Back to the revolution: The 1974 Portuguese spring and its "austere anniversary"
Published:
Dec 3, 2015
Keywords:
Portuguese transition revolution austerity social movements
Abstract
The 40th anniversary of the Portuguese revolution took place in 2014 in a context of deep social and economic crisis. In common with Greek, Spanish, and to an extent, Italian citizens, the Portuguese had suffered, in the previous three years, from the imposition of drastic austerity measures of fiscal contraction. These measures, aside from worsening the economic situation and increasing unemployment, have deeply undermined what in the country are considered the “conquests” of the 25 April 1974 revolution that ushered in Portugal’s democracy – a set of social rights in terms of labour law, healthcare and access to education. As in other countries, these conditions have not gone unchallenged by civil society, and there has been an intensification of protest. If the “conquests of April” seem to be targeted in particular by the austerity measures, references to the revolution have returned to be a constant element in the contestation of the “troika’s” impositions.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
Accornero, G. (2015). Back to the revolution: The 1974 Portuguese spring and its "austere anniversary". Historein, 15(1), 32–48. https://doi.org/10.12681/historein.275
- Section
- ARTICLES
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyright for articles in this journal is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to use (with the exception of the non-granted right to make derivative works) with proper attribution for non-commercial uses (licence Creative Commons 4.0). EKT/NHRF retains the worldwide right to reproduce, display, distribute, and use articles published in Historein in all formats and media, either separately or as part of collective works for the full term of copyright. This includes but is not limited to the right to publish articles in an issue of the Journal, copy and distribute individual reprints of the articles, authorize reproduction of articles in their entirety in another EKT/NHRF publication, and authorize reproduction and distribution of articles or abstracts thereof by means of computerized retrieval systems.Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Accornero, Guya, and Pedro Ramos Pinto. “‘Mild Mannered’? Protest and Mobilisation in Portugal under austerity, 2010–2013.” West European Politics 38/3 (2015): 491–515.
Accornero, Guya. “A Mild-mannered country? Crises and Cycle of Protest in Democratic Portugal.” Paper presented at the 23rd conference of the International Political Science Association, Madrid, 8–12 July 2012.
Accornero, Guya. “Contentious Politics and Student Dissent in the Twilight of the Portuguese Dictatorship: Analysis of a Protest Cycle.” Democratization 20/6 (2013): 1036–1055.
Baumgarten, Britta. “Geração à Rasca and beyond: Mobilizations in Portugal after 12 March 2011.” Current Sociology 61/4 (2013): 457–473.
Beissinger, Mark R. “Conventional’ and ‘Virtual’ Civil Societies in Autocratic Regimes.” Paper presented at the 20th International Conference of Europeanists, Amsterdam, 25–27 June 2013.
Campos Lima, Maria da Paz, and Antonio Martin Artiles. “Crisis and Trade Union Challenges in Portugal and Spain: Between General Strikes and Social Pacts.” Transfer 17/3 (2011): 387–402.
Campos Lima, Maria da Paz, and Antonio Martin Artiles. “Descontentamento na Europa em tempos de austeridade: Da ação coletiva à participação individual no protesto social.” Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 103 (2014): 137–172. Accessed 20 Jun. 2014. http://rccs.revues.org/5569.
Castro Caldas, José. “The Consequences of Austerity Policies in Portugal.” International Policy Analysis, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2012.
Costa Pinto, António. “Authoritarian Legacies, Transitional Justice and State Crisis in Portugal’s Democratization.” Democratization 13/2 (2006): 173–204.
Costa, Hermes Augusto, Hugo Dias and José Soeiro, “As greves e a austeridade em Portugal: Olhares, expressões e recomposições.” Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 103 (2014): 103–202.
Della Porta, Donatella. “Mobilizing against the Crisis, Mobilizing for ‘Another Democracy’: Comparing Two Global Waves of Protest.” Interface 4/1 (2012): 274–277.
Dobry, Michel. Sociologie des crises politiques. Paris: Presses de la FNSP, 1986.
Durán Muñoz, Rafael. “Oportunidad para la transgresión. Portugal, 1974–1975.” Ler História 32 (1997): 83–116.
Durán Muñoz, Rafael. Contención y transgresión. Las movilizaciones sociales y el Estado en las transiciones española y portuguesa. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, 2000.
Elias, Luís, and Pedro Pinho. “Reuniões e manifestações: Os desafios das novas formas de contestação social.” Polícia Portuguesa 4/3 (2012): 37–53.
Feixa, Carles, Inês Pereira, and Juris Jeffrey. “Global Citizenship and the ‘New New’ Social Movements: Iberian Connections.” Young 17/4 (2009): 421–442.
