A carnation revolution was a military and popular uprising that took place in Portugal, on April 25, 1974, and ended the long dictatorship led by Antônio Salazar. In the 1970s, the Portuguese faced a serious economic crisis, which generated dissatisfaction with the Portuguese government. In addition, the struggles for the independence of the Portuguese colonies in Africa made this dissatisfaction intensify.
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Summary of the Carnation Revolution
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The Carnation Revolution was a popular and military movement that took place in Portugal on April 25, 1974, which ended the Salazar dictatorship.
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It was directly linked to the cultural issue, such as the use of music as a password for the movements of the revolutionaries.
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His symbol was the carnation, a flower placed on the end of the soldiers’ bayonets.
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The consequences of the revolution were the resumption of democracy in Portugal, the coming to power by the socialists and the self-government of the factories by the workers.
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It still has a great influence on Portuguese culture, being present in cinema, television, music and literature.
What was the Carnation Revolution?
The Carnation Revolution was a military and popular uprising that took place in Portugal, on April 25, 1974, and that ended the long period of salazar dictatorship. Thus, with the movement, individual freedoms and democracy were reestablished on Portuguese soil. It was a movement that took advantage of the weariness of the Marcelo Caetano government to oust him from power.
Soldier with a carnation placed in his bayonet in allusion to the Carnation Revolution, which took place in 1974.
The main symbols of the revolution were carnations.placed on the ends of the bayonets of the military, and the song “Grândola, Vila Morena”which served as an announcement of the beginning of the revolution.
Historical background of the Carnation Revolution
In order to understand the origins of the Carnation Revolution, it is necessary to return to the political context of Portugal at the beginning of the 20th century. Until 1910, the Portuguese were governed by a constitutional monarchy. In October of that year, The republic was proclaimed. The new government participated in the First World War (1914-1918), which led Portugal to face a serious economic and social crisis.
This post-war period was fruitful for the emergence of authoritarian ideas aligned with Italian fascism, led by Benito Mussolini. Portugal did not escape this rule and, in 1926, a coup d’état was enacted, starting the national dictatorship, which lasted until 1933, when a new Portuguese Constitution came into force. It was at that moment that the figure of Antônio Salazar gained space in Portuguese politics.
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→ salazarism
Antônio Salazar came to power in Portugal in 1932, when he became prime minister. The following year, the new Constitution granted him broad powers, restricting individual rights and freedom of expression. The Estado Novo began, which lasted until 1974, when the Carnation Revolution began.
It is noteworthy that Salazar governed Portugal until 1968, when he suffered a stroke (Cerebral Vascular Accident) and was removed from power. In the following six years, until the end of the dictatorship, Portugal was governed by Marcelo Caetano.
Salazarism followed characteristics similar to those that Mussolini applied in Italy, such as anti-partisanship, the exaltation of the figure of the national leader, nationalism, anti-liberalism and political propaganda, to add a greater number of popular support to the government and censor any criticism. There were 40 years of authoritarian rule over Portugal.
Antônio Salazar ruled Portugal with an iron fist for 40 years.
During this period, the Portuguese maintained colonies on the African coast since the times of the Grands Noavegations. They were important regions for the Portuguese economy, and the maintenance of their dependence on Portugal was fundamental for the Salazarist government. For this reason, the decolonization process, which took place shortly after the end of World War II, was reprimanded by the Portuguese government.
Until the 1970s, the struggle of the Portuguese anti-colonialists collided with government repression. This encouraged the organization of groups that armed themselves to defeat Portugal’s oppression through violence.
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Reasons for the Carnation Revolution
The Salazarist dictatorship lasted until 1974, when the Carnation Revolution broke out, but Antonio Salazar governmentu Portugal until 1968 and was removed for medical reasons, passing away in 1970. Salazar’s absence from Portuguese politics encouraged the dictator’s opponents to seek the redemocratization of the country. Who took power shortly after Salazar’s removal was Marcelo Caetano, who did not have the same political strength as his predecessor.
In addition to Salazar’s absence from Portuguese power, another reason for the 1974 Revolution was the colonial war.. Between 1960 and 1974, several detachments of the Portuguese armed forces were sent to Angola, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique to repress armed groups willing to obtain their independence through force. The success of the Carnation Revolution caused Portuguese troops to leave the colonies and independence was negotiated in a friendly manner.
