The period between the two world wars was a turning point for European history. It was at this time that right-wing authoritarian regimes, based on the values of nationalism, religion, elitism or class, were established in most of the states of Southern, Central and Eastern Europe. The trend was set by Italy, where in 1920 the fascists came to power under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. With the outbreak of World War II, some of the authoritarian regimes ceased to exist due to the occupation by Germany or Italy, others sided with Hitler and ceased to exist after the total defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. However, two European right-wing regimes lasted until the 1970s. - and both were in the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, after defeating the Republicans in a bloody civil war, General Francisco Baamonde Franco came to power - one of the most notorious figures in European history of the twentieth century. In Portugal, Antonio Salazar came to power peacefully - a man who also managed to maintain his almost sole power over the country for thirty-six years - until 1968. At the same time, Portugal during the reign of Antonio Salazar remained an even more "closed" country than Spain under Franco - hence the low popularity of the newest Portuguese history to foreigners. It should be noted that Antonio Salazar managed to maintain neutrality during the Second World War and not get involved in serious conflicts with European powers (perhaps the only example of the country's participation in hostilities on the European continent was the support of the Francoists during the Spanish Civil War), which, in many ways, and determined the duration of the existence of his regime. The “new state,” as the Portuguese regime was officially called during the reign of Salazar, was one of the variants of the corporatist state of the fascist type, although it did not have a significant racist or nationalist component at the heart of the dominant ideology.
Salazarism reasons. Portuguese Republic 1910-1926
By the early twentieth century, once a powerful maritime power, Portugal had become one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in Europe. Despite the fact that the Portuguese crown still owned extensive possessions in Africa and several strategically important colonies in Asia, Lisbon has long ceased to play not only a decisive, but even any significant role in world politics. The socio-economic situation of the country remained difficult, aggravated by the backwardness of social relations - in Portugal, feudal orders, formed in the Middle Ages, remained. Public discontent with royal rule grew, as Portugal suffered one defeat after another in international politics, and the economic situation in the country also left much to be desired. In this regard, republican sentiments spread in Portugal, which were shared by a significant part of the intelligentsia, the bourgeoisie and even the officer corps. On February 1, 1908, the republicans fired at the king's motorcade, as a result of which King Carlos I himself and his eldest son and heir to the throne, Duke of Braganza Luis Filipe, were killed. The ascended to the throne, the second son of King Carlos, Manuel II, was a man absolutely far from politics. Naturally, he could not keep the power in his hands. On the night of October 3–4, 1910, an armed uprising began in Lisbon, and on October 5, the troops loyal to the king surrendered. Manuel II fled to Great Britain, and a provisional revolutionary government was created in Portugal, headed by the writer and historian Teofilo Braga. It adopted a number of progressive laws, including separating church from state and abolishing noble titles. However, after a while, the euphoria that accompanied the establishment of the republic was replaced by disappointment in the policy of the liberals - they, like the royal regime, failed to seriously improve the international political and economic position of Portugal. Moreover, after the end of the First World War and the Revolution in Russia, right-wing radical views began to spread in Europe, which were the reaction of conservative circles to the victorious march of socialism and communism. The economic crisis has led to a sharp discontent with the policies of liberal governments in the ranks of the Portuguese military elite.
On May 28, 1926 at 06.00, the military units stationed in Braga raised an armed uprising and marched on Lisbon. At the head of the military revolt was General Manuel Gomis da Costa (1863-1929), who enjoyed great authority in the Portuguese army. Despite the fact that in the years preceding the coup, General da Costa held minor positions in the armed forces, in particular, he led the award commissions and commissions for considering the petitions of the officers of the colonial troops, he was known as a very experienced combat general - da Costa had years service in Mozambique, Angola, Goa, command of the Portuguese contingent in France during the First World War. When the rebels set out from Braga, the units of the capital's garrison also rose. On May 29, the officers of the capital's garrison formed the Committee of Public Security, headed by the captain of the fleet, Jose Mendish Cabezadas. Realizing the futility of resistance to the rebels, Portuguese President Machado Guimaraes handed over power to Captain Jose Cabezadas. However, the coming to power of Cabezadash and the capital's officers did not suit Gomes da Costa, who ordered the troops to continue moving to Lisbon. In the end, a military triumvirate was created, which included Gomes da Costa, Cabezadash and Umberto Gama Ochoa. On June 6, 1926, General Gomes da Costa entered Lisbon at the head of 15,000 soldiers. On June 19, 1926, Captain Cabezadas, who served as President of Portugal since May 31, resigned. The new president and prime minister of the country was General da Costa, who represented the interests of the right-wing conservative circles of Portuguese society, primarily the military elite. General da Costa advocated the expansion of the presidency, the corporate organization of the Portuguese economy, the restoration of the position of the church and the revision of family law and the foundations of schooling in accordance with religious norms. However, these proposals by da Costa faced the discontent of his own coup comrades-in-arms, among whom General Carmona stood out.