Fernandes, Tiago. “Civil Society After Dictatorship: A Comparison of Portugal and Spain, 1970s–1990s.” Kellogg Institute Working Paper Series 384 (2012).
Fernandes, Tiago. “Rethinking Pathways to Democracy: Civil Society in Portugal and Spain, 1960s–2000s.” Democratization 22/6 (2015): 1074–1104.
Fishman, Robert M. “Democratic practice after the revolution: the case of Portugal and beyond.” Politics & Society 39/2 (2011): 233–267.
Fonseca, Ana Mónica. “A Constituição de 1976. O contexto político.” In As Constituições republicanas portuguesas. Direitos fundamentais e representação política (1911–2011), edited by Ana Maria Belchior, 103–119. Lisbon, Mundos Sociais, 2013.
Freire, André. “Participação e abstenção nas eleições legislativas portuguesas, 1975–1995.” Análise Social 35/154–155 (2000): 115–145.
Freire, André. “Pós materialismo e comportamentos políticos: o caso português em perspectiva comparada.” In Valores sociais: Mudanças e Contrastes em Portugal e na Europa, edited by Jorge Vala, Manuel Villaverde Cabral and Alice Ramos, 295–362. Lisbon, ICS, 2003.
Gall, Gregor. “Quiescence Continued? Recent Strike Activity in Nine Western European Countries.” Economic and Industrial Democracy 34/4 (2013): 667–691.
Hamann, Kerstin, Alison Johnston, and John Kelly. “Unions against Governments: General Strikes in Western Europe, 1980–2006.” Comparative Political Studies 46/9 (2013): 1030–1057.
JP Morgan. “The Euro Area Adjustment: About Halfway There,” 28 May 2013. Accessed 22 Apr. 2015. https://culturaliberta.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/jpm-the-euro-area-adjustment-about-halfway-there.pdf.
Kornetis, Kostis. “‘Is there a Future in this Past?’ Analyzing 15M’s Intricate Relation to the Transición.” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 15/1–2 (2014): 83–98.
Kousis, Maria, and Christina Karakioulafi. “Labour Unions confronting Unprecedented Austerity in Greece, 2010–2013.” Paper presented at the 7th general conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, Bordeaux, 4–7 September 2013.
Linz, Juan J., and Alfred Stepan. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America and Post-Communist Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Magalhães, Pedro. “Disaffected Democrats: Political Attitudes and Political Action in Portugal.” West European Politics 28/5 (2005): 973–991.
Meireles, Luísa. “‘25 de Abril é símbolo consensual da democracia’.” Expresso, 14 Apr. 2014. Accessed 22 Apr. 2015. http://expresso.sapo.pt/25-de-abril-e-simbolo-consensual-da-democracia=f865511.
Miranda, Jorge. “A Constituição de 1976.” In As Constituições republicanas portuguesas. Direitos fundamentais e representação política (1911–2011), edited by Ana Maria Belchior, 83–103. Lisbon, Mundos Sociais, 2013.
Morlino, Leonardo. Democracy between Consolidation and Crisis: Parties, Groups and Citizens in Southern Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Palacios Cerezales, Diego. O Poder Caiu na rua. Crise de Estado e Acções Colectivas na Revolução Portuguesa, 1974–1975. Lisbon: ICS, 2003.
Ramos Pinto, Pedro. “Urban Protest and Grassroots Organisations in Lisbon, 1974–1976.” PhD diss., University of Cambridge, 2007.
Ramos Pinto, Pedro. Lisbon Rising: Urban Social Movements in the Portuguese Revolution, 1974–75. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013.
Rezola, Inácia. “António de Spínola.” In Fotobiografias Século XX, edited by Joaquim Vieira. Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2002.
Rezola, Inácia. “Il Movimento delle forze armate e la transizione verso la democrazia.” In Il Portogallo e la transizione alla democrazia, edited by Guya Accornero and Alfonso Botti, 55–73. Bologna: CLUEB, 2010 (special issue of Storia e Problemi Contemporanei 54).
Rodrigues, Luís Nuno. A Legião Portuguesa: a milícia do Estado Novo (1936–1944). Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1996.
Rosas, Fernando. Portugal Século XX. Pensamento e Acção Política. Lisbon: Notícias, 2004.
Sanches, Andreia. “Um desempregado, um bolseiro e uma estagiária inventaram o Protesto da Geração à Rasca.” Público, 26 February 2011. Accessed 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.publico.pt/sociedade/noticia/um-desempregado-um-bolseiro-e-uma-estagiaria-inventaram-o-protesto-da-geracao-a-rasca-1482270.
