Word: cunhal
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Soares began the final round of the campaign trailing by 21 points. Faced with almost certain defeat, the fragmented left mobilized behind the Socialist candidate. Communist Party Leader Alvaro Cunhal reluctantly endorsed Soares as "the lesser of two evils." A hard-liner, Cunhal instructed rank-and-file party members "to close your eyes and vote for Soares." The Communist vote, which accounted for some 18% of the total, proved to be decisive. Although he had not sought Communist support, Freitas do Amaral charged during the campaign that Cunhal's endorsement raised the danger of "uniting the democratic and nondemocratic left...
Despite Soares' aggressive leadership, many of his backers fear that the austerity moves, which are expected to cost thousands of jobs, will erode his public support. Communist Leader Alvaro Cunhal has already declared war on what he calls Soares' "policies of national disaster." The question, in the words of one Cabinet minister, "is whether Soares will be able to remain the same after the social unrest begins-as it will when our tough measures begin to take effect...