Interesting: In Brazil, the discussion about Portuguese politics took place. In 1964, Carlos Lacerda, then governor of Guanabara, recorded a video for Portuguese television talking about his recent visit to Portugal and how well he was received. One of the topics he addressed in this video was the colonial war, supporting Portugal and criticizing the formed guerrillas.
Chronology of the Carnation Revolution
→ April 24, 1974 (Eve of the Revolution)
On the night of April 24, 1974, the Command Post of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA), which led the revolution, met. The radio stations of Emissoras Associadas in Lisbon aired the song “E tarde do adeus”, by Paulo de Carvalho. the music was the password for The population that the revolutionary process had had start. See the lyrics of the song below:
And after goodbye
I wanted to know who I am
What do I do here
who abandoned me
who I forgot
I asked for myself
wanted to know about us
but the sea
don’t bring me
Your voice
in silence, love
In sadness and end
I feel you, in bloom
I suffer you, in me
I remember you like this
to leave is to die
How to love
And win
and lose
You came in bloom
I defoliated you
you gave yourself in love
I gave you nothing
In your body, baby
I fell asleep
I died in it
and when dying
reborn
And after love
And after us
the say goodbye
or being alone
your place more
Your absence in me
your peace
that I lost
My pain
What I learned
You came back in bloom
I stripped you…
And after love
And after us
The Goodbye
The being alone |1|
→ April 25, 1974 (Revolution Day)
In the early hours of April 25, 1974, the song “Grândola, Vila Morena”, by José Afonso, was played on the radio. A music was password for the population that the military was on the march. See the lyrics of the song below:
Grandola, Vila Morena
Grandola, Vila Morena
brotherhood land
The people are the ones who order the most
Within you, O city
Within you, O city
The people are the ones who order the most
brotherhood land
Grandola, Vila Morena
In every corner a friend
On every face equality
Grandola, Vila Morena
brotherhood land
brotherhood land
Grandola, Vila Morena
On every face equality
The people are the ones who order the most
In the shade of an holm oak
Who no longer knew the age
I swore to have a companion
Grandola your will
Grandola your will
I swore to have a companion
In the shade of an holm oak
Who no longer knew the age|two|
Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano was pressured to resign. At 16:30, the resignation was announced. He was then moved to the island of Madeira.
→ April 26, 1974 (day after the revolution)
On that day, the National Salvation Board was created by the military who participated in the Carnation Revolution. Political prisoners were released.
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Aftermath of the Carnation Revolution
The main consequence of the Carnation Revolution was the end of salazar dictatorship, ending a period of 40 years of authoritarian rule in Portugal. also occurred to independence from former Portuguese colonies Angola, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique.
Some allies of the dictator Antônio Salazar reacted to the Carnation Revolution and attempted coups ANDstate were organized, but without success. In addition to those groups aligned with the previous government, conservative forces feared the radicalization of the revolution.
The first direct election since Salazar came to Portuguese power took place on April 25, 1975. The socialist party was the victor. The following year, a new Portuguese Constitution was promulgated, resuming democracy and guaranteeing rights to education, health and housing.
Influence of the Carnation Revolution on culture
Culture played a key role in the Carnation Revolution, as it was through music, as we saw earlier, that the revolutionary process that ended the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal began. However, other cultural branches were also influenced by this revolution.
→ Carnation Revolution in cinema
The Carnation Revolution was recorded in image and sound. This was of fundamental importance for writing the history of this movement. beyond the record in locothat is, of everything that happened on April 25, 1974, films were made that portrayed this important moment in Portuguese history. Below, some films related to the Carnation Revolution:
→ Carnation Revolution on TV
When the revolution took place, in 1974, the Brazilian press was under censorship. and could only publish reports that the dictatorship’s censors consented to. Rede Globo had in its night programming the International Journalwhich, as the name implies, focused on news sent by international agencies and satellite, a novelty for the time and which facilitated Brazil’s communication with the world.
The Portuguese movement that ended the Salazar dictatorship it was reported skinRede Globo, and this fact enabled commentators of the dictatorship to criticize the authoritarian regime that ended in Portugal. It was a way of, even indirectly, criticizing the Brazilian military dictatorship, which would still take 11 years to end.
Later, the Carnation Revolution It was also featured on the History television channel.which broadcast the documentary 25 minutes of one revolutiondirected by Pedro Fonseca, which features interviews with people who were involved in the revolution, such as Paulo de Carvalho, the singer of the song “E tarde do adeus”, and radio broadcaster Manuel Tomás.