Three books from the collection O 25 de Abril Visto de Fora have already been published and a total of ten more are planned until 2026, after the fiftieth anniversary of the 1974 Portuguese Revolution. a gap?
Doubtless. We are talking about important books, published abroad and therefore unknown to the general public. None of them were published in Portuguese. These are books, written by academics, about the revolution and Portuguese democratic consolidation. As I said, they will be published until 2026, the date when the celebration of the 50th anniversary of April 25 ends, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the democratic Constitution and the electoral cycle that ended on December 12, 1976. , where the elections are autarkic.
António Costa Pinto coordinates the collection, which is published by Tinta-da-China, in collaboration with the Commemoration Committee 50 years of 25 de Abril. Are the works the result of a choice by Professor Costa Pinto or are there predefined criteria, for example the geographical origin of the authors?
As is usual with these types of initiatives, a curator was sought to ensure the scientific coordination of the collection. That choice fell on António Costa Pinto, probably one of the most internationalized Portuguese historians of our time, someone who is in constant contact with universities and scientists from all over the world, and who has a broad command of the subject. He is in fact one of the first Portuguese academics to analyze the Portuguese Revolution from a comparative perspective, having contributed to several reference works on the subject. The design of the collection and the choice of title were his sole responsibility.
Democratic Practice and Political Inclusion, by Robert M. Fishman, opened the collection. The author is American. How can we explain the great interest of the academic world in the United States in the Portuguese Revolution?
North American academia was among the first to become interested in the topic, in at least two dimensions. On the one hand, there is the issue of the Colonial War, which since the 1960s has interested authors such as Douglas Wheeler in a context in which the Cold War was ongoing, in which the US was still fighting the Vietnam War and in which the Portuguese regime stubbornly resisted the winds of decolonization. Already in these first studies an interest is noted in what would be one of the main attractions of the 1974-1975 revolution: the intervention and political behavior of the army. In fact, the features of the military intervention, the initial modalities and characteristics that it will adopt, have become an object of great importance. In addition, other features of the Revolution that attracted the attention of North American academia, such as agrarian reforms or movements to occupy houses and land. One final note: many of these authors spoke or understood Portuguese, because they were Latin Americans. This made his job easier.
Fishman compares Portugal and Spain. The fact that Portugal has had a revolution and Spain has a transition automatically makes what happened in our country more interesting?
We are talking about two neighboring countries that almost simultaneously had long dictatorships and that also made their transition to democracy almost simultaneously. In Portugal, the dictatorship was introduced on May 28, 1926 and lasted until 1974. In Spain, Franco came to power in 1939, declared himself the winner of the civil war and remained in power until his death in November 1975. I will not doing. Discuss here whether it was then that the Spanish transition began, but the path chosen by Spain was very different from that followed in Portugal. Although the most recent studies emphasize the role of popular mobilizations in the Spanish transition, the truth is that it is an agreed transition, that is, negotiated between the elites of the old and the new regime. In Portugal, on the other hand, democracy emerged from intense struggles that took place in the centers of power, involving soldiers and civilians, but also on the streets, in barracks, in factories and on the land. Democracy had been conquered, but not ‘granted’. Moreover, a left-wing revolution took place in Portugal in 1974-1975 in a Europe where it was thought that no more revolutions would take place after May 1968. And among the many aspects that make the Portuguese experience so interesting, we cannot fail to highlight the role played in it by the Armed Forces Movement, the MFA and its democratization and decolonization program.
In the case of Containment and Transgression by political scientist Rafael Durán Muñoz, does the fact that the author is Spanish lead to new ideas for the academic analysis, given the geographical proximity and proximity to historical experiences?
This book also highlights the different paths that the two Iberian states followed as they entered democracy. It focuses on a specific aspect: social mobilizations. But despite recent historiographical theses that give new attention to the role of these mobilizations in the Spanish transition, we find that their impact and especially their characteristics were quite different on both sides of the border. It should be noted – and this is a particularly interesting aspect of this book, which analyzes the dynamics of the state crisis in Portugal under the pressure of social movements – that the emergence of the MFA as a political actor is the most important factor during the 1974/75 period explains this radicalization of social movements. The MFA, says the author, often functioned as a kind of ‘umbrella’ that protected popular movements and actions and stimulated and/or legitimized their intervention.
Is it possible to identify in The Portuguese Armed Forces and the State, by Lawrence S. Graham, a certain exceptional character of the Portuguese revolution in the construction of democracy, compared to the democratizations in Latin America and Eastern Europe? The difference is the military?
I would ask the question differently: a central difference is the military. Taking into account that one of the military’s most recent interventions in politics, in the context of April 25, had been the ‘Pinochet coup’ – carried out by generals, to establish a muscular dictatorship – it is surprising that in Portugal the dictatorship was overthrown by a movement of intermediate officers – captains. The same captains, who had played a central role in the Colonial War since 1961, presented themselves with a program announcing decolonization. The central objective of this same program is to initiate a democratization process. Nothing surprising, after Chile’s recent experiences and taking into account the central role the military played in the long Portuguese dictatorship…
A new book is planned for November. Can you tell us something about him now?
The next part, which will hit newsstands very soon, is particularly interesting. It is a collective work, entitled In search of Contemporary Portugal: the Revolution and its consequences, coordinated by Lawrence Graham and Douglas Wheeler. It contains very varied contributions, from foreign but also Portuguese authors, covering topics such as public opinion and the media, social forces and political power, state structures and even the international dimensions of the Portuguese Revolution. The book is the result of communications presented at a colloquium in 1979, but surprisingly introduces very topical issues that will, I hope, generate very interesting debates. Without wanting to spoil the surprise, we try to answer the question of whether April 25 was actually a revolution, in design or in practice. Likewise, very interesting avenues are launched to discuss the transformations brought about by the Revolution and its long-term impact.
Have the remaining books been identified or are they still being selected?
The list of titles that make up the collection is closed. It was recommended by the coordinator. The other books are: Voices of the Revolution. A Review of the Portuguese Revolution of April 25, 1974, by Paul Christopher Manuel; The revolution within the revolution. Workers’ Control in the Portuguese Countryside, by Nancy Bermeo; Lisbon Rising, by Pedro Ramos-Pinto; Politics in contemporary Portugal. Parties and the Consolidation of Democracy, by Thomas C. Bruneau and Alex Macleod; A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa, by Patrick Chabal; and Managing African Portugal: Distinguishing Citizens from Migrants, by Keisha Fikes.
Would it be possible to add an eleventh book if a new study on Portugal after 1974 suddenly appeared?
An eleventh, a twelfth and so on [risos]. Fortunately, there is a very interesting series of studies on the fall of the dictatorship, the revolution and the establishment of Portuguese democracy. We also hope that this collection will motivate publishers to seek out and translate titles unknown to the Portuguese.
Is there a reasonable expectation that the collection will be sold?
The Portuguese market, as we know, is limited, but I believe that, given their quality, the books arouse interest and reach the public, are read and discussed.
Have you had any reactions to the books that have already been published?
I have received very positive reactions to the books. Obviously, not everyone is interested in everyone in the same way. But overall the reception was quite warm and interested.
Is it planned that one of the authors will come to Portugal for the festivities?
We had Robert M. Fishman at the presentation of the first book in the collection, which took place in Gulbenkian early this year, and we hope to bring other authors to Portugal.
Given the Soviet Union’s involvement in the revolutionary process, are there any books by a Russian author in the collection, or was their inclusion at least considered?
Allow me to emphasize this very important point: the books that make up the collection are academic books. This was one of the coordinator’s criteria. I think the book you refer to is a work of journalism. And there are many more, written by foreign journalists who were in Portugal in 1974-1975 and wrote about the revolution. There are books by Spanish, French, Italian, German and even Australian journalists… the list goes on.
Is there still academic production about Portugal’s politics or are we no longer interesting?
Yes, there continues to be interest and production in this subject, in Portugal and abroad. As an example, I can say that I am in direct contact with a team from the University of Seville that is developing a comparative analysis project of the Portuguese and Spanish transitions. It’s just an example; I could give many others.
Which book do you think should be written about April 25? Are there angles that can be explored by domestic and foreign authors?
It’s a difficult question, given the wealth and interest of the period. There is still room for research into certain organizations – such as COPCON, the Continental Operational Command, for example – or some of the central figures of the Revolution and democratic consolidation. There is a huge amount of ground to explore in the history of the Revolution. I hope that the Commemorations will arouse the interest of researchers in the subject.
Source: DN
