Political Purges and State Crisis in Portugal's Transition to Democracy, 1975—76

Abstract

The Portuguese military coup of 25 April 1974 was the beginning of the 'third wave' of democratic transitions in Southern Europe. Unshackled by international pro-democratizing forces and occurring in the midst of the Cold War, the coup led to a severe crisis of the state that was aggravated by the simultaneous processes of transition to democracy and de-colonization of what was the last European colonial empire. This article analyses how Portugal's political élite and society struggled with two aspects of the authoritarian legacies of the 'Estado Novo' during the transition: the élite and the institutions associated with the dictatorship. The nature of the Portuguese transition and the consequent state crises created a 'window of opportunity' in which the 'reaction to the past' was much stronger in Portugal than in the other Southern European transitions. In fact, the transition's powerful dynamic in itself served to constitute a legacy for the consolidation of democracy.

The Authoritarian Past and South European Democracies: An Introduction

“…A commission linked directly to the Council of Ministers was charged with the coordination of the existing purge commissions in the ministries. In February 1975, official reports on the purge process stated that approximately 12,000 people had been either removed from their posts or suspended (Pinto 2008). Between March and November 1975 the number of removals and suspensions increased significantly: by 25 November 1975, when the purges were halted, if one takes into consideration all institutions and types of sanction, the figure had probably risen to 20,000 (Pinto 2008).…”

Governação Colaborativa em Portugal? Uma Perspetiva Crítica Baseada Numa Pesquisa Empírica

“…This transition has led to significant public administration purges and to various large scale nationalisations aimed at giving to the state vast control over key sectors of the economy. This has created deep and long lasting negative consequences experienced both by the state (which became persona non grata for many stakeholders while losing valuable professionals) and by the entrepreneurial sector (which was seriously mutilated) (Pinto, 2008). The difficulties with competitiveness experienced at the moment (Schwab and Sala-i-Martín, 2014;2016) can be partly explained by this past, which contrasts starkly with the recent wave of privatisations required by Troika following the 2011 financial bailout (Abreu et al, 2013).…”

Political advisers in Portugal: Partisanship and loyalty in policy processes

“…As this was a process conducted by actors that were excluded from Salazar‐Caetano's political elite, a rupture from the former regime was required. This was highly visible with the ‘cleansing’ laws ( leis de saneamento ) (Pinto ) that allowed the substitution of the inherited bureaucratic elite structure. The Portuguese new governing elite tended to mistrust civil servants that had served under the former regime, and this was overcome by the appointment of policy advisers to ministers’ private offices (Portas and Valente ).…”