For the first time the April 25 Association, organising the military officers which played a key role in the Portuguese revolution in 1974, has decided not to participate in the official celebrations of its anniversary and has called, instead for a mobilisation of the Portuguese people.
In a statement entitled "Abril não desarma" (April does not disarm itself), they deliver a blistering attack against the "arrogance of foreign powers" and the "self-satisfied subservience" of current rulers. They denounce that the current status of Portugal is that of a "protectorate" and finish with an appeal "to the Portuguese people and all of its organised expressions to mobilise" to" save Portugal, freedom and democracy."
The National Association of Sergeants (ANS), which in the last period has openly criticised the austerity packages and organised a whole series of protests of military officers against the government measures, has expressed its solidarity with the statemen of the April 25 Association, and has added that "on April 25, we will be on the streets with the people."
It is worth studying the lessons of the Portuguese revolution of 1974 and we recommend these three articles:
- Workers' History: the Portuguese revolution 1974 (Phil Mitchinson, 1994)
- The Portuguese Revolution (Alan Woods, June 1974)
- The Revolution in Portugal (Ted Grant, May 1975)
and a classic rendition of Grandola Vila Morena, the song which was used to trigger the uprising: