[D66] Fwd: Fragmented Power: Portugal in Revolution, 1974-1975

[A.O.]

http://links.org.au/fragmented-power-portugal-revolution

Fragmented Power: Portugal in Revolution, 1974-1975

By Doug Enaa Greene


February 11, 2018 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal  — 
On April 25, 1974, just after midnight, the Catholic-owned Radio 
Renascenca played a song entitled “Grandola Vila Morena”. This was the 
signal for the underground Armed Forces Movement (MFA) to begin their 
long-planned coup d'etat and bring down the Estado Novo regime that had 
ruled Portugal for forty-four years. The coup succeeded with remarkable 
ease in seizing control of key installations and cities. The next day, 
the people of Lisbon ignored radio appeals to stay inside and poured 
into the streets to enjoy their first taste of freedom. To show their 
support for the soldiers, the people placed carnations on their guns – 
giving the coup its name as the “Carnation Revolution”. Despite the 
modest intentions of its organizers, over the next eighteen months the 
coup unleashed mass movements and popular initiatives that brought 
Portugal to the brink of a socialist revolution.

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