The 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution – the peaceful uprising that toppled a dictatorship and ended a decade of colonial war
Retrieved on:
Thursday, April 25, 2024
The work of photographer Alfredo Cunha features prominently in many – he authored a book compiling the most emblematic images of this period.
Key Points:
- The work of photographer Alfredo Cunha features prominently in many – he authored a book compiling the most emblematic images of this period.
- Many of those who organised the revolution are still alive today and have been present at events to mark the anniversary.
The roots of the revolution
- This led a section of the country’s army to rise up.
- Carlos de Almada Contreiras, a captain in the Portuguese navy, played a prominent role in the revolution.
International support
- María José Tiscar, for example, argues that Franco repaid Salazar’s help during the Spanish civil war with political, military and diplomatic support during the Portuguese colonial war (1961-1974), sometimes covertly.
- From 1965 onward, Cuba provided support in training guerrilla forces from the colonial liberation movements fighting the Estado Novo, first in Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, and then in Angola and Mozambique.
- A year after the final departure of Portuguese troops from Africa in 1976, the Portuguese far-right, with the support of the CIA, bombed the Cuban embassy in Lisbon, claiming the lives of two diplomats.
Celebrating peace
- Images abound of young soldiers with carnations in their rifles, and of the joyous faces of those celebrating the fall of the Estado Novo.
- The city’s streets and boulevards are also adorned with many murals paying tribute to the events of 25 April 1974.
- No other country in the region has so recently experienced a revolution that gave way to its current democratic government.
Democratic revolution
- Five decades after the revolution erupted, Portugal has followed a unique path to democracy.
- Once the Estado Novo and its apparatus of oppression had been dismantled, power was swiftly handed over to civilians, and military officials ceased to hold political positions.
Fernando Camacho Padilla no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.