A coast in Europe, theft of bags and motion of distrust. 100 years ago the story was the same (and ended in dictatorship)

For 100 years, economic instability divided left and right in the Assembly of the Republic. The lack of understanding, which was dragging on since the scene exit from an important Portuguese politician, the army chose another solution: the military dictatorship. But there are bizarre similarities to the present.

In the days of the First Republic, exactly 100 years ago, in 1925, Portugal lived a “Political Void”. The words are from the politician and historian Rui Tavares, in the podcast of history “” of the newspaper Expresso.

In the episode, Rui Tavares narrates the history of the country’s political crisis, with surreals similar to the currently faced – including theft of bags. What happened in 1925, and what was the outcome?

After the departure of an influential politician who had played the role of chief executive, Afonso Costa, The Portuguese faced a serious political crisis.

In fact, in 1919, Afonso Costa, one of the great figures that made possible the First Republic, abandoned the government after being appointed head of the Portuguese delegation to the Peace Conference and the Society of Nations, based in Switzerland and created after World War I.

For this century, we also had a DISEASENT OF FIRST MINISTER ANTÓNIO COSTA (Yes, there are two backs from here), which followed its da, now, the European Union: the European Council. As Rui Tavares comments, “any coincidence is pure reality.”

The country was left to a government led by José Domingues dos Santos, a leftist politician who defended the support to the unions, which earned him a great dissent with the Lisbon Commercial Associationthat the head of the “left -handed government”, as it was called the left coalition, even dissolved.

It was when everything deteriorated: the right -wing nationalist party presented in Parliament a MOTION OF DISTRIBUTION (which now is equivalent to a motion of censorship). It was approved, and the government fell in February 1925. Now we have one, which has plunged the country in an electoral climate – again.

To help chaos, the “hottest” themes at the time were also very similar to the current ones. One of the Portuguese’s concerns was the CLASS PRICE Escaladdue to the great inflation that felt.

Another curious question was the controversy of the mysterious Bag’s theft at the post officewhich intrigued the Portuguese throughout this year. The story is so caricatured that it could have inspired Miguel Arruda, deputy.

And how did you get this political impasse? After a period of troubled political transition, with controversies between the right, largely supported by the bourgeoisie and the Portuguese economic sector, and the left, more focused on workers and unions, an important slice of society was beginning to be interested in other European political factions: the Army.

Republican institutions failed, could not resolve the political crisis, and the population was unhappy with both left and right -wing politicians. There was no order, there were no daily products (such as tobacco, for example), there were no affordable incomes.

As Portuguese armed forces then begin to look out: Italy was already governed by fascist Benito Mussoliniwhich promised a strong revolt against the left.

Mussolini never hid its authoritarian headquarters, but was supported, in particular, by the middle class. According to explains, the Italians “were tired of strikes and riots, receptive to the extravagant techniques and the medieval props of fascism and ready to submit to the dictatorship, as long as the national economy was stabilized and the country would regain its dignity. ” Here, the climate between the middle class was not much different.

On the day April 18, 1925Filomeno Commander of the House, General Sinel Cordes and Lieutenant Colonel Raul Esteves enclose a revolt with the goal of overthrowing the Republic (and possibly establishing a fascist regime), an episode reported with the aid of images in a video of the.

The coup failed, and the military underwent trial, but were acquitted. It was the first step in establishing a military dictatorship, which only materialized the following year.

The rest of the story is more known: on the day May 28, 1926the army unites against the Republic, and carries out the coup that ended the project of Afonso Costa: a military dictatorshipof which the unmistakable figure of a politician of whom, to date, was born. We spoke, of course, from António de Oliveira Salazar. And the rest is history.