109-716: The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution . It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820 ), 1826 (drawn up by King Dom Pedro IV ), 1838 (after the Liberal Wars ), 1911 (following the 5 October 1910 revolution ), and 1933 (after the 28 May 1926 coup d'état ). The Portuguese Constitution of 1822 ( Constituição Política da Monarquia Portuguesa , "Political Constitution of
218-583: A Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of legislation. Ten of its thirteen judges were chosen by the Assembly of the Republic. Another important change reduced the president's power by restricting presidential ability to dismiss the government, timeline to dissolve parliament, or veto legislation. Despite the 1982 amendments, centrists and conservatives continued to criticize the constitution as too ideological and economically restrictive. Hence,
327-534: A UN member state as Guinea-Bissau . This was followed in 1975 by the independence of Cape Verde , Mozambique , São Tomé and Príncipe and Angola in Africa and the declaration of independence of East Timor in Southeast Asia . These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Angola and Mozambique), creating over a million Portuguese "returned" –
436-581: A decades-long civil war which involved the Soviet Union , Cuba, South Africa, and the United States. Millions of Angolans died in the aftermath of independence due to armed conflict, malnutrition and disease. After a brief period of stability, Mozambique became embroiled in a civil war which left it one of the poorest nations in the world. The country's situation improved after the 1990s, and multi-party elections have been held. East Timor
545-556: A "non-fascist nature" and argues that it "neither reached power at all nor, once created, fulfilled functions of control and monopoly of access to power or mobilization of the masses, which, in general, the fascists did." Scholarly opinion varies on whether the Estado Novo and the National Union should be considered fascist or not. Salazar himself criticized the "exaltation of youth, the cult of force through direct action,
654-457: A brief training course and had served in the colonies' defensive campaigns at the same rank as academy graduates. In February 1974, Caetano decided to remove General António de Spínola from the command of Portuguese forces in Guinea in the face of Spínola's increasing disagreement with the promotion of military officers and the direction of Portuguese colonial policy. This occurred shortly after
763-762: A broad coalition, the Movement of Democratic Unity (MUD), which ranged from ultra-Catholics and fringe elements of the extreme right to the Portuguese Communist Party . Initially, the moderate opposition controlled the MUD, but it soon became strongly influenced by the Communist Party, which controlled its youth wing . In the leadership were several communists, among them Octávio Pato , Salgado Zenha , Mário Soares , Júlio Pomar and Mário Sacramento . The opposition Movement of Democratic Unity
872-578: A growing economy sparked new technical and organisational challenges. On 13 November 1972, Fundo do Ultramar (The Overseas Fund, a sovereign wealth fund ) was enacted with Decreto-Lei n.º 448/ /72 and the Ministry of Defence ordinance Portaria 696/72 to finance the war. The increasing burden of the war effort meant that the government had to find continuous sources of financing. Decreto-Lei n.º 353, of 13 July 1973 and Decreto-Lei n.º 409 of 20 August 1973 were enforced to reduce military expenses and increase
981-697: A high-level decision-making body for the armed forces themselves. The council was a concession to the MFA for allowing the Constituent Assembly to sit and promulgate a new "basic law." Some of the Portuguese left, especially the PCP, supported the idea. The final innovative feature of the constitution was its creation of a system of government that was both presidential and parliamentary. The Constituent Assembly favored two centers of power so as to avoid both
1090-497: A leader and prime minister by Marcelo Caetano , the name of the party was changed to Acção Nacional Popular (" People's National Action "). Subsequent to Salazar's retirement, the party faced formal competition in the 1969 legislative election . However, the conduct of this election was little different from past contests, with the ANP winning all constituencies in a landslide. The party had no real philosophy apart from support for
1199-584: A liberalization program designed to restore civil rights that had been suppressed during the Spanish Civil War and World War II in hopes of improving the image of his regime in Western circles. The measures included parliamentary elections, a general political amnesty, restoration of freedom of the press, curtailment of legal repression and a commitment to introduce the right of habeas corpus . The opposition to Salazar started to organize itself around
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#17327718901801308-569: A part of a purge of the leadership of the Portuguese National Syndicalists . The Portuguese National Syndicalists broke into factions, some going into exile while the majority ended up joining the National Union. Salazar denounced the National Syndicalists as "inspired by certain foreign models" (meaning German Nazism ) and condemned their "exaltation of youth, the cult of force through direct action,
1417-590: A political party. The NU became an ancillary body, not a source of political power. At no stage did it appear that Salazar wished it to fulfill the central role the fascist party had acquired in Mussolini's Italy; in fact, it was meant to be a platform of conservatism, not a revolutionary vanguard. The National Union's ideology was corporatism, and it took as many inspirations from Catholic encyclicals such as Rerum novarum and Quadragesimo anno as well as from Mussolini's corporate state. Unlike fascist parties,
