Latest news and stories about political history in Portugal for expats and residents.
Rui Ramos discusses the nature of current historical debates and addresses what he considers to be a manufactured controversy.
I am not on the left like, probably, the vast majority who walk down the Avenue. Beyond the essentials, we may not believe in the same things or with the same intensity. Perhaps, being on the left, that vast majority believes, by definition, more in the future than I do. Perhaps they think better of human nature than I do. And yet, we could be broad-minded enough that we would all fit on the Avenue.
When we manage to put an end to the double sectarianism, that of appropriation and that of absence, perhaps we can finally have what we still have yet to fully achieve: an April 25th that truly belongs to everyone.
Vasco Lourenço, an April Captain, comments on the speeches at the solemn session commemorating the 52nd anniversary of the 25th of April. Vasco Lourenço praises the speech by António José Seguro.
The March for Freedom began this afternoon in Porto with thousands of people holding carnations and chanting slogans against “the assassination of April values”.
A political commentary regarding a party that expresses nostalgia for the events of April 24th.
Fabian Figueiredo reflects on the last fifty years of Portuguese history, highlighting the significance of the democratic era.
The democratic right was born with April. It founded democracy and, 52 years later, still does not know how to say so. It let the left keep the carnation. It was not a theft. It was a gradual abdication.
Threats of coups and bomb attacks marked the campaign for the first legislative elections after the Estado Novo dictatorship, but the electoral act ultimately led to the “stabilisation of democracy”.
When a generation that lived through very important events and new generations that only read about them coexist in the same time and space, there will always be an abyss of misunderstanding between them. Opinion by João Miguel Tavares
Fifty years ago, the first legislative elections took place following the end of the dictatorship. With no surprises compared to the elections for the Constituent Assembly, the results followed the same trend as the choices made in 1975.
Seguro suggests that the overthrow of the dictatorship would have been the preferred path during the social concertation negotiations.
In a conversation with secondary school students in Linda-a-Velha, the former prime minister revisited the troika years, rejected any regrets regarding the decisions made, and insisted that, during crises, political honesty is an obligation, not an option.
Housing issues have always been a concern of hers, and because of this, she was even detained by the PIDE. At a very young age, she was elected as a deputy to the Constituent Assembly and was present when the Constitution was drafted. Helena Roseta is the guest on the new episode of Geração 40.
A section of a newspaper or publication featuring correspondence from readers.
A look back at the 50th anniversary of the first legislative elections.
Fifty-two years ago, Portugal chose freedom. After nearly half a century of dictatorship, the country began to determine its own destiny. This achievement belongs to all Portuguese people, not to any specific political faction or self-appointed guardian of democracy. The text argues that the spirit of the 25th of April and the 25th of November, the Constitution, public funds, and the future itself should not be controlled by entrenched interests or an inefficient state. It calls for a model that serves citizens rather than the state, asserting that the Liberal Initiative will continue to march on the Avenida da Liberdade to advocate for a future that lives up to the promise of a free and evolving Portugal.
An overview of the political parties and their leaders who campaigned for democracy in Portugal both before and after the 25th of April revolution.
A collection of historical records and footage regarding presidential elections in Portugal from the RTP archives.
A profile of Adelino da Palma Carlos, the first prime minister of the provisional government following the Carnation Revolution, highlighting the political instability of the era.
Constitutional governments were led by Soares, Nobre da Costa, Mota Pinto, Pintasilgo, Sá Carneiro, Balsemão, Cavaco, Guterres, Barroso, Santana, Sócrates, Passos, Costa and Montenegro.
Starting in September 1974, imprisonment under military orders became an essential tool for the PCP, the far-left, and the left wing of the MFA to neutralise opponents. An essay by Rui Ramos.
The Mayor of Penamacor revealed that a concrete proposal will be presented for the creation of a museum space dedicated to the life and work of Seguro, a native of the town.
The winner of the debate between Pacheco Pereira and André Ventura was the 'Report on Abuses'. This document shows that pretending the past did not happen is a method that always ends badly.
There is a clear return of politics and the political, of friend and enemy, to the public sphere. Even around here.
Perhaps it is inevitable that the memory of what Salazarism was fades over time. Past public debate has contributed to this, and competition between parties generates cycles.
Portugal has often shown itself to be a good reflection of the tensions and struggles in the West, which is why I wrote the book 'Portugal and the West', just published.
One of the moments from the debate between Pacheco Pereira and André Ventura regarding political prisoners before and after the 25th of April.
On 2 April 1976, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic (CRP). Fifty years later, the anniversary invites us to celebrate its legacy while acknowledging the growing political challenges to its foundational consensus. As new political actors emerge, the Constitution is shifting from a framework for debate to a central point of conflict, marking a potential end to the cycle of stability that has defined the democratic regime since the revolution.
On the 25th of April, there were more than four thousand political prisoners. Afterwards, even considering former PIDE agents, the number is lower.
