52 Years of the Carnation Revolution
April 25: Portugal celebrates its path to democracy.
On April 25, 1974, the military in Portugal ousted dictator António de Oliveira Salazar, who had ruled since 1933. The coup d’état proceeded largely without resistance - and with the approval of the majority of the population; four people died.
The revolution also marked the end of the Portuguese Colonial Wars in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, granting these last major overseas territories of a European colonial power their independence in 1975. The name Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos) refers to the red carnations that citizens placed in the rifle barrels of the insurgent soldiers on April 25, 1974.
The folk song “Grandola, Vila Morena” (Grandola, brown or tanned town) became the anthem of the revolution, celebrating the solidarity of the agricultural workers by alluding to the values of the French Revolution - equality and fraternity.
This text was originally published on my German website and translated by me.