1526-412: A prime minister. Óscar Carmona served as president until his death in 1951. In practice, he mostly turned day-to-day control of the government to Salazar, to the point that the president's prerogative to remove him from office was the only check on his power. Carmona's successor, Craveiro Lopes , showed an independent streak that led Salazar to replace him with Américo Tomás in 1958. For a decade, Tomás
1635-472: A profound impact on the country. The revolutionary Armed Forces Movement (MFA) began as an attempt to liberate Portugal from the Estado Novo regime and challenge new military laws which were coming into force . The laws would reduce the military budget and reformulate the Portuguese military. Younger military-academy graduates resented Caetano's programme of commissioning militia officers who completed
1744-500: A revolutionary change and the beginning of an historic turning point for Portuguese society. The Revolution restored their fundamental rights and freedoms to the people of Portugal. In the exercise of those rights and freedoms, the people's legitimate representatives are gathered to draw up a Constitution that matches the country's aspirations. The Constituent Assembly affirms the Portuguese people's decision to defend national independence, guarantee citizens' fundamental rights, establish
1853-513: A turbulent period, known as the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso (Ongoing Revolutionary Process). The conservative forces surrounding Spinola and the MFA radicals initially confronted each other covertly or overtly, and Spinola was forced to appoint key MFA figures to senior security positions. Right-wing military figures attempted an unsuccessful counter-coup , leading to Spinola's removal from office. Unrest within
1962-463: Is a national holiday ( Portuguese : Dia da Liberdade , Freedom Day) that commemorates the revolution. By the 1970s, nearly a half-century of authoritarian rule weighed on Portugal. The 28 May 1926 coup d'état implemented an authoritarian regime incorporating social Catholicism and integralism . In 1933, the regime was renamed the Estado Novo (New State). António de Oliveira Salazar served as Prime Minister until 1968. In sham elections
2071-401: The retornados . The Carnation Revolution got its name from the fact that almost no shots were fired, and from restaurant worker Celeste Caeiro who offered carnations to soldiers when the population took to the streets to celebrate the end of the dictatorship. Other demonstrators followed suit and placed carnations in the muzzles of guns and on soldiers' uniforms. In Portugal, 25 April
2180-575: The 25 April (Portuguese: 25 de Abril ), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Lisbon, producing major social, economic, territorial, demographic, and political changes in Portugal and its overseas colonies through the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso . It resulted in the Portuguese transition to democracy and
2289-673: The 25 de Abril Bridge began on 5 November 1962. It opened on 6 August 1966 as the Salazar Bridge, named after Estado Novo leader António de Oliveira Salazar . Soon after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge to commemorate the revolution. Citizens who removed the large, brass "Salazar" sign from a main pillar of the bridge and painted a provisional "25 de Abril" in its place were recorded on film. Many Portuguese streets and squares are named vinte e cinco de Abril (25 April), for
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#17327718901802398-530: The Carta , was the second constitution in Portuguese history . It was given to the country in 1826 by King Dom Pedro IV . In contrast to the first constitution, the Portuguese Constitution of 1822 , approved by the constitutional assembly or cortes (see the Liberal Revolution of 1820 , the Carta was an imposed constitution issued by the king under his own authority without the involvement of
2507-585: The Constitution of 1822 was temporarily restored, while a constituent Cortes was convened to produce a new constitution. This was agreed, and Maria II swore an oath to it on 4 April 1838. It was a synthesis of the previous constitution of 1822 and 1826, with the establishment of an elected Senate rather than a House of Peers also drawn from the 1831 Constitution of Belgium and the Spanish Constitution of 1837 . The French constitution of 1830
2616-724: The Corporative Chamber , representing different "corporations", schools , universities , colonies and local municipalities , in effect appointed by the National Assembly after its inaugural. The role of the Corporative Chamber was limited to that of an advisory body, while all legislation was handled by the Assembly under the direction of its only party or "movement", the National Union , an ideology-lacking beacon completely subordinate to
2725-709: The Council of State (Chapter III). Title 3 refers to the Assembly of the Republic , stating its status and election (Chapter 1), its competencies (Chapter 2) and its organization and functioning (Chapter 3). Title 4 refers to the Government , stating its function and structure (Chapter 1), its formation and responsibility (Chapter 2) and its competencies (Chapter 3). Title 5 refers to the Courts , stating their general principles (Chapter 1), their organization (Chapter 2),
2834-483: The national symbols and official language (Article 11). The Part 1 of the Constitution defines the fundamental rights and duties. It includes 68 articles (12 to 79), subdivided in three titles. Title 1 states the general principles of the fundamental rights and duties. Title 2 refers the rights, liberties and guaranties, namely the personal ones (Chapter I), the political participation ones (Chapter II) and
2943-511: The 1960s, the outbreak of colonial wars in Africa set off significant social changes, among them the rapid incorporation of women into the labour market. Independence movements began in the African colonies of Portuguese Mozambique , Portuguese Congo , Portuguese Angola , and Portuguese Guinea . The Salazar and Caetano regimes responded with diverting more and more of Portugal's budget to colonial administration and military expenditure , and
