Word: cunhal
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Spinola seemed to get the new regime off to a good start, appointing a Cabinet containing Socialists, Communists, left-centrists, independents and only one military officer. A centrist law professor, Adelino da Palma Carlos, was chosen Premier, Socialist Soares became Foreign Minister, while Communist Boss Cunhal was named Minister Without Portfolio. The Cabinet's ability to act, however, was severely restricted by ideological differences. On one side stood those committed to democratic processes, such as the Socialists; on the other side were those, like the Communists, who were willing to employ authoritarian means to carry out the revolution. While...
Spinola's fall hastened the revolution's leftward momentum. It removed the archenemy of the Communist Party and its fellow-traveling Democratic Movement. Together they soon obtained viselike control over scores of local administrations, trade unions, newspapers and radio stations. At the same time, Cunhal carefully courted the military, supporting the leftists within the M.F.A. on every issue...
...Cunhal's most valuable ally was Gonçalves. The Premier backed the move to merge all trade unions into a single organization: the Communist-dominated Intersindical. He looked away when the Communists and extreme leftists physically prevented a center-right party from holding its organizing conference and disrupted Socialist election rallies. Red intimidation, in effect, prevented rightists and most centrists from participating in public life...
...directly responsive to the will of the people by skipping such niceties as political parties, constitutions and free elections. Not surprisingly, this naive attitude has been exploited by the Communists, who are well aware that they stand no chance of winning an honest election. At the same time, Cunhal has tried to moderate his party's image by dropping some radical planks from its program, like the demand that "imperialists" be expelled from Portugal and foreign companies be confiscated...
...Communist Party boss has also paid frequent lip service to democracy and emphasized a pragmatic reform program to bring all Portuguese "a better life." Although this moderate stance is probably only a ploy, Cunhal has been able to take much of the edge off his own reputation as a ruthless Stalinist. Even the least sympathetic officers have been impressed by the Communist Party's discipline, its effective organization and-perhaps above all-its loyal collaboration with the military. Only rarely does Cunhal drop his guard and publicly deride parliaments, elections and democratic freedoms...