Schmitter, Philippe. Portugal do Autoritarismo à Democracia. Lisbon: ICS, 1999.
Seixas, Ana Maria. “Aprender a democracia: jovens e protesto no ensino secundário em Portugal.” Revista Crítica das Ciências Sociais 72 (2005): 187–209.
Sousa Santos, Boaventura de. O Estado e a Sociedade em Portugal. Porto: Afrontamento, 1990.
Soutelo, Luciana de Castro. “A memória do 25 de Abril nos anos do cavaquismo: o esenvolvimento do revisionismo histórico através da imprensa (1985–1995).” MA thesis, University of Porto, 2009.
Spinola, António. Portugal e o Futuro. Lisbon: Arcadia, 1974.
Villaverde Cabral, Manuel. “A segunda república portuguesa numa perspectiva histórica.” Análise Social 19/75 (1983): 127–142.
Accornero, Guya. “A Mild-mannered country? Crises and Cycle of Protest in Democratic Portugal.” Paper presented at the 23rd conference of the International Political Science Association, Madrid, 8–12 July 2012.
Accornero, Guya. “Contentious Politics and Student Dissent in the Twilight of the Portuguese Dictatorship: Analysis of a Protest Cycle.” Democratization 20/6 (2013): 1036–1055.
Baumgarten, Britta. “Geração à Rasca and beyond: Mobilizations in Portugal after 12 March 2011.” Current Sociology 61/4 (2013): 457–473.
Beissinger, Mark R. “Conventional’ and ‘Virtual’ Civil Societies in Autocratic Regimes.” Paper presented at the 20th International Conference of Europeanists, Amsterdam, 25–27 June 2013.
Campos Lima, Maria da Paz, and Antonio Martin Artiles. “Crisis and Trade Union Challenges in Portugal and Spain: Between General Strikes and Social Pacts.” Transfer 17/3 (2011): 387–402.
Campos Lima, Maria da Paz, and Antonio Martin Artiles. “Descontentamento na Europa em tempos de austeridade: Da ação coletiva à participação individual no protesto social.” Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 103 (2014): 137–172. Accessed 20 Jun. 2014. http://rccs.revues.org/5569.
Castro Caldas, José. “The Consequences of Austerity Policies in Portugal.” International Policy Analysis, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, 2012.
Costa Pinto, António. “Authoritarian Legacies, Transitional Justice and State Crisis in Portugal’s Democratization.” Democratization 13/2 (2006): 173–204.
Costa, Hermes Augusto, Hugo Dias and José Soeiro, “As greves e a austeridade em Portugal: Olhares, expressões e recomposições.” Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 103 (2014): 103–202.
Della Porta, Donatella. “Mobilizing against the Crisis, Mobilizing for ‘Another Democracy’: Comparing Two Global Waves of Protest.” Interface 4/1 (2012): 274–277.
Dobry, Michel. Sociologie des crises politiques. Paris: Presses de la FNSP, 1986.
Durán Muñoz, Rafael. “Oportunidad para la transgresión. Portugal, 1974–1975.” Ler História 32 (1997): 83–116.
Durán Muñoz, Rafael. Contención y transgresión. Las movilizaciones sociales y el Estado en las transiciones española y portuguesa. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, 2000.
Elias, Luís, and Pedro Pinho. “Reuniões e manifestações: Os desafios das novas formas de contestação social.” Polícia Portuguesa 4/3 (2012): 37–53.
Feixa, Carles, Inês Pereira, and Juris Jeffrey. “Global Citizenship and the ‘New New’ Social Movements: Iberian Connections.” Young 17/4 (2009): 421–442.
Fernandes, Tiago. “Civil Society After Dictatorship: A Comparison of Portugal and Spain, 1970s–1990s.” Kellogg Institute Working Paper Series 384 (2012).
Fernandes, Tiago. “Rethinking Pathways to Democracy: Civil Society in Portugal and Spain, 1960s–2000s.” Democratization 22/6 (2015): 1074–1104.
Fishman, Robert M. “Democratic practice after the revolution: the case of Portugal and beyond.” Politics & Society 39/2 (2011): 233–267.
Fonseca, Ana Mónica. “A Constituição de 1976. O contexto político.” In As Constituições republicanas portuguesas. Direitos fundamentais e representação política (1911–2011), edited by Ana Maria Belchior, 103–119. Lisbon, Mundos Sociais, 2013.
Freire, André. “Participação e abstenção nas eleições legislativas portuguesas, 1975–1995.” Análise Social 35/154–155 (2000): 115–145.