3052-409: The 1961–1974 Portuguese Colonial War . Salazar had a stroke in 1968, and was replaced as prime minister by Marcelo Caetano , who adopted a slogan of "continuous evolution", suggesting reforms, such as a monthly pension to rural workers who had never contributed to Portugal's social security . Caetano's Primavera Marcelista (Marcelist Spring) included greater political tolerance and freedom of
3161-559: The Constituent Assembly, but they were also advocated by members of the Socialist Party (PS), who at that time were seeking to be as revolutionary as the other left groups. The resulting document proclaimed that the object of the republic was "to ensure the transition to socialism." The constitution also urged the state to "socialize the means of production and abolish the exploitation of man by man," phrases that echoed Karl Marx 's Communist Manifesto . Workers' Committees were given
3270-551: The Constitution (Article 3), the Portuguese citizenship (Article 4), the territory of Portugal (Article 5), the status of the State as being unitary (Article 6), the governance of Portugal in the international relations (Article 7), the incorporation of the international law in the Portuguese law (Article 8), the definition of the main tasks of the State (Article 9), the universal suffrage and political parties (Article 10) and
3379-519: The EEC average, slightly exceeding the level at the height of the revolutionary period. A January 2011 story in the Diário de Notícias (a Portuguese tabloid format newspaper) reported that the government of Portugal encouraged overspending and investment bubbles in public-private partnerships between 1974 and 2010, and the economy has been damaged by risky credit , public debt creation, overstaffing in
Constitution of Portugal - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-578: The EEC average. Due to revolutionary economic policies, oil shocks, recession in Europe and the return of hundreds of thousands of overseas Portuguese from its former colonies, Portugal began an economic crisis in 1974–1975. Real gross domestic product growth resumed as a result of Portugal's economic resurgence since 1985 and adhesion to the European Economic Community (EEC). The country's 1991 per-capita GDP reached 54.9 percent of
3597-465: The European Union. The constitution of 1976 guarantees all religions the right to practise, and non-Catholic groups are recognised as legal entities with the right to assemble . Non-Catholic conscientious objectors have the right to apply for alternative military service. The Catholic Church , however, still sought to impede other missionary activity. Construction of what is now called
3706-698: The Fundamental Principles, four parts plus the Final Dispositions. The parts are subdivided in titles and some of the titles are subdivided in chapters. The preamble to the Constitution consists of the enacting formula : On the 25th of April 1974 the Armed Forces Movement crowned the long resistance and reflected the deepest feelings of the Portuguese people by overthrowing the fascist regime. Freeing Portugal from dictatorship, oppression and colonialism represented
3815-523: The Higher Council of National Defense, was limited to commenting on military matters. The other, the Council of State , is composed by the President himself, plus former presidents, plus other prominent elected and non-elected figures of the Portuguese state, and it does not have the power to prevent government and parliamentary actions by declaring them unconstitutional. Another amendment created
3924-724: The Land Reform Review Law the following year. Restoration of illegally occupied land began in 1978. In 1960, Portugal's per-capita GDP was 38 percent of the European Economic Community average. By the end of the Salazar period in 1968 it had risen to 48 percent, and in 1973 it had reached 56.4 percent; the percentages were affected by the 40 percent of the budget which underwrote the African wars. In 1975 (the year of greatest revolutionary turmoil), Portugal's per-capita GDP declined to 52.3 percent of
4033-416: The MFA a separate and practically co-equal branch of government. The council was to be an advisory body to the president (who was at first likely to come from the military itself), and would function as a sort of constitutional court to ensure that the laws passed by parliament were in accordance with the MFA's desires and did not undermine the achievements of the revolution. The council was also to serve as
4142-580: The MFA between leftist forces often close to the Communist Party , and more moderate groups often allied with the Socialists eventually led to the group's splintering and dissolution. This stage of the PREC lasted until the coup of 25 November 1975 , led by a group of far-left officers, specifically Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. It was said to be a Communist plot to seize power, in order to discredit
4251-409: The National Union played no role in the government - it only served as a tool for the selection of National Assembly deputies, as well as a way to provide some legitimacy to non-competitive elections that Salazar's regime regularly held. The National Union was set up to control and restrain public opinion rather than to mobilize it, and ministers, diplomats and civil servants were never compelled to join
4360-479: The PVDE, Polícia de Vigilância e Defesa do Estado), persecuted opponents of the regime, who were often tortured, imprisoned or killed. In 1958, General Humberto Delgado , a former member of the regime, stood against the regime's presidential candidate, Américo Tomás , and refused to allow his name to be withdrawn. Tomás won the election amidst claims of widespread electoral fraud, and the Salazar government abandoned
4469-518: The Portuguese Estado Novo conservative authoritarian and not fascist. In his The Anatomy of Fascism , Robert Paxton express the same view, writing that Salazar's regime was "not only nonfascist, but voluntarily nontotalitarian". On the other hand, Portuguese scholars like Fernando Rosas , Manuel Villaverde Cabral, Manuel de Lucena, Manuel Loff and Raquel Varela think that the Estado Novo should be considered fascist. The party
