talists and conservative politicians.
off a manoeuvre inside the Government which would have put off the general election planned for Match, strengthened the power of the President, and called a Presidential elely candidate, of course).
officers of the Armed Forces Move ment were not prepated to go back So the conservative Prime Minister Palma Carlos got the boot. He was replaced by a military man, the pre and the army took over all the hot spots" in the Government (the Ministries of Labour and Information).
to publicly encourage the right-wing livered a speech about the need for other these speeches became more openly right-wing. In a speech delivcred at the inauguration of the new commander of the Republican Nattonal Guard (a semi military police force formed under the fascist reg PRESIDENT SPINOLA was the "great white hope of Portugal's capiThey tried as early as July to pull tional Guard", ction instead (with Spinola as the onThis move failed because the young on their democratic principles so soon.
sent Prime Minister Vasco Goncalves.
In the face of this setback, Spinola began to use his position as President On every najor public occasion he de"order and 'authority". Oneafter anime but kept up after the 25 April coup) he even praised the 'great thirly- demonstrators from out of town year tradition of the Republican NaThen, on 10 September, he called for the silent majority" to speak out against fascism. Probably as part of a pre-arranged plot, this call was im mediately taken up by right-wingers across the country, who called for a massive demonstration of the "silent majority" in Lisbon on 28 September to support the President.
WELL-OILED MACHINE A well-oiled and financed propaganda machine then went into action. A big Lisbon public relations firm was hired to put posters throughout the city. Slides and tape recordings boosting the demonstration were distributed to all cinemas. On the Thursday before the demonstration was due to be held a bullfight spon sored hy the Veterans League, and attended by Spinola, was turned into a buge right-wing rally in support of the planned demonstration, after the right-wing Liberal Party bought up a big block of seats.
Faced with this threat, the work ers' organisations began to prepare for a showdown. Most unions denounc ed the demonstration, and the transport unions pledged themselves to take all possible action to prevent reaching Lisbon.
The Communist Party issued a statement attacking the demonstra tion, but issued no clear-cut call for mass action.
They preferred to lobby within the Government to get Spinola to dissociate himself from the march.
But Spinola refused to budge And information began to emerge that under cover of the demonstra tion the right-wing was planning some form of violent coup.
Finally, on Friday afternoon, the Communist Party decided that it had to act. Its physical existence was in danger, and it knew that even if it did nothing thousands of workers would go into struggle anyway, leaving it po itically discredited before the entire working class. IL therefore issued a call, through the unions and the Port #guese Democratic Moverent, for th setting up of workers' road blocks on all roads into the city, The Lisbon working class respond ed massively. The city was quickly sealed off. All incoming vehicles were stopped and searched by workers, who confiscated firearns and distributed anti-fascist leaflets.
This was the first big setback for Spinola and his right-wing backers