Fascism and Resistance in Portugal: Communists, Liberals and Military Dissidents in the Opposition to Salazar, 1941-1974

The dictatorship which governed Portugal for nearly fifty years inevitably provoked resistance. This study reveals the nature of that resistance, its strengths and its limitations. Liberal opponents of the regime were tenacious but ineffective. They were overtaken by the Communist Party, with its clandestine discipline and militant working-class organization. But after the mid-1950s Communist strategy also failed. Military dissidents took over leadership of the opposition, notably the populist General Delgado. Drawing parallels with resistance to similar regimes elsewhere the author argues that domestic resistance, though essential, is rarely sufficient to overthrow entrenched repression. Repeated efforts by liberals, socialists, Communists and military dissidents all failed to overthrow the Salazar regime. Time and again, even when success seemed assured, the dictatorship recovered. Only when military loyalty had been weakened by years of colonial warfare in Africa did it crumble.