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4578-471: The Portuguese Army had retreated. A consequence of the Carnation Revolution was the sudden withdrawal of Portuguese administrative and military personnel from its overseas colonies. Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese Africans returned to Portugal, becoming known as the retornados . These people—workers, small business people, and farmers—often had deep roots in the former colonies. Angola began
4687-656: The Portuguese Monarchy") approved on 23 September 1822 was the first Portuguese constitution, marking an attempt to end absolutism and introduce a constitutional monarchy . Although it was actually in force only for two brief periods, 1822–23 and 1836–38, it was fundamental to the history of democracy in Portugal. It was replaced by the Constitutional Charter of 1826 . The Charter of 1826 or Carta Constitucional , often simply referred to as
4796-572: The Portuguese Republic: The fundamental principles cover the first eleven articles (1st to 11th) of the Constitution. This part covers the general Constitutional principles, stating the status of Portugal as sovereign republic (Article 1), the status of the Portuguese Republic as a state based on the democratic rule of law (Article 2), the sovereignty residing in the people and the legality being subordinate to
4905-403: The Salazar administration. The executive branch was headed by a president , who was directly elected for seven years without term limits . He was vested with sweeping executive powers; on paper, he was practically a dictator. He was assisted by a prime minister responsible solely to him. Indeed, the Constitution did not require the president to even consult the National Assembly in appointing
5014-494: The agricultural, commercial and industrial policies. Title 4 refers to the financial and tax system. The Part 3 defines the political organization and includes 169 articles (108 to 276), subdivided in ten titles. Title 1 states the general principles of the organization of the political power. Title 2 refers to the President of the Republic , stating his/her status and election (Chapter 1), his/her competency (Chapter 2) and
5123-423: The basic principles of democracy, ensure the primacy of a democratic state based on the rule of law and open up a path towards a socialist society, with respect for the will of the Portuguese people and with a view to the construction of a country that is freer, more just and more fraternal. Meeting in plenary session on 2 April 1976, the Constituent Assembly does hereby pass and decree the following Constitution of
5232-506: The basis of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, the constitution came into force on 11 April 1933, following the 1933 Portuguese constitutional referendum . It is credited as the first constitution of any recognized country embracing corporatist principles (though predated significantly by the Charter of Carnaro ), espousing a bicameral parliament, including a western-styled National Assembly , elected directly every four years, and
5341-473: The constitution was amended again in 1989. Many economic restrictions were removed and much ideological language eliminated, while governmental structures remained unchanged. The most important change enabled the state to privatize much of the property and many of the enterprises nationalized after 1974 revolution. The Portuguese Constitution includes the Preamble and 296 articles. The articles are organized in
5450-560: The constitution's features are noteworthy: including its ideological content, its provision for the role of the military , and its dual presidential-parliamentary system. Until the constitutional revisions of 1982 and 1989, the constitution was a highly charged ideological document with numerous references to socialism , the rights of workers , and the desirability of a socialist economy . It severely restricted private investment and business activity. Many of these articles were advanced by Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) representatives in
5559-400: The country became increasingly isolated from the rest of the world, facing increasing internal dissent, arms embargoes and other international sanctions . By the early-1970s, the Portuguese military was overstretched and there was no political solution in sight. Although the number of casualties was relatively small, the war had entered its second decade; Portugal faced criticism from
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#17327718901805668-572: The country became increasingly polarised. Thousands of left-wing students and anti-war activists avoided conscription by emigrating illegally , primarily to France and the United States . Meanwhile three generations of right-wing militants in Portuguese schools were guided by a revolutionary nationalism partially influenced by European neo-fascism , and supported the Portuguese Empire and an authoritarian regime. The war had
5777-434: The creation of the regime’s new institutions, the National Union embarked on a period of lethargy from which it did not emerge until 1944. This lethargy can be partly explained by the affirmation by the regime that it did not attribute great importance to it beyond its utility as an electoral and legitimating vehicle. The Estado Novo also created state bodies for propaganda, youth and labour, but they were not connected with
5886-564: The dangers of an excessively powerful executive, as was the case during Salazar's Estado Novo regime, and the weaknesses arising from prolonged periods of parliamentary instability, as was the case during the First Republic . The constitution was controversial from the start. It was widely seen in political circles as a compromise document in which all the parties contributing to it had been able to incorporate in it provisions they found vital. The constitution's parliamentary sections had
