After the military coup in 1926, an authoritarian corporatism developed under António de Oliveira Salazar, the so-called Estado Novo (New State). It was modelled on Italian fascism.
Trade unions and political parties were banned and the fight for wages and labour rights was criminalised. A censorship authority monitored the media, literature and art. Profiteers and supporters of the regime were the upper classes, large landowners, the military, the church and the police. The secret police PIDE, trained by German Nazis, imprisoned and tortured members of the opposition. For that purpose it maintained an extensive network of informers and special prisons, including in the African colonies.
Portugal did business with all sides during the Second World War. With these war gains, a protectionist industrial policy began in the 1950s. Anti-democratic Portugal was a founding member of NATO in 1949 and of the European Free Trade Association in 1960.
Marcelo Caetano replaced Salazar in 1968 after he fell ill. His attempt to modernise Portugal with „liberal fascism“ failed.
In July 1943, the PCP called for a mass strike against the unspeakable living and working conditions. Thousands of workers at CUF, the largest chemical company in the hands of a wealthy family, participated. The strike was put down by the police and military, who also attacked the protesting workers‘ families.
Believers at the „Miracle of the Sun“ in Fatima in 1917. In addition to low education, the Catholic Church with its superstitious religiosity played a major role in securing the dictatorship.
Hitler Youth in Portuguese – the Mocidade Portuguesa (Portuguese Youth). Introduced in 1936 and compulsory for children aged 7-14, it lost its significance after 1945.
Queen Elizabeth II on a state visit to Prime Minister Salazar in 1957. The monarch and the dictator were allies in foreign policy and in the exploitation of the Portuguese labour force.
Images
Unstated, commons.wikimedia.org, Travessa_do_Baluarte,_Lisboa,_1943.jpg, gemeinfrei
Judah Ruah, commons.wikimedia.org, People_looking_miracle_sun.jpg, gemeinfrei
Fotógrafo: Estúdio Horácio Novais, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, https://www.flickr.com/photos/biblarte/3751901078/in/album-72157621803898656/
Amadeu Ferrari, commons.wikimedia.org, Visita_da_Rainha_Isabel_II,_encontro_com_Oliveira_Salazar_num_intervalo_da_gala_em_São_Carlos_1957-02-19_-_Amadeu_Ferrari_(Arquivo_Municipal_de_Lisboa).png, gemeinfrei