Word: spinola
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...right-wing coup have circulated in Lisbon. Last week those fears came to the surface again when a familiar but unexpected figure suddenly showed up in Europe. Flying into Paris from exile in Brazil−disguised, for diplomatic reasons, as "Antonio Ribero, writer"−was General Antonio de Spinola, who had led the revolution until radical officers forced his resignation last September. As recently as a month ago, the reappearance on the scene of the discredited conservative general would have provoked chuckles in Lisbon. If the situation remains uncertain, the monocled general might be tempted to fly into anti-Communist...
Leftist Gains. The disorder offended Spinola's sense of discipline. Moreover, his plan for dealing with Portugal's African territories was being resisted by his junta colleagues. He had envisioned Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and Angola forming a loose federation with Portugal. Leftists within the M.F.A. sided with revolutionaries in the territories and demanded complete independence. In June 1974, Spinola barnstormed across Portugal, visiting army bases and addressing enthusiastic crowds. His message: Portugal's revolution must not be exploited by extremists...
...President became more worried as the Communists and extreme leftists gained influence within the M.F.A. and captured key posts in government bureaucracies. He suffered a major setback when Vasco Gonçalves (then only a colonel) replaced Premier Palma Carlos. Exercising what in retrospect was very poor judgment, Spinola made a desperate attempt to go over the heads of the M.F.A., calling for his country's maioria silenciosa (silent majority) to back him. A mammoth rally in support of the President, scheduled for late September, soon became a test of the moderates v. extremists. Under pressure from the M.F.A...
...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...
...M.F.A.'s intrusion into the political process became nearly complete after Spinola ineptly allowed himself to be associated with a poorly planned, abortive rightist coup last March. In its aftermath, Spinola fled to Brazil, while the M.F.A. moved swiftly to institutionalize its power. A Revolutionary Council, composed entirely of military men, was endowed with sweeping legislative and administrative powers...