5995-424: The day of the revolution. The Portuguese Mint chose the 40th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution for its 2014 2 euro commemorative coin . Freedom Day (25 April) is a national holiday , with state-sponsored and spontaneous commemorations of the civil liberties and political freedoms achieved after the revolution. It commemorates the 25 April 1974 revolution and Portugal's first free elections on that date
6104-400: The decolonisation period, and established multi-party political systems by the early 1990s. By a treaty signed in 1974, Portugal recognised the incorporation of former Portuguese India into India . The 1961 annexation of the tiny Portuguese colony of Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá by Benin was also recognised by Portugal in 1975. A 1978 Portuguese offer to return Macau to China
6213-571: The disc jockey at Emissores Associados de Lisboa gave the time signal Falta cinco minutos às vinte e três at 10:55 p.m. on 24 April before turntabling Paulo de Carvalho 's " E Depois do Adeus " (Portugal's entry in the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest ). This alerted rebel captains and soldiers to begin the coup. The second signal came at 12:20 a.m. on 25 April, when Rádio Renascença broadcast " Grândola, Vila Morena " (a song by Zeca Afonso , an influential political folk musician and singer, many of whose songs were banned from Portuguese radio at
6322-408: The document centered on its ideological content, its restrictions on certain economic activities, and its institutionalization of the military's role in the country's governance. The CDS, the party furthest to the right among those which had participated in the document's drafting, refused to ratify it. However, the party agreed to abide by it in the interim. By the early 1980s, the political climate
6431-641: The dos Santos family ( Jerónimo Martins ). One of the largest was the Companhia União Fabril (CUF), with a wide range of interests including cement, petro and agro chemicals, textiles, beverages, naval and electrical engineering, insurance , banking, paper, tourism and mining, with branches, plants and projects throughout the Portuguese Empire. Other medium-sized family companies specialised in textiles (such as those in Covilhã and
6540-442: The early-1970s. Rural families engaged in agriculture and forestry. Income from the colonies came from resource extraction, of oil, coffee, cotton, cashews, coconuts, timber, minerals (including diamonds), metals (such as iron and aluminium), bananas, citrus, tea, sisal, beer, cement, fish and other seafood, beef and textiles. Labour unions were subject to severe restrictions, and minimum wage laws were not enforced. Starting in
6649-607: The end of the Portuguese Colonial War . The revolution began as a coup organised by the Armed Forces Movement (Portuguese: Movimento das Forças Armadas , MFA), composed of military officers who opposed the regime, but it was soon coupled with an unanticipated popular civil resistance campaign. Negotiations with African independence movements began, and by the end of 1974, Portuguese troops were withdrawn from Portuguese Guinea , which became
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#17327718901806758-471: The first constitutional government, led by centre-left socialist Mário Soares , took office. Before April 1974, the intractable Portuguese colonial war in Africa consumed up to 40 percent of the Portuguese budget. Although part of Guinea-Bissau became independent de facto in 1973, Bissau (its capital) and the large towns were still under Portuguese control. In Angola and Mozambique independence movements were active in more remote rural areas from which
6867-507: The following year. National Union (Portugal) The National Union ( Portuguese : União Nacional ) was the sole legal party of the Estado Novo regime in Portugal , founded in July 1930 and dominated by António de Oliveira Salazar during most of its existence. Unlike in most single-party regimes, the National Union was more of a political arm of the government rather than holding actual power over it. The National Union membership
6976-414: The formation of large conglomerates . The regime maintained a policy of corporatism which resulted in the placement of much of the economy in the hands of conglomerates including those founded by the families of António Champalimaud ( Banco Totta & Açores , Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor , Secil , Cimpor ), José Manuel de Mello ( Companhia União Fabril ), Américo Amorim ( Corticeira Amorim ) and
7085-578: The government (and the opposition) were planning the succession of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco . Franco died a year and a half later, in 1975. Four civilians were shot dead by government forces under the Directorate General of Security, whose personnel involved were later arrested by the MFA for their murders. After the coup, power was held by the National Salvation Junta (a military junta). Portugal experienced
7194-502: The government candidate usually ran unopposed, while the opposition used the limited political freedoms allowed during the brief election period to protest, withdrawing their candidates before the election to deny the regime political legitimacy . The Estado Novo's political police, the PIDE (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado, later the DGS, Direcção-Geral de Segurança and originally
7303-537: The international community, and was becoming increasingly isolated. In 1973 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for Portugal's immediate withdrawal from Guinea. Atrocities such as the Wiriyamu Massacre undermined the war's popularity and the government's diplomatic position, although details of the massacre are still disputed. The war became unpopular in Portugal, and
7412-548: The main headquarters of the Lisbon military police, the National Republican Guard , at the Largo do Carmo. This building was surrounded by the MFA, which pressured him to cede power to General Spínola. Caetano and President Américo Tomás were sent to Brazil; Caetano spent the rest of his life there, and Tomás returned to Portugal a few years later. The revolution was closely watched by neighbouring Spain, where