Freire, André. “Pós materialismo e comportamentos políticos: o caso português em perspectiva comparada.” In Valores sociais: Mudanças e Contrastes em Portugal e na Europa, edited by Jorge Vala, Manuel Villaverde Cabral and Alice Ramos, 295–362. Lisbon, ICS, 2003.
Gall, Gregor. “Quiescence Continued? Recent Strike Activity in Nine Western European Countries.” Economic and Industrial Democracy 34/4 (2013): 667–691.
Hamann, Kerstin, Alison Johnston, and John Kelly. “Unions against Governments: General Strikes in Western Europe, 1980–2006.” Comparative Political Studies 46/9 (2013): 1030–1057.
JP Morgan. “The Euro Area Adjustment: About Halfway There,” 28 May 2013. Accessed 22 Apr. 2015. https://culturaliberta.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/jpm-the-euro-area-adjustment-about-halfway-there.pdf.
Kornetis, Kostis. “‘Is there a Future in this Past?’ Analyzing 15M’s Intricate Relation to the Transición.” Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies 15/1–2 (2014): 83–98.
Kousis, Maria, and Christina Karakioulafi. “Labour Unions confronting Unprecedented Austerity in Greece, 2010–2013.” Paper presented at the 7th general conference of the European Consortium for Political Research, Bordeaux, 4–7 September 2013.
Linz, Juan J., and Alfred Stepan. Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation: Southern Europe, South America and Post-Communist Europe. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
Magalhães, Pedro. “Disaffected Democrats: Political Attitudes and Political Action in Portugal.” West European Politics 28/5 (2005): 973–991.
Meireles, Luísa. “‘25 de Abril é símbolo consensual da democracia’.” Expresso, 14 Apr. 2014. Accessed 22 Apr. 2015. http://expresso.sapo.pt/25-de-abril-e-simbolo-consensual-da-democracia=f865511.
Miranda, Jorge. “A Constituição de 1976.” In As Constituições republicanas portuguesas. Direitos fundamentais e representação política (1911–2011), edited by Ana Maria Belchior, 83–103. Lisbon, Mundos Sociais, 2013.
Morlino, Leonardo. Democracy between Consolidation and Crisis: Parties, Groups and Citizens in Southern Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Palacios Cerezales, Diego. O Poder Caiu na rua. Crise de Estado e Acções Colectivas na Revolução Portuguesa, 1974–1975. Lisbon: ICS, 2003.
Ramos Pinto, Pedro. “Urban Protest and Grassroots Organisations in Lisbon, 1974–1976.” PhD diss., University of Cambridge, 2007.
Ramos Pinto, Pedro. Lisbon Rising: Urban Social Movements in the Portuguese Revolution, 1974–75. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013.
Rezola, Inácia. “António de Spínola.” In Fotobiografias Século XX, edited by Joaquim Vieira. Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2002.
Rezola, Inácia. “Il Movimento delle forze armate e la transizione verso la democrazia.” In Il Portogallo e la transizione alla democrazia, edited by Guya Accornero and Alfonso Botti, 55–73. Bologna: CLUEB, 2010 (special issue of Storia e Problemi Contemporanei 54).
Rodrigues, Luís Nuno. A Legião Portuguesa: a milícia do Estado Novo (1936–1944). Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1996.
Rosas, Fernando. Portugal Século XX. Pensamento e Acção Política. Lisbon: Notícias, 2004.
Sanches, Andreia. “Um desempregado, um bolseiro e uma estagiária inventaram o Protesto da Geração à Rasca.” Público, 26 February 2011. Accessed 22 Apr. 2015. http://www.publico.pt/sociedade/noticia/um-desempregado-um-bolseiro-e-uma-estagiaria-inventaram-o-protesto-da-geracao-a-rasca-1482270.
Schmitter, Philippe. Portugal do Autoritarismo à Democracia. Lisbon: ICS, 1999.
Seixas, Ana Maria. “Aprender a democracia: jovens e protesto no ensino secundário em Portugal.” Revista Crítica das Ciências Sociais 72 (2005): 187–209.
Sousa Santos, Boaventura de. O Estado e a Sociedade em Portugal. Porto: Afrontamento, 1990.
Soutelo, Luciana de Castro. “A memória do 25 de Abril nos anos do cavaquismo: o esenvolvimento do revisionismo histórico através da imprensa (1985–1995).” MA thesis, University of Porto, 2009.
Spinola, António. Portugal e o Futuro. Lisbon: Arcadia, 1974.
Villaverde Cabral, Manuel. “A segunda república portuguesa numa perspectiva histórica.” Análise Social 19/75 (1983): 127–142.
