The Military Dictatorship – Portugal Resident

For two years, this duopoly dominated Portuguese politics. While Carmona was President, Cordes as the Finance Minister provided the impetus behind the new regime. He tried simultaneously to stimulate the economy, balance the budget and reorganise the country’s finances. But his training as a cavalryman did not equip him for such an undertaking, and as the deficit rocketed, the government was forced to seek a loan from the new League of Nations.

Supported from the beginning by many people who were dissatisfied with the Democratic Party and the Republic, the new regime began to trend towards fascism and monarchism. From the opposition, the cry went up that Sinel de Cordes and Carmona had betrayed the Republican democratic revolution. In February 1927, violent opposition broke out in Porto, Lisbon and elsewhere, including the Algarve. It was suppressed at the cost of hundreds of dead and wounded.

In the Algarvian Sotavento, Zacharias Guerreiro and others opposed to the 1926 coup met near the railway station at Monte Gordo, while army and naval officers, GNR agents and many oppositionist civilians met openly in the Praça da Liberdade in Tavira. Their plan was to begin the revolt in Vila Real de Santo António, then travel by rail to Tavira to mobilise the infantry garrison at the Atalaia Barracks, and from there go on to Faro to join the rebels from the Barlavento. In Tavira, they picked up arms from the Barracks, but in Faro received neither news nor support from the north, and after a day of fighting, they surrendered and this uprising came to an end. 

Further uprisings took place in July 1928 in Lisbon and Setúbal; and in 1931 in Madeira, the Azores, Guiné and Lisbon. As the government repressed these outbreaks, it became increasingly oriented to the political right.  

Hostility to the regime led to dismissal for many army and navy officers, civil servants and teachers. The secret police became more efficient, and censorship more effective, and many opponents of the regime were deported to the Overseas territories. As opposition leaders fled into exile, the new dictatorship was able to impose a state of peace and tranquillity. 

By late 1927, it had become clear that Sinel de Cordes was leading the country to financial catastrophe. As his government sought loans from abroad, the exiled Republican opposition warned that if they ever returned to power, they would not acknowledge any such debts. In a move similar to the Troika of 2011 – 2014, the League of Nations sent a committee to Lisbon to assess the Portuguese situation and their condition for any loan was that League appointees take control of Portuguese finances. This offensive suggestion was rejected, and his authority shattered, Sinel de Cordes was finished.

In the meantime, the Constitution required a popular election for the Presidency of the Republic. As the sole candidate, Carmona won and he appointed Colonel Vicente de Freitas as Prime Minister. In April 1928, Freitas selected a cabinet of new people, including Dr António de Oliveira Salazar as finance minister. At first, the government was not aligned with any political movement, but as more rightist elements took control, Freitas resigned. His moderate successor General Ivens Ferraz failed for the same reason, and in January 1930, General Domingos de Oliveira became the first right-oriented Prime Minister. As the sole government member who had served all three Premiers, Salazar had proved himself both strong and indispensable.

A 39-year-old Professor of Economics at Coimbra University, Salazar had been involved in politics as the leader of the Catholic Party, and was seen as sympathetic to rightist, Catholic and even monarchist interests. His published work on finance matters was both respected and praised and were the reason that Freitas had invited him to join his government. Salazar’s requirement was that he would have an overriding veto on any proposed government expenditure, and he exercised that veto ruthlessly.

His planned budgetary surplus for 1928-29 was the first for fifteen years. His everyday speech, free of political rhetoric, was understood by everyone. Portugal must not spend more than its own resources, he declared. Over the years 1928 – 1930 he had emerged as the government’s strongman, and he began to pronounce on non-financial matters, adopting the slogan Nothing against the Nation, all for the Nation. He represented the interests of capitalists and bankers; he aligned with the Church in exploiting the apparitions at Fátima and against the anti-religious tenets of the Democratic Republic; he granted more privileges to the Army. The rightists and monarchists believed that he would re-instate the monarchy.

The Estado Novo (the New State) and the National Union, its sole legitimate party, were defined during 1930 and 1931. In July 1932, General Domingos de Oliveira resigned, and President Carmona asked Salazar to form a government. Army officers were no longer appointed and Salazar’s cabinet allies were exclusively young civilians. Ex-king Manuel had died with no direct successor, and the monarchical question disappeared; Salazar disbanded the Catholic Party and became leader of the National Union instead. Other political groups, such as the Republican Socialist Alliance comprising the rump supporters of the Republic and disillusioned revolutionaries of 1926 were not tolerated. The draft Constitution was published in February 1933, and in the vote in March it was overwhelmingly approved.

All political parties, secret societies and unions were then abolished. Only National Union candidates were permitted in elections for the new Parliament, and in 1935 Carmona was re-elected President as the sole candidate. Salazar and the New State were firmly established and lasted until the Carnation Revolution of 1974. 

Read more from Peter Booker about Portugal’s history: The end of the First Republic or Portugal and the Great War or Afonso Costa and the First Republic