7521-401: The military coup into a popular revolution "led by radical army officers, soldiers, workers and peasants that toppled the senile Salazar dictatorship, using the language of socialism and democracy. The attempt to radicalise the outcome", noted a contemporary observer of the time, "had little mass support and was easily suppressed by the Socialist Party and its allies." Caetano found refuge in
7630-636: The northwest), ceramics, porcelain, glass and crystal (such as those in Alcobaça , Caldas da Rainha and Marinha Grande ), engineered wood (such as SONAE , near Porto ), canned fish ( Algarve and the northwest), fishing, food and beverages (liqueurs, beer and port wine ), tourism (in Estoril , Cascais , Sintra and the Algarve ) and agriculture (the Alentejo , known as the breadbasket of Portugal) by
7739-442: The number of officers by incorporating militia and military-academy officers as equals. According to government estimates, about 900,000 hectares (2,200,000 acres) of agricultural land were seized between April 1974 and December 1975 as part of land reform ; about 32 percent of the appropriations were ruled illegal. In January 1976, the government pledged to restore the illegally occupied land to its owners in 1976, and enacted
7848-465: The party meant either "retirement" or a prestigious pause from government duties. The absence of youth was a characteristic of the National Union, particularly in the 1930s. At the first Congress, 68% of the delegates were over 40 years old. According to historian António Costa Pinto , the National Union is an example of extreme weakness among dictatorships with weak single parties. There was no internal party activity until 1933. From 1934 onwards, after
7957-424: The party. According to António Costa Pinto , the National Union was a moribund party, created by a governmental decree rather than by political activists, and which was "dominated by the administration, put to sleep and reawakened in accordance with the situation at the time". He describes the party as "an empty, undermined space into which were formally sent those who wanted to join the regime and which, once full,
8066-432: The party. In 1931, the official newspaper of the National Union, Diário da Manhã . Its first issue was published on 4 April 1931. Using Diário da Manhã , the National Union called for national unity and cooperation, arguing that the "foreign institutional system" of the [[First Portiguese Republic "had proved to be incompatible with the necessities, interests, qualities and even flaws of the Portuguese nation". It contrasted
8175-479: The people. It served as the constitution of Portugal from 1826 to 1828, from 1834 to 1836 and from 1842 until the end of the monarchy in 1910. The Political Constitution of the Portuguese Monarchy (Constituição Política da Monarquia Portuguesa) of 1838 was the third Portuguese constitution. After the September Revolution in 1836, the Constitutional Charter of 1826 was abolished and in its place
8284-412: The powerful Communist Party. It was followed by a successful counter-coup by more centrist officers, and was marked by constant friction between liberal-democratic forces and leftist-communist political parties. Portugal's first free election was held on 25 April 1975 to write a new constitution replacing the 1933 constitution in force during the Estado Novo era. Another election was held in 1976, and
8393-551: The practice of popularly electing the president and gave the task to the National Assembly . Portugal's Estado Novo government remained neutral in the second world war, and was initially tolerated by its NATO post-war partners due to its anti-communist stance. As the Cold War developed, Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc states vied with each other in supporting guerrillas in the Portuguese colonies , leading to
8502-456: The press , and was seen as an opportunity for the opposition to gain concessions from the regime. In 1969, Caetano authorised the country's first democratic labour union movement since the 1920s. However, after the elections of 1969 and 1973 , hard-liners in the government and the military pushed back against Caetano, with political repression against communists and anti-colonialists . The Estado Novo regime's economic policy encouraged
8611-635: The principle of the superiority of state political power in social life, [and] the propensity for organizing masses behind a single leader" as fundamental differences between fascism and the Catholic corporatism of the Estado Novo . The first leader of the National Union was the Interior Minister Colonel Lopes Mateus. The composition of the Central Commission indicated that the party was meant to support
8720-448: The principle of the superiority of state political power in social life, [and] the propensity for organizing masses behind a single leader" as fundamental differences between fascism and the Catholic corporatism of the Estado Novo. Scholars such as Stanley G. Payne , Thomas Gerard Gallagher , Juan José Linz , António Costa Pinto , Roger Griffin , Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe and Arnd Bauerkämper , as well as Howard J. Wiarda , consider
8829-525: The principles of Salazar’s speech of 30 June 1930. The National Union was formed as a subservient umbrella organization to support the regime itself. It was the only party legally allowed under the Estado Novo regime; all other political parties were banned and persecuted, this later included the National Syndicalists , led by Francisco Rolão Preto , who were originally supporters. In 1934 Salazar arrested and exiled Francisco Rolão Preto as
8938-420: The public administration. Title 10 refers to the national defense . The Part 4 defines the guarantee and revision of the Constitution, including 13 articles (277 to 289), subdivided in two titles. Title 1 refers to the review of constitutionality. Title 2 refers to the constitutional revision. Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( Portuguese : Revolução dos Cravos ), also known as
