Retired captain Joaquim Correia Bernardo, 84, remembers the revolution that overthrew the fascist dictatorship in Portugal five decades ago as if it were yesterday.
He was in his early thirties when he helped organize the military coup of April 25, 1974, which returned democracy to Portugal after 48 years of authoritarian rule.
In the city of Santarém, next to the statue of Salgueiro Maia, an Army captain who played a crucial role in the revolution, Correia Bernardo said that his values, such as democratic participation and respect for others, must be maintained.
“Freedom cannot be lost,” he said.
His words have a special resonance now, as the far right is on the march again in Portugal.
It was from a military base in Santarém that a column of vehicles left towards the capital Lisbon in 1974. Correia Bernardo stayed behind, as it was his duty to put a “Plan B” into action, in case the coup did not go as planned.
The nearly bloodless coup was successful and became known as the “Carnation Revolution” because the soldiers placed flowers in the barrels of their guns.
The movement also led to the collapse of Portuguese colonial rule abroad, particularly in Africa, where wars against national liberation movements had exhausted the armed forces and drained state coffers.
But now, as the Portuguese prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of the dictatorship, with thousands of people expected to gather in the streets, the far right is recovering after a general election last month.
Founded in 2019, the populist, anti-immigration Chega party, led by a former sports commentator known for his derogatory comments against ethnic minorities, is now Portugal’s third-largest political party.
Correia Bernardo and academics say Chega’s growth is due to the perception that traditional politicians have failed to meet citizens’ needs. Some of the ideals of the deposed regime persisted and Chega leader André Ventura adopted a narrative that allowed him to garner support, they say.
Chega quadrupled its parliamentary representation to 50 parliamentarians in 230 seats in last month’s election. The center-right Democratic Alliance won by a small margin and is governing without an absolute majority, with Ventura warning of instability if the government does not negotiate policies with his party.
“SHOUT OF REVOLT”
Correia Bernardo said the failures of consecutive governments to address social discontent over issues such as the housing crisis and low wages fueled Chega’s rise. A vote for Chega would probably be a “cry of revolt”, he said.
A study published on Friday by the Lisbon Institute of Social Sciences (ICS) and the ISCTE research center showed that 34% of those interviewed believe that the housing situation is worse now than before the revolution and 42% think that the market work deteriorated.
Around 66% of those interviewed also said that corruption is more widespread today, a problem that Chega has promised to eliminate.
More than half do not want another authoritarian regime, but 23% said that if current political leaders followed the “ideals” of former dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, who ruled for almost 40 years, Portugal could “regain its greatness”.
“A narrative that was created during the regime resisted the 25th of April (revolution) and persists 50 years later,” said Filipa Madeira, from ICS, one of the study’s authors.
Political scientist Vicente Valentim of the University of Oxford, who wrote a book about the far right, said that some voted for Chega because they felt “left behind”, but that many already shared the party’s ideology, such as racist views and xenophobic.
For a long time, there was no politician considered eligible to lead the far right, but Ventura changed that, said Valentim.
“Portugal was the country that seemed immune to the radical right and, suddenly, all that changed,” said Valentim. “It is important to understand what happened because you cannot combat a phenomenon without understanding its causes.”
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