Despite cruel repression and state terror, there were repeated uprisings and resistance during the 48 years of Portuguese fascism. This ranged from mass mobilisations for the election of the democratic General Delgado to labour struggles by the rural proletariat and militant actions.
The illegal communist party PCP played a special role in the resistance. Its groundwork among industrial and agricultural labourers and its continuity earned it a high reputation among the population.
The protests intensified around 1970. There were strikes by dockers and railwaymen, student protests, a large left-wing electoral association and a movement for the amnesty of political prisoners. Intersindical was founded as a trade union federation consisting of dozens of individual trade unions with hundreds of thousands of members.
Important media of the opposition were the communist newspaper Avante, printed underground and distributed illegally, and the radio programme Voz da Liberdade (Voice of Freedom), broadcasted on algerian radio.
Lisbon’s industrial belt was a stronghold of the left before and after the revolution.
Four of the many people murdered by the regime: democratic general Humberto Delgado, striking farm labourer Caterina Eufémia, communist artist José Diaz, radical left-wing student Ribeiro dos Santos.
The LUAR (Liga de Unidade e Acção Revolucionária) was one of several groups that carried out militant actions during the dictatorship, such as sabotaging war equipment, attacking police stations and robbing banks. After the Carnation Revolution, it took part in direct actions such as house and land occupations.
Mass newspaper of the underground – the Avante. Article on the spectacular escape from Caxias prison. Communists stole Salazar’s armoured limousine, a gift from Hitler, and escaped in it. The 36-member central committee of the PCP was sentenced to a total of 308 years in prison during the dictatorship.
Images
Klaus Steiniger
Desconhecido, commons.wikimedia.org, General_Humberto_Delgado_(cropped).jpg), gemeinfrei
GualdimG, commons.wikimedia.org, Memorial_a_José_António_Ribeiro_Santos.jpg, Ausschnitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
vozoperario.pt
RicardoSilvaRDM, commons.wikimedia.org, LUAR_Logo.png, CC BY-SA 4.0
Acscosta, commons.wikimedia.org, Avante_Fuga_Caxias.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0