9047-498: The public sector, a rigid labour market and mismanaged European Union 's structural and cohesion funds for almost four decades. Prime Minister José Sócrates ' cabinet was unable to foresee or forestall this when symptoms first appeared in 2005, and could not ameliorate the situation when Portugal was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2011 and required financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and
9156-722: The publication of Spínola's book, Portugal and the Future , which expressed his political and military views of the Portuguese Colonial War. Several military officers who opposed the war formed the MFA to overthrow the government in a military coup . The MFA was headed by Vítor Alves , Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho and Vasco Lourenço, and was joined later by Salgueiro Maia . The movement was aided by other Portuguese army officers who supported Spínola and democratic civil and military reform. The coup had two secret signals. First,
9265-526: The regime rather than militate for it. Salazar became president, and Albino dos Reis, a former member of the Cunha Leal ULR, was nominated Vice President. The first Central Commission was composed by Bissaia Barreto, João Amaral, a judge and an integralist monarchist, and Nuno Mexia, who had been linked to the Union of Economic Interests (União dos Interesses Económicos) in the 1920s. Appointment to lead
9374-514: The regime. The National Syndicalist leader, Francisco Rolão Preto criticized the National Union in 1945 as a “grouping of moderates of all parties, bourgeois without soul or faith in the national and revolutionary imperatives of our time”. As a result of its lack of ideology, it disappeared in short order after the Portuguese Revolution of 1974 . It has never been revived, and no party claiming to be its heir has won any seats in
9483-611: The required two-thirds majority needed for their amendment. The 1982 amendments were enacted through the ample votes of the AD and the PS. This combination of centre-right and centre-left political forces managed to end the military's control of Portuguese politics. It abolished the Council of the Revolution, controlled by the military, and replaced it with two consultative bodies. One of these,
9592-427: The revolution it was an underdeveloped country with poor infrastructure , inefficient agriculture and some of the worst health and education indicators in Europe. Pre-revolutionary Portugal had some social and economic achievements. After a long period of economic decline before 1914, the Portuguese economy recovered slightly until 1950. It began a period of economic growth in common with Western Europe, of which it
9701-534: The right to supervise the management of enterprises and to have their representatives elected to the boards of state-owned firms . The government, among many admonitions in the same vein, was to "direct its work toward the socialization of medicine and the medicopharmaceutical sectors." Next, the military was given great political power through the role given by the constitution to the MFA-controlled Revolutionary Council that made
9810-571: The status of the judges (Chapter 3) and the Public Ministry (Chapter 4). Title 6 refers to the Constitutional Court . Title 7 refers to the autonomous regions . Title 8 refers to the local power, stating its general principles (Chapter 1) and specifying the freguesia (Chapter 2), the municipality (Chapter 3), the administrative region (Chapter 4) and the organization of dwellers (Chapter 5). Title 9 refers to
9919-425: The streets – mingling with, and supporting, the military insurgents. A central gathering point was the Lisbon flower market, then richly stocked with carnations (which were in season). Some of the insurgents put carnations in their gun barrels , an image broadcast on television worldwide which gave the revolution its name. Although no mass demonstrations preceded the coup, spontaneous civilian involvement turned
10028-561: The support of PS, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS); its socialist content had the support of the PCP, its allies, and the PS. Even before the constitution became law, politicians had agreed to change some provisions after the five-year period in which changes were prohibited (although some circles of the PS and PSD wanted to change it prior to that threshold). Objections to
10137-418: The supposed stability of the Estado Novo, as opposed to the pre-1926 republican government which "transformed the country‟s public life into something like a tribal African disorder". In 1938 Salazar recognized that National Union's activities “were successively diminished until they had almost been extinguished”. With World War II's end, the National Union came to life again. In October 1945, Salazar announced
10246-552: The time). The MFA gave the signals to take over strategic points of power in the country. The content of the songs was largely uncontroversial—censorship would have prevented more inflammatory songs—their broadcasting was a signal, not a direct call to arms. Six hours later, the Caetano government relented. Despite repeated radio appeals from the "captains of April" (the MFA) advising civilians to stay home, thousands of Portuguese took to
10355-401: The workers ones (Chapter III). Title 3 refers the economical, social and cultural rights and duties, these being covered respectively by the chapters 1, 2 and 3. The Part 2 defines the economical organization and includes 28 articles (80 to 107), subdivided in four titles. Title 1 states the general principles of the economical organization. Title 2 refers to the plans. Title 3 refers to
10464-532: Was invaded by Indonesia , and remained occupied until 1999 . There were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths from 1974 to 1999 (about 18,600 killings and 84,200 deaths from hunger and illness), most of which were incurred during the Indonesian occupation. After a long period of one-party rule, Guinea-Bissau experienced a brief civil war and a difficult transition to civilian rule in 1998. Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe avoided civil war during
