3 weeks ago
Military vehicles and reddish carnations returned to nan streets and squares of downtown Lisbon connected Thursday arsenic Portugal reenacted melodramatic moments from nan service coup that brought populist to nan state 50 years ago.
Tens of thousands of group attended nan celebrations of nan alleged Carnation Revolution, which ended a stifling four-decade dictatorship established by Antonio Salazar. It besides paved nan measurement for Portugal’s 1986 introduction into nan European Union, past called nan European Economic Community.
AS PORTUGUESE CENTER-RIGHT PUSHES SOCIALISTS OUT OF POWER, POPULISTS SEEK LEVERAGE IN NEW GOVERNMENT
At nan time, nan turmoil and governmental uncertainty successful Portugal, a NATO member, caused siren successful Western capitals arsenic nan Portuguese Communist Party appeared poised to return power. Moderate parties, however, won astatine nan ballot box.
Celeste Caeiro, 90, holds a bunch of reddish carnations, successful Lisbon, Thursday, April 25, 2024, during nan reenactment of troops movements of 50 years ago, portion of day celebrations of nan Carnation Revolution. Caeiro handed retired reddish carnations to rebellious soldiers then, frankincense unwittingly naming nan April 25, 1974 service coup that restored populist successful Portugal aft 48 years of a fascist dictatorship. (AP Photo/Ana Brigida)
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro presided complete nan colorful parade of troops and armored vehicles pinch galore onlookers holding reddish carnation flowers, nan awesome of nan revolution. One kid could beryllium seen connected apical of an armored car holding a carnation.
Red carnations were plentiful astatine Portuguese stores and successful thoroughfare stalls successful nan outpouring of 1974 and group stuck them successful nan weapon barrels of nan insurrectionists.
Paulo Simões, 71, who took portion successful nan uprising, said he was "living pinch a consciousness of work fulfilled."
"I person 2 children," he said. "I tried to instill successful them nan ideas of freedom, democracy, truth, honesty and I succeeded."
Maria Monteiro, 68, nan woman of a worker who took portion successful nan uprising, said she felt immensely affectional "for nan state that we conquered, but we person to cognize really to take sides it very well."
During nan day, troops and armored vehicles moved into a downtown quadrate arsenic portion of a reenactment of 1 of nan early stages of nan uprising, erstwhile units took up planned positions astatine cardinal places successful nan capital.
Soldiers besides reenacted nan insurrectionists' convergence connected a paramilitary garrison successful a jacaranda-dotted quadrate called Largo do Carmo. That was wherever Marcelo Caetano, nan Portuguese leader astatine nan time, holed up and was surrounded by troops and jubilant civilians earlier surrendering.
Tens of thousands of group gathered for nan yearly day march on nan city’s main thoroughfare, nan Avenida da Liberdade, aliases Freedom Avenue.
Simmering vexation pinch prolonged assemblage wars against independency movements successful Africa spurred nan inferior officers’ revolt, which succeeded successful toppling nan dictatorship successful astir 24 hours, pinch only 5 deaths.
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Salazar, who died successful 1970, clung to nan African colonies agelong aft different European powers had withdrawn from nan continent and resisted modernizing his state amid Europe’s taste changes of nan 1960s.
Salazar’s norm ran done astir nan aforesaid play arsenic Gen. Francisco Franco’s successful neighboring Spain, though his clip successful powerfulness was acold little bloody.
