Dictatorship in Portugal

Óscar Carmona form Government, after direct suffrage, with a single list, thus becoming President of the Republic, invites in 1928 the Professor of the University of Coimbra António Oliveira Salazar to assume the function of Minister of Finance, succeeding in successfully balancing the public accounts , gaining great prestige in the political / military sphere.

As a result of his work, Salazar was appointed President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) in 1932, with this appointment the regime stabilized but in counterpart gained an authoritarian and repressive character
The Estado Novo became an authoritarian and undemocratic, anticommunist, nationalist, corporatist political system, and the transition to this new regime concludes with the approval of the Constitution of 1933

Picture 1- António Oliveira Salazar

New State or Salazarism

Regime that was in force in Portugal from the approval of the Constitution of 1933 until the revolution of 25 of April of 1974, this regime lasted 41 years, was authoritarian, conservative, nationalist, corporativist of State of fascist inspiration (the legislative power was attributed to representative corporations of economic, industrial and professional interests), was a Catholic regime, anti-liberal, anti-communist, anti-parliamentary, anti-partisan and above all colonialist

This regime bears similarities to authoritarian regimes, inspired by Mussolini, Italy, however there are divergences of several currents in which to affirm that the Estado Novo was a fascist regime

Salazar became a prime figure in this regime, being President of the Council of Ministers from July 1932 to 1968, the year in which he leaves because of illness, he never came to know that he ceased to be President of the Council.

Marcello Caetano replaces Salazar in power,  who headed the Government from 1968 to 1974, continuing the policies of his predecessor

Picture 2 - Marcello Caetano- replaced Salazar in power, becoming President of the Council

The Politics of Salazar

Salazar creates the National Union (Portuguese political organization created to support the New State Government), being the only political party legally constituted.

In the Estado Novo there were times of electoral fraud and of great repression provoked by the political police to PIDE

Colonialism: Salazar argued that Portuguese territories should extend from Minho to Timor. Throughout this dictatorial regime the Colonial Act was elaborated that was a constitutional law that defined the forms of relationship between the metropolis (Portugal) and its colonies

Picture 3- Portugal and the colonies

Colonial War: began in 1961, became a cause for the fall of this dictatorial regime, was a period of confrontation between the Portuguese armed forces and the organized forces of liberation and independence movements of the overseas provinces: Angola, Mozambique and Guinea - Bissau, these Portuguese colonies wanted independence, and for that reason they initiated opposition and resistance movements before the Portuguese presence in these territories

This conflict ends with the Revolution of April 25, 1974, with this revolution was accepted the claims of independence of the Portuguese colonies

During World War II, Portugal took a position of neutrality, but during the war our country experienced times of economic crisis, especially with food shortages and inflation (general increase of prices in relation to the quantity of goods made available )

After the end of World War II, Portugal granted Lajes Air Base to the Americans.

In 1955 Portugal was one of the first members admitted to the UN, however later the Portuguese position in the UN would suffer because of the colonial question, because the UN insisted that Portugal give independence to the colonies, however Salazar and more late Marcello Caetano defended before the UN that the colonies were not autonomous territories, but an integral part and one of Portugal (from Minho to Timor)

Throughout the dictatorship, many people emigrated mainly young people who thus tried to escape the colonial war, choosing as destination countries: Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France and the United States