10573-533: Was also a source of influence. The Constitution of 1911 ( Constituição Política da República Portuguesa , "Political Constitution of the Portuguese Republic") was voted on 21 August 1911, and it was the basic law of the Portuguese First Republic . It was the fourth Portuguese constitution and the first republican constitution. The Portuguese Constitution of 1933 was introduced by Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar in 1933, establishing
10682-454: Was characterised by robust annual growth in GDP (6.9 percent), industrial production (nine percent), consumption (6.5 percent), and gross fixed capital formation (7.8 percent). The revolutionary period experienced a slowly-growing economy, whose only impetus was its 1986 entrance into the European Economic Community . Although Portugal never regained its pre-revolution growth, at the time of
10791-401: Was closed". Pinto notes that the army was kept away from public life, and political activity was prohibited outside public life. This included the National Union, which lacked any kind of political activism. Therefore the party lacked an ideology, and did not mobilize the masses. Pinto argues that it was the opposite, as "in fact demotivation was openly encouraged". He concludes that the party had
10900-571: Was founded in 1930 during the Ditadura Nacional period. Officially it was not a political party but an "organization of unity of all the Portuguese". Salazar in the speech that launched the party, was vague in terms of its role, and he incorporated all the parties supporting the dictatorship, whether republican, monarchic or catholic. Its first organic principles expressly declared that “all citizens, regardless of their political or religious beliefs” would be admitted as long as they adhered to
11009-504: Was intensely partisan, with some 60 percent of the seats occupied by the left. After prolonged deliberation, the Constituent Assembly eventually adopted a constitution that provided for a democratic, parliamentary system with political parties , elections , a parliament , and a prime minister . The document also established an independent judiciary and enumerated and provided for the protection of several human rights . Although relatively few of these provisions are exceptional, some of
11118-426: Was largely a puppet for an aging Salazar. However, after Salazar suffered a stroke in 1968, Tomás replaced him with Marcello Caetano . Tomás was not willing to give Caetano the free hand he'd given Salazar, forcing Caetano to expend nearly all of his political capital to push through even cosmetic attempts at blunting the edge of what had become the longest-lived authoritarian government in Europe. The direct consequence
11227-410: Was legal between 1945 and 1948, but even then, the political system was so heavily rigged that it had no realistic chance of winning. The party won all seats in elections to the National Assembly of Portugal from 1934 to 1973. Opposition candidates were nominally allowed after 1945 but prematurely withdrew in the 1945 and 1973 legislative elections. In 1970, two years after Salazar had been replaced as
11336-404: Was mostly drawn from local notables: landowners, professionals and businessmen, Catholics, monarchists or conservative republicans. The National Union was never a militant or very active organization. Once Salazar assumed the premiership, the National Union became the only party legally allowed to function under the Estado Novo. Salazar announced that the National Union would be the antithesis of
11445-442: Was not known if the armed forces would respect the assembly and allow work on the constitution to go forward. The Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA, English: Armed Forces Movement ) and leftist groups pressured and cajoled the assembly, and there was much discussion of establishing a revolutionary and socialist system of government. Moreover, not all of the assembly's members were committed to parliamentary democracy. The membership
11554-602: Was refused, as the Chinese government did not want to risk jeopardising negotiations with the UK over returning Hong Kong. The territory remained a Portuguese colony until 1999, when it was transferred to China with a joint declaration , and enacted a " one country, two systems " policy similar to that of Hong Kong . The Portuguese economy changed significantly between 1961 and 1973. Total output (GDP at factory cost) had grown by 120 percent in real terms. The pre-revolutionary period
11663-709: Was ripe for constitutional reform. The centre-right conservative coalition Democratic Alliance , formed by the PSD, the CDS, and the People's Monarchist Party, the PPM, was in power; the PS had been voted out of office, and the PCP was politically isolated. The first amendments, enacted in 1982, dealt with the constitution's political arrangements. Although many of the economic provisions of the constitution had not been implemented and were, in effect, ignored, there were not yet enough votes to reach
11772-479: Was the coup d'état of 1974 . The Constitution of 1976 was drafted by a Constituent Assembly that was elected on 25 April 1975, one year after the Carnation Revolution . It was largely drafted in 1975, then finished and officially promulgated in early 1976. Portugal's democratic future was still unclear at the time of the constitution's drafting. Even after a leftist coup had been put down in November 1975 , it
11881-400: Was the poorest country until the 1980s. Portuguese economic growth between 1960 and 1973 (under the Estado Novo regime) created an opportunity for integration with the developed economies of Western Europe despite the colonial war. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and companies changed their patterns of production and consumption. The increasing complexity of
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