The armed forces movement and the Constituent Assembly in the Portuguese Revolution (1975-1976)

Authors

  • Maria Inácia Rezola Universidade Nova de Lisboa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/hc.v0i13.347

Keywords:

Constituent Assembly, Carnation Revolution, Transition to democracy, Armed Forces

Abstract

On April 25, 1974 the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) rose against the dictatorial regime that had ruled Portugal for 48 years (1926-1974). The idea of preventing the appropriation of the coup and avoid a new dictatorship, led the captains to provide a minimum political program, based on three basic ideas:  decolonization, democratization, and development. Nevertheless, the downfall of the dictatorship did not provide for the immediate advent of democracy, and the coup d’état led to a hard and long confrontation between the 'revolutionary' and 'electoral” paths, leading not only to the breakdown of the military power as well as to the questioning of the role of the Constituent Assembly, before and after its election.

 

Enviado el / Submission Date: 03/04/2012

Aceptado el / Acceptance Date: 15/05/2012

Author Biography

Maria Inácia Rezola, Universidade Nova de Lisboa

Doutorada em História Institucional e Política Contemporânea, é investigadora do Instituto de História Contemporânea da FCSH da Universidade Nova de Lisboa e docente da Escola Superior de Comunicação de Lisboa. Tem diversas obras publicadas sobre a ditadura e a transição portuguesa. Actualmente integra a equipa de investigação do projecto “Justiça política e transição à democracia”

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Issue

No. 13 (2012): Historia Constitucional N. 13 (2012)

Section

The Historical Constitutionalism of Portugal (1826-1976)

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