groups are recognised as legal entities with the right to assemble. Non-Catholic conscientious objectors have the right to apply for alternative military service. The Catholic Church, however, still sought to impede other missionary activity.^[48]

Legacy

Construction of what is now called the 25 de Abril Bridge began on 5 November 1962. It opened on 6 August 1966 as the Salazar Bridge, named after Estado Novo leader António de Oliveira Salazar. Soon after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge to commemorate the revolution. Citizens who removed the large, brass "Salazar" sign from a main pillar of the bridge and painted a provisional "25 de Abril" in its place were recorded on film.

Many Portuguese streets and squares are named vinte e cinco de Abril (25 April), for the day of the revolution. The

Freedom Day (25 April) is a national holiday, with state-sponsored and spontaneous commemorations of the civil liberties and political freedoms achieved after the revolution.^{[citation needed]} It commemorates the 25 April 1974 revolution and Portugal's first free elections on that date the following year.

Films

• Setúbal, ville rouge (France–Portugal 1975 documentary, b/w and colour, 16 mm, 93 minutes, by Daniel Edinger) – In October 1975 Setúbal, neighbourhood committees, factory committees, soldiers' committees and peasant cooperatives organise a central committee.^[50]
• Cravos de Abril (April Carnations), 1976 documentary, b/w and colour, 16 mm, 28 minutes, by Ricardo Costa – Depicts the revolutionary events from 24 April to 1 May 1974, illustrated by the French cartoonist Siné.
• Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal – U.S.–Portugal 1977, 16 mm, b/w and colour, 85 minutes, directed by Robert Kramer
• A Hora da Liberdade (The Hour of Freedom), 1999 documentary, by Joana Pontes, Emídio Rangel [pt] and Rodrigo de Sousa e Castro [pt]
• Capitães de Abril (April Captains), a 2000 dramatic film by Maria de Medeiros
  about the Carnation Revolution
• 25 de Abril: uma Aventura para a Democracia (25th April: an Adventure for Democracy), 2000 documentary, by Edgar Pêra
• The BBC-made A New Sun is Born, a two-part television series, for the UK's Open University. The first episode details the coup, and the second narrates the transition to democracy.^[51]
• Longwave (Les Grandes Ondes (à l'ouest)), a 2013 screwball comedy about Swiss radio reporters assigned to Portugal in 1974^[52][53]

• The
  GDR
  made several films about the revolution and transmitted on state television, including, (Lourenço und der Lieutenant) and (Sta Vitoria gibt nicht auf).
• Revolução sem sangue (2024)

See also

• Aster Revolution
• Armed Revolutionary Action
• 5 October 1910 revolution

References

Further reading

• Barker, Collin. Revolutionary Rehearsals. Haymarket Books. 2002.
  ISBN 1-931859-02-7
  .
• Chilcote, Ronald. The Portuguese Revolution: State and Class in the Transition to Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2012
  ISBN 978-0742567931
  .
• Phil Mailer, Portugal: The Impossible Revolution? (All sixteen chapters and the introduction by
  Maurice Brinton
  )
• Ferreira, Hugo Gil, and Marshall, Michael William. Portugal's Revolution: 10 years on. Cambridge University Press, 303 pages, 1986.
  ISBN 0-521-32204-9
• Green, Gil. Portugal's Revolution. 99 pages. International Publishers. 1976.
  ISBN 0-7178-0461-5
  .
• Mailer, Phil. Portugal: The Impossible Revolution? PM Press. 2nd ed. 2012.
  ISBN 978-1-60486-336-9
• ISBN 978-0-19-955201-6
  .
• Wise, Audrey. Eyewitness in Revolutionary Portugal. Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation for Spokesman Books, 72 pages, 1975
• Wright, George. The Destruction of a Nation: United States Policy Towards Angola Since 1945,
  ISBN 0-7453-1029-X

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Carnation Revolution.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Revolução dos Cravos.

• Accounts of the Carnation Revolution by U.S. diplomats Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST)