Word: cunhal
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...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...
...meeting in Stockholm between Soares and Western Europe's leading Social Democrats, who have given his party modest financial support. Soares has also developed good relations with such pragmatic Communist bosses as Italy's Enrico Berlinguer and Spain's Santiago Carrillo, who are wary of Cunhal's Stalinist tendencies. The Soviet Union and other East European nations have been more active in supplying the Communists with funds. Estimates of the amount range from an implausibly high $120 million a year to a more realistic $15 million...
Despite this aid, there is good reason to think that the Russians are a bit concerned that Cunhal may push Lisbon leftward too quickly. If Moscow is too blatantly associated with such developments, it could galvanize the West into taking some kind of concerted, direct action to help the moderates. This might then jeopardize Soviet Party Boss Leonid Brezhnev's cherished dream of détente. Washington has made it unmistakably clear that it will not tolerate any meddling by Moscow in Portugal's internal affairs. Shortly before flying to the Helsinki Conference, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger...