by Raquel Cardeira Varela
Pluto Press
03/15/2019, paperback
SKU: 9780745338576
On the 25th April 1974, a coup destroyed the ranks of Portugal's fascist Estado Novo government as the Portuguese people flooded the streets of Lisbon, placing red carnations in the barrels of guns and demanding a 'land for those who work in it'.
This became the Carnation Revolution - an international coalition of working class and social movements, which also incited struggles for independence in Portugal's African colonies, the rebellion of the young military captains in the national armed forces and the uprising of Portugal's long-oppressed working classes. It was through the organizing power of these diverse movements that a popular-front government was instituted and Portugal withdrew from its overseas colonies.
Cutting against the grain of mainstream accounts, Raquel Cardeira Varela explores the role of trade unions, artists and women in the revolution, providing a rich account of the challenges faced and the victories gained through revolutionary means.
Reviews:
"Lively, brilliantly documented and filled with the voices of Portugal's ordinary people, Raquel Varela's book recovers the revolution from below that shook Portugal in 1974-5, a 'democratic transition' that revealed another world is possible. This book deserves the widest circulation." -- Colin Barker, author of Festival of the Oppressed: solidarity, reform and revolution in Poland, 1980-81
About the Author:
Raquel Cardeira Varela is a researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and the author of A People's History of Europe. She is president of the International Association of Strikes and Social Conflicts and coeditor of its scholarly journal, Workers of the World: International Journal of Strikes and Social Conflicts.