On the night of July 9, 1926, another military coup took place in the country, as a result of which General da Costa was arrested and sent into exile in the Azores. The new head of state was General Oscar de Carmona (1869-1951), who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in da Costa's government. General Carmona was an advocate of building a corporate state. The idea of the corporate state was based on the concept of corporatism, i.e. understanding of society as a set of social groups, which should not fight with each other, but cooperate, seeking through joint efforts to solve the problems of strengthening the state. The corporatist ideology was positioned as an alternative to the class struggle and received in the 1920s - 1930s. special distribution among European right-wing radicals. In the corporate state, the place of political parties and trade unions was taken by "corporations" - unelected industry associations. In 1928, General Carmona appointed the thirty-eight-year-old professor of economics, Antonio Salazar, as Minister of Finance of Portugal.
The humble teacher becomes a dictator
António de Oliveira Salazar was born in 1889 in the village of Vimieiro, in the province of Beira, into an elderly family (father was 50 years old, and mother was 43 years old) of parents - the manager of the manor house and the owner of the station cafe. The Salazar family was very pious and Antonio grew up as a religious person from childhood. Educated at a Catholic seminary, in 1910 he entered the law faculty of the most famous Portuguese university in Coimbra, and in 1914, after graduating from it, remained working in the education system - a professor of jurisprudence at the University of Coimbra. In 1917, Salazar also became an assistant at the Department of Economics at the same university. However, despite the fact that Salazar chose a secular career for himself and became a university teacher, he remained close to religious circles and closely associated with the Catholic clergy.
It was in the 1910s. the foundations of political ideology were formed, subsequently approved by Salazar as dominant in Portugal. Young Salazar was a supporter of the concept of Pope Leo XIII, who formulated the basic principles of corporatism - the desire for state prosperity through the cooperation of classes, social justice and state regulation of the economy. Gradually, a circle of right-wing conservative teachers and representatives of the clergy formed around Salazar, who were dissatisfied with the policy of the republican government, which, according to the right, led Portuguese society to a dead end. Naturally, Portugal's liberal political elite was concerned about the revival of right-wing conservative sentiments in the country. In 1919 Salazar was dismissed from the university on charges of monarchist propaganda, after which he had no choice but to engage in political activity on a professional level. However, Salazar never aspired to the role of an orator - a tribune, moreover - he even felt a certain disgust for the activities of parliamentarians. Only the persuasion of friends forced him to nominate in 1921 his candidacy for parliament - from the Party of the Catholic Center. However, after becoming a deputy, Salazar, after the first session of parliament, became disillusioned with his work and no longer participated in the activities of the legislative bodies.
When General Gomes da Costa staged a military coup in 1926, Professor Salazar welcomed the rise to power of the right-wing conservative forces. In June 1926, Salazar served as finance minister in da Costa's government for five days, but resigned, disagreeing with the economic policy of the country's leadership. In 1928, after General Carmona came to power, Salazar took over the post of the country's finance minister again. Salazar's economic concept was based on the principles of reasonable economy, limiting consumption and criticism of consumerism. Salazar criticized both the dominant economic models in the modern world - capitalist and socialist. It should be noted that the financial and economic policy of Salazar already in the first years of his tenure at the head of the Portuguese Ministry of Finance showed a certain efficiency. So, on May 11, 1928, Salazar issued a decree on finance, which introduced restrictions on loans, canceled state financing of commercial enterprises, and reduced state budget expenditures for financing colonial possessions. Seeing the success of economic policy, General Oscar di Carmona in 1932 appointed Salazar Prime Minister of Portugal, however, retaining the post of President of the country. So Salazar became the de facto leader of the Portuguese state, which he began reforming immediately - the next year after being appointed prime minister.
Corporate "New State"
In 1933, a new Portuguese Constitution was adopted, drawn up by Salazar. Portugal was becoming a "New State", that is, a class-corporate, organized according to the class principle of integrating all social groups to work together for the prosperity of the country. Corporations were professional industry associations that elected representatives to the Corporate Chamber, which reviewed draft laws. In addition, a National Assembly of 130 deputies was created, directly elected by the citizens of the country. Representatives of the opposition could also be elected to the National Assembly, although its activities were limited in every possible way, primarily by financial and informational methods. Only male Portuguese with education and a certain level of income received the right to elect and be elected. Thus, all Portuguese women, as well as the illiterate (of whom there were a significant number in the country) and the lower strata of society, did not participate in the elections. Only heads of families could take part in local self-government. The President of Portugal was elected by direct vote for a term of 7 years, and the candidacy was proposed by the Council of State, which included the Prime Minister, the presidents of the National Assembly, the Corporate Chamber, the President of the Supreme Court, the State Treasurer and 5 officials appointed for life by the President of the country. In Portugal, Salazar banned both strikes and the lockout - thus, the state showed concern for both the interests of entrepreneurs and the interests of workers. The “new state” focused on supporting the private sector of the economy, but did not put the interests of entrepreneurs - employers first, in order to prevent discrimination against workers and, thus, not add water to the mill of the left forces. The issues of ensuring employment of the population were also regulated by the state. Portugal introduced one compulsory day off per week, allowances for work on weekends and holidays and at night, and annual paid leave. Portuguese workers united in syndicates, which, however, could not be part of industry corporations and act autonomously, being independent organizations with legal personality. Thus, the Portuguese state sought to take care of the realization of workers' rights and in a certain sense differed favorably from other corporate states in Europe in the 1930s, including from fascist Italy. Despite the fact that Salazar was a deeply religious person, he never went to reunite the church with the state - Portugal remained, on the whole, a secular country. However, the defining features of the New State regime remained anti-parliamentarism, anti-liberalism and anti-communism. Salazar saw the socialist and communist movement as the main evil for the modern world and tried in every possible way to oppose the spread of leftist ideas in Portugal, resorting to political repression against members of the Communist Party and other left and radical left organizations.
Luzo-tropicalism: Portuguese "racial democracy"
Unlike German Nazism and even Italian fascism, the Salazar regime in Portugal never had a nationalist or racist content. First of all, this was due to the specifics of the historical development of Portugal. The search for "wrong roots", according to Salazar, could only contribute to the disunity of the Portuguese society, a significant part of which were Portuguese with an admixture of Arab, Jewish, African blood. In addition, it was during the reign of Salazar in Portugal that the socio-political concept of "luso-tropicalism" became widespread.
The concept of lusotropicalism was based on the views of the Brazilian philosopher and anthropologist Gilberto Freire, who in 1933 published his fundamental work The Big House and the Hut. In this work, Freyri, analyzing the specifics of the historical and cultural development of Brazil, dwelled on the special role of the “big house,” or the manor house, which was a single structure headed by the owner. All components of this structure took their places and were subordinated to one master, followed a single goal. Thus, there was a social integration of the "white" master, and his mulattos - administrators, and black slaves and servants. According to Freire, the leading role in the formation of such a social structure was played by the Portuguese, who seemed to the author a very special people of Europe. The Portuguese were seen as the most adapted among other European peoples to interact and mix with representatives of other nations and races, capable of broadcasting their cultural values and forming a single Portuguese-speaking community. As Freire emphasized, the Portuguese never really asked questions of racial purity, which distinguished them favorably from the British, Dutch, Germans, French and, ultimately, allowed the formation of a developed Brazilian nation in Latin America. For the Portuguese, according to Freire, were characterized by racial democracy and the desire to fulfill a civilizational mission, which they, to one degree or another, coped with.
Salazar endorsed the concept of Luso-Tropicalism, as it responded to the colonial aspirations of Portugal. The oldest colonial power in Europe, by the time under review, Portugal possessed the following colonies: Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola and Mozambique in Africa, Macau, Goa, Daman and Diu, East Timor in Asia. The Portuguese leadership was very afraid that the colonies could either be taken away by stronger European powers, or national liberation uprisings would break out in them. Therefore, the Salazar government approached the issues of organizing colonial and national policy very carefully. Salazar distanced himself from the racism traditional for the majority of European right and sought to present Portugal as a multiracial and multicultural country, for which the colonies, starting from the 15th century, are an integral part, without which it will face the actual loss of real political and economic sovereignty. Salazar's desire to establish luso-tropicalism as one of the pillars of Portuguese statehood intensified after the end of World War II, when Africa and Asia were shaken by national liberation and anti-colonial wars, and even such powerful powers as Great Britain and France, realizing the inevitability of granting independence to the colonies, prepared their African and Asian wards to early self-determination. In 1951-1952. Salazar even organized a trip to Portugal and its colonies for Gilberto Freire, so that the philosopher could personally verify the embodiment of the ideals of Luso-tropicalism in the metropolis and its African dominions. The prospect of the loss of Salazar's colonies was the most frightening, perhaps second only to the fear of left-wing forces coming to power in Portugal. However, the "racial democracy" in the Portuguese colonies was very relative - their population was officially divided into three groups: Europeans and local "whites"; "Assimiladush" - that is, mulattoes and Europeanized blacks; the Africans themselves. This division persisted even in the colonial troops, where Africans could reach a maximum of the rank of "alferes" - "ensign".
Anti-communism is one of the pillars of the "New State"
Salazar's anti-communism largely determined the participation of Portugal in the Spanish Civil War on the side of Franco. Salazar was very much afraid of the penetration of communist ideas into the Iberian Peninsula and the growing popularity of communists, left-wing socialists and anarchists in Spain and Portugal. These fears had very serious grounds - in Spain the communist and anarchist movements were among the strongest in the world, in Portugal the leftist sentiments, although they did not reach the Spanish level, were also significant. On August 1, 1936, Salazar announced that he would provide comprehensive assistance to General Franco and his supporters, and, if necessary, would give an order to the Portuguese army to take part in hostilities on the side of the Francoists. In Portugal, the Viriatos Legion was formed, named after Viriata, the legendary leader of the ancient Lusitanians who inhabited the territory of Portugal (Lusitania) and fought against Roman colonization. Volunteers of the Viriatos Legion, totaling 20,000, took part in the Spanish Civil War on the side of General Franco.
- Salazar and Franco
On October 24, 1936, Portugal officially broke off diplomatic relations with the Spanish Republic, and on November 10, 1936, Portuguese civil servants and military personnel were sworn in allegiance to the "New State". In 1938, Portugal officially recognized General Franco's "National Spain" as a legitimate Spanish state. However, it didn’t come to a large-scale invasion by Portuguese troops into Spain, because Salazar did not want to unambiguously side with Hitler’s Axis and counted on maintaining normal relations with France and, above all, with Great Britain, a long-standing historical partner and ally of the Portuguese state. After General Franco managed to defeat the Republicans and come to power in Spain, the two right-wing states of the Iberian Peninsula became the closest allies. At the same time, the political behavior of both Spain and Portugal had a lot in common. Thus, during the Second World War, both countries maintained political neutrality, which allowed them to avoid the deplorable fate of other European right-wing radical regimes. On the other hand, Salazar was nevertheless more neutral than Franco - if the latter sent the famous "Blue Division" to the Eastern Front to fight against the Soviet Union, then Portugal did not send a single military unit to help Germany. Of course, the fear of losing economic ties with Great Britain played a role here, which for Portugal were still more significant than the ideological closeness with Germany. However, the true attitude towards Hitler and Mussolini on the part of Salazar is evidenced by the fact that when Berlin was taken by Soviet troops and Adolf Hitler committed suicide, state flags in Portugal were lowered as a sign of mourning.
