Description
Book SynopsisA rich history of Portugal's Carnation Revolution, told by its trade unionists, activists, workers and women.
Trade Review'An excellent, well-written, and radical introduction to a complex and immensely important history. Varela has reconstructed the Portuguese Revolution of 1974-75 consistently from the perspective of workers and peasants, revealing the strong impact of African forced labourers' struggles in Portugal's colonies on events in the "mother country"' -- Marcel van der Linden, International Institute of Social History 'Lively, brilliantly documented and filled with the voices of Portugal's ordinary people, Raquel Varela's book recovers the revolution from below that shook Portugal in 1974-5, a 'democratic transition' that revealed another world is possible. This book deserves the widest circulation' -- Colin Barker, author of 'Festival of the Oppressed: solidarity, reform and revolution in Poland, 1980-81'
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Foreword 1. Introduction 2. The Seeds of Change 3. April 29 1974: 'The People are No Longer Afraid' 4. Who Governs? 5. The Anti-Colonial Movements and the Myth of a 'Bloodless Revolution' 6. Strike, that is, 'Disrupt the Production Process' 7. Self-Management and the Struggle Against Redundancies 7. 'The Creche is Here' - Land Ownership, Urban Struggles and Residents' Commissions in the Revolution 8. Women in a Democracy Are Not Mere Decoration: Social Reproduction and Private Life in the Revoution 9. Artists and the Revolution 10. Workers' Commissions and Unions 11. 'Here is the Nursery': Urban Struggles and Resident Commissions 12. Workers' Control, March 11 and Nationalism 13. The Birth of the Welfare State 14. Scheming for Power 15. The Land for its Workers: Agrarian Reform 16. The 'Hot Summer' of 1975 and the Fifth Government's Frail Governance 17. Spain and Other 'Links in the Chain' 18. The Crisis 19. Democracy and Revolution: the Meaning of the Carnation Revolution 20. In Celebration Appendices Index
