REAL FREEDOM:

PEACE

BREAD

HOUSING

HEALTH

EDUCATION

AGRUPAMENTO

DE ESCOLAS JOSÉ

CARLOS DA MAIA

37 YEARS OF

DEMOCRACY!!!

There were two secret signals in the mili-

tary coup: first the airing of the song E

depois do adeus, by Paulo de Carvalho,

Portugal's entry in the 6th of April 1974

Eurovision Song Contest, which alerted the

rebel captains and soldiers to begin the

coup. A few hours later the national radio

broadcast Grândola Vila Morena, a song

by Zeca Afonso, a folk singer forbidden on

Portuguese radio at the time. This was the

signal that the MFA gave to take over stra-

tegic points of power in the country,

"announced" that the revolution had started

and nothing would stop it except "the pos-

sibility of a regime's repression".

Despite repeated appeals from the "April

captains" on the radio inciting the popula-

tion to stay at home, thousands of Portu-

guese descended on the streets, mixing

themselves with the military insurgents.

One of the points of these gathering was

the Lisbon flower market, then richly stoc-

ked with carnations, which were in season.

Some military insurgents would put these

flowers in their gun-barrels, an image

which was shown on television around the

world. This was the origin of the name of

this "Carnation revolution".

“This project has been funded with support from the

European Commission.

This publication [communication] reflects the views only

of the author, and the Commission cannot be held respon-

sible for any use which may be made of the information

contained therein.”

F R E E D O M D A Y

The Carnation Revolution was a period

in the history of Portugal, triggered by a

bloodless military coup that took place

on April 25, 1974, which overthrew the

Estado Novo dictatorship, in power since

1933 and began a process that would end

with the implementation of a democratic

regime with

the entry into

force of a new

Consti tution

on 25 April

1 9 7 6 .

This scam,

c o m m o n l y

known by the

Portuguese as

25 April, was conducted by a military

movement, the Armed Forces Movement

(MFA), composed of intermediate offi-

cers of the military, mostly captains who

had participated in the Colonial War

militia officers and recruited students,

many of them college students. This

movement was born around 1973, initially

based on corporatist claims, as the fight

for the prestige of the armed forces and

eventually extended to the current politi-

c a l r e g i m e .

After the coup, the National Salvation

group was created, responsible for the

appointment of the President, the program

of the Provisional Government and its

organic. Thus, on May 15, 1974, General

Antonio de Spinola was appointed Presi-

dent of the Republic, who in turn assigned

the post of prime minister to Adelino da

P a l m a C a r l o s .

A period of great social, political and military

unreast followed, known as the PREC (Ongoing

Revolutionary Process), marked by demonstra-

tions, occupations, provisional governments,

nationalization and military confrontations,

which finished with an attempted coup failed on

2 5 N o v e m b e r 1 9 7 5 .

With a more stable situation, it was possible to

continue the work of the Constituent Assembly

and to reach a new democratic constitution,

which was establi-

shed on 25 April

1976, the same day

of the first election of

the new republic.

Following these

events, a national

holiday was establi-

shed in Portugal on

April 25, called "Freedom Day".