The end of World War II changed the political balance of power in Europe. Salazar, who remained in power in Portugal, was forced to somewhat update his foreign policy strategy. He finally reoriented to cooperation with the United States and Great Britain, after which Portugal joined the ranks of the NATO bloc. The defining line of domestic and foreign policy of the Salazar regime in the 1950s - 1960s. militant anti-communism became. In 1945, on the basis of the PVDE (port. Polícia de Vigilância e de Defesa do Estado), which existed since 1933 - “Police for the supervision and security of the state”, PIDE (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado) was created - “International police for protection state ". In fact, PIDE was the main Portuguese special service specializing in combating internal and external threats to the security of the Portuguese state, primarily the left opposition inside Portugal and national liberation movements in the colonies. Soviet literature has repeatedly reported about the cruel methods of work of the Portuguese "secret service" of PIDE, torture used by its operatives against oppositionists, primarily communists and African fighters for independence. Formally, PIDE was subordinate to the Portuguese Ministry of Justice, but in reality it was rather subordinate directly to Salazar. PIDE's agents covered not only the whole of Portugal, but also its African and Asian colonies. PIDE actively cooperated with international anti-communist organizations, one of which - "Azhinter-press" - was formed in Lisbon by the French nationalist Yves Guerin-Serac and performed the functions of coordinating the anti-communist movement in Europe. In the Portuguese colony of Cape Verde (Cape Verde), the infamous Tarrafal prison was established, which existed from 1936 to 1974. Many leading activists of the Portuguese communist movement and national liberation movements in the Portuguese colonies passed through it. The conditions of imprisonment of political prisoners "Tarrafal" were very harsh, many of them died, unable to withstand the bullying and tropical climate. By the way, until the 1940s. Portuguese counterintelligence officers underwent retraining and advanced training in Nazi Germany, on probation in the Gestapo. The "Gestapo" hardening of Salazar's counterintelligence officers was fully felt by the participants in the communist and anarchist movements of Portugal, African and Asian national liberation movements. Thus, in the Tarrafal prison, prisoners for the slightest offense could be placed in a punishment cell, which was located across the wall from the prison oven and the temperature in which could rise to seventy degrees. Beatings by guards were quite common forms of cruelty towards prisoners. Currently, part of the territory of the Tarrafal fortress, which belongs to the now sovereign state of Cape Verde, is used as a museum of colonial history.
Colonial War: Defeat in India and Years of Blood in Africa
However, no matter how hard Salazar tried to prevent the course of history, it turned out to be impossible. After the end of World War II, the national liberation movements of local peoples intensified in Africa, which also did not bypass the Portuguese colonies. The concept of "luso-tropicalism", which implied the unity of the Portuguese population of the metropolis and the African population of the colonies, crumbled like a house of cards - the Angolans, Mozambicans, Guineans, Zelenomissians demanded political independence. Since, unlike Great Britain or France, Portugal was not going to grant independence to its colonies, the national liberation movements were reoriented to an armed struggle against the Portuguese colonialists. Assistance in organizing partisan resistance was provided by the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, the German Democratic Republic, and some African countries. 1960s - first half of 1970s went down in history as the "Portuguese Colonial War", although, strictly speaking, there were several wars, and they were of a smoldering nature. In 1961, an armed uprising began in Angola, in 1962 in Guinea-Bissau, in 1964 in Mozambique. That is, armed uprisings broke out in the three largest Portuguese colonies in Africa - and in each of them there were numerous pro-Soviet military-political organizations: in Angola - the MPLA, in Mozambique - FRELIMO, in Guinea-Bissau - PAIGC. Almost simultaneously with the beginning of the colonial war in Africa, Portugal lost almost all of its Asian possessions, with the exception of Macau (Macau) and East Timor. The preconditions for the loss of the colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar-Haveli, located in Hindustan, were laid by the proclamation of Indian independence in 1947. Almost immediately after the proclamation of independence, the Indian leadership turned to the Portuguese authorities with a question about the timing and methods of transferring Portuguese possessions on the Indian subcontinent to the Indian state. However, India faced the reluctance of Salazar to transfer the colonies, after which it made it clear to Lisbon that in case of disagreement, it would use armed force without hesitation. In 1954, Indian troops occupied Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In 1960, preparations began for the Indian armed forces to invade Goa and Daman and Diu. Despite the fact that the Minister of Defense of Portugal, General Botelho Moniz, the Minister of the Army, Colonel Almeida Fernández, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco da Costa Gomís convinced Salazar of the complete senselessness of military resistance to a possible invasion of Indian troops into the territory of Portuguese possessions in India, Salazar ordered military preparations. Of course, the Portuguese dictator was not so stupid as to expect to defeat huge India, but he hoped that in the event of an invasion of Goa, he would hold out for at least eight days. During this time, Salazar hoped to enlist the help of the United States and Great Britain and resolve the situation with Goa peacefully. The military grouping in Goa was strengthened to 12 thousand soldiers and officers - due to the transfer of military units from Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. However, then the military contingent in India was again reduced - the army command managed to convince Salazar of the greater need for the presence of troops in Angola and Mozambique than in Goa. Political efforts to resolve the situation were unsuccessful and on December 11, 1961, Indian troops were ordered to attack Goa. During December 18-19, 1961, the Portuguese colonies of Goa, Daman and Diu were occupied by Indian troops. In the fighting, 22 Indian and 30 Portuguese soldiers were killed. On December 19, at 20.30, General Manuel Antonio Vassalo y Silva, the governor of Portuguese India, signed the act of surrender. Goa, Daman and Diu became part of India, although the Salazar government refused to recognize Indian sovereignty over these territories and considered them occupied. The annexation of Goa, Daman and Diu to India ended the 451-year presence of the Portuguese in Hindustan.
