Word: cunhal
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...troika of generals that has just assumed unlimited power in Lisbon could well transform Portugal into Western Europe's first Communist nation. It might be an orthodox Marxist state, as envisaged by one of the Continent's few remaining Stalinist Communist Party bosses, Alvaro Cunhal. It might also evolve into a different kind of radically leftist society, borrowing inspiration from Fidel Castro's Cuba, Houari Boumedienne's Algeria and Mao's China. Either way, the Red threat in Portugal vitally affects the political stability of the western Mediterranean and the future of the North Atlantic...
...indirect aim was to topple the pro-Communist Gonçalves. At that time, Soares believed that a majority of the Revolutionary Council sympathized with the moderates and were outraged by Gonçalves' ineptness as an administrator and his increasingly close relations with Communist Party Boss Cunhal. Whether or not this assessment was correct, Soares seems to have overplayed his hand. At a mammoth rally of 50,000 Socialist supporters in Lisbon, he demanded the ouster of Gonçalves. Apparently viewing the speech as an attack on the military's ability to rule the country...
...remains to be seen whether Cunhal, who lately has been keeping a very low profile, will be any happier with the troika than Soares is. Creation of the Directory might even be a curb on Gonçalves, since he must share his power with President Costa Gomes, a conciliatory moderate, and with the ambitious Saraiva de Carvalho, a radical leftist who has no use for orthodox Communists. Even the six moderate officers who had boycotted the preliminary meeting, at which the proposal for creating the triumvirate was sketched out, seem to have kept their seats on the Revolutionary Council...
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...