- parade of Portuguese troops in Luanda
As for the colonial war in Africa, it turned into a real curse of Salazar's Portugal. Since the troops stationed in the colonies were clearly not enough to suppress the growing resistance of the national liberation movements, regular dispatch of Portuguese conscripts from the metropolis to Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau began. Naturally, this caused colossal discontent among the population of the country. The wars in Africa also required huge financial resources, since the warring army needed increased supplies, ammunition, weapons, payment for the services of mercenaries and attracted specialists. In Angola, the war against the Portuguese colonialists reached its greatest scope and simultaneously turned into a civil war, which was waged against each other by three main Angolan national liberation organizations - the right-wing conservative FNLA led by Holden Roberto, the Maoist UNITA led by Jonas Savimbi and the pro-Soviet MPLA led by Agostinho Neto. They were opposed by an impressive group of Portuguese troops under the command of General Francisco da Costa Gomes. In the Angolan War, which lasted from 1961 to 1975, 65,000 Portuguese troops took part, 2,990 of them were killed and 4,300 were injured, captured or missing. In Guinea-Bissau, intensive guerrilla warfare under the leadership of the pro-Soviet PAIGK began in 1963. However, here the commander of the Portuguese troops, General Antonio de Spinola, used effective tactics of using units fully staffed by Africans - both in the soldier's and in the officer's positions. In 1973, the leader of PAIGC, Amilcar Cabral, was assassinated by Portuguese agents. The Portuguese Air Force used napalm-burning tactics borrowed from the US Air Force in Vietnam. During the war in Guinea, in which from 1963 to 1974. involved 32,000 Portuguese soldiers and officers, more than 2,000 Portuguese soldiers were killed. From 1964 to 1974 the war for independence of Mozambique lasted, in which the Portuguese were opposed by the partisans of the pro-Soviet FRELIMO led by Edouard Mondlane. In addition to the USSR, FRELIMO used the help of China, Cuba, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Zambia, and Portugal cooperated with South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Up to 50,000 Portuguese soldiers fought in Mozambique, with 3,500 Portuguese casualties.
The end of Salazar's empire
Colonial wars contributed to the aggravation of the situation in Portugal itself. The constant costs incurred by the country, financing the operations of the colonial troops in Angola, Guinea and Mozambique, contributed to a sharp deterioration in the standard of living of the population. Portugal remained the poorest country in Europe, with many Portuguese leaving in search of work in France, Germany and other more developed countries of Europe. Portuguese workers who went to work in other European countries were convinced of the difference in living standards and political freedoms. So, the average life expectancy in Portugal in the 1960s. was still only 49 years old - against more than 70 years in developed European countries. The country had very poor health care, which entailed high mortality and rapid aging of the population, the spread of dangerous diseases, primarily tuberculosis. This was also explained by the extremely low costs for social needs - 4% of the budget was spent on them, while 32% of the budget went to finance the Portuguese army. As for the colonial wars, they completely dissuaded the people of Portugal in the mythical unity of all the territories that made up the Portuguese Empire. Most of the ordinary Portuguese were worried about how not to get into the Portuguese army, fighting in distant Angola, Guinea or Mozambique, or how not to take their closest relatives there. Oppositional moods spread rapidly in the country, which also included the personnel of the armed forces.
- Portuguese soldiers in the "Revolution of the Carnations"
In 1968, Salazar fell ill with a stroke after falling off a deck chair. From that time on, he no longer took a real part in governing the state. On July 27, 1970, the 81-year-old "Father of the New State" passed away. 1968 to 1974 the prime minister of the country was Marcelo Caetanu, and the post of president from 1958 was retained by Admiral America Tomas. In 1974, the "Revolution of the Carnations" took place in Portugal, in which the military members of the "Captains Movement" played a leading role. As a result of the "Revolution of Carnations", Caetana and Tomas were overthrown, and the de facto end of the Salazar "New State" came. During 1974-1975. was granted political independence to all Portuguese colonies in Africa and Asia.
