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{{Short description|1974 revolution in Portugal and its colonies}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{stack begin}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Carnation Revolution
| subtitle = '''Operation Historic Turn'''
| partof = the [[Portuguese transition to democracy]] and the [[Cold War]]
| image = Revolução dos Cravos.jpg
| image_upright = yes
| caption = A crowd celebrates on a [[Panhard EBR]] armoured car in [[Lisbon]], 25 April 1974.
| date = '''Overthrow of regime:'''<br/>{{start date and age|1974|04|25|df=y}}
| time-begin = '''Entire movement:'''<br/>{{Start date|1974|4|24|22|55|df=yes}}
| time-end = {{End date|1974|4|30|12|00|df=yes}}{{efn|Although the revolution effectively ended in Lisbon after the fall of the GDS national headquarters on the 26th, some districts were still out of control of the new government until the 30th<ref>{{cite book |last1= Costa|first1= Victor|last2= Ramires|first2= Alexandre|date= 2014|title=A força do povo: o 25 de Abril em Coimbra|url=http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/bibnacional/1908697|trans-title= The force of the people: the 25 of April in Coimbra|language= pt-PT|publication-place= Coimbra|publisher= Lápis de Memórias|publication-date= September 3, 2016|isbn= 978-989-8674-05-0|access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>}}
| timezone = UTC+1
| place = [[Continental Portugal|Mainland Portugal]]
| causes = * Military's backlash against the [[Portuguese Colonial War]], the approval of the decrees-law 353/73 of July and 409/73 of August, military's lack of prestige,<ref>{{cite web|website=RTP Ensina|title=As motivações do golpe militar de 25 de Abril de 1974|trans-title=The motivations for the military coup of April 25 of 1974|lang=pt-PT|url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/explicador/as-motivacoes-do-golpe-militar-de-25-de-abril-de-1974/|first=Mariana|last=Lagarto|date=2021|access-date=October 29, 2025}}</ref> largescale [[conscription]], massive [[military expenditure]]s, and subsequent [[international isolation]]
* Political repression by the {{lang|pt-PT|Estado Novo}} regime on [[civil liberties]], [[political freedom]], and [[freedom of speech]]
* Poor premiership by [[Marcelo Caetano]]
| methods = [[Coup d'état]]
| result = Coup successful
*Dissolution of the {{lang|pt-PT|Estado Novo}}
*President [[Américo Tomás]] and prime minister Caetano dismissed and exiled
*Dissolution of the National assembly, [[Corporative Chamber]], [[Council of State (Portugal)|council of state]] and [[Government of Portugal|government]]
*Dismissal of all [[Civil Government|governors]] and the governors-general of [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]] and [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]]
*Dissolution of [[Mocidade Portuguesa]] and [[Legião Portuguesa (Estado Novo)|Portuguese Legion]]
*Beginning of the [[Portuguese transition to democracy]]
*End of the [[Portuguese Colonial War]] and independence of [[Angola]], [[Cape Verde]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Mozambique]], and [[São Tomé and Príncipe]] 
*[[East Timorese civil war|Civil war]] broke out in [[Portuguese Timor]], which resulted in the establishment of [[Democratic Republic of East Timor (1975)|East Timor]] and subsequent [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesian invasion]]
*[[Mass exodus]] of the {{lang|pt-PT|[[retornados]]}} from the [[Overseas province|overseas provinces]]
*[[Handover of Macau]] and dissolution of the [[Portuguese Empire]] in 1999
| side1 = {{flagicon image|Logotipo do Movimento das Forças Armadas.svg}} [[Armed Forces Movement]]<br/>{{flagicon|Portugal|army}} [[Portuguese Armed Forces]] (several units)<br/>{{flagicon image|Brasão de Armas da Polícia de Segurança Pública.svg}} [[Public Security Police]] (several divisions)<ref>{{cite web|website=X.com|url=https://x.com/PSP_Portugal/status/1783390491624796259|date=25 April 2024|title=On 25 April 1974, the Commander of the 1st Division of the Public Security Police placed himself under the orders of Captain Salgueiro Maia, receiving instructions to divert traffic and civilian access throughout downtown Lisbon.}}</ref>
| side2 = {{flagicon image|Bandeira União Nacional.jpg}} {{lang|pt-PT|[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]}}<br/>{{flagicon|Portugal|army}} [[Portuguese Armed Forces]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Pide-logo.png}} [[General Directorate of Security (Portugal)|General Directorate of Security]] <br/>{{flagicon image|COA pt garde nationale républicaine.svg}} [[National Republican Guard (Portugal)|National Republican Guard]]
| leadfigures1 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Logotipo do Movimento das Forças Armadas.svg}} [[Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho]]|{{flagicon image|Logotipo do Movimento das Forças Armadas.svg}} [[Salgueiro Maia]]}}
| leadfigures2 = {{ubl|{{flagicon image|Bandeira União Nacional.jpg}} [[Américo Tomás]]|{{flagicon image|Bandeira União Nacional.jpg}} [[Marcelo Caetano]]|{{flagicon image|Bandeira União Nacional.jpg}} [[Joaquim da Silva Cunha]]|{{flagicon|Portugal|army}} [[Joaquim da Luz Cunha]]|{{flagicon image|Pide-logo.png}} [[Fernando da Silva Pais]]|{{flagicon image|COA pt garde nationale républicaine.svg}} [[Adriano Augusto Pires]]}}
| casualties_label = Deaths, injuries and arrests
| fatalities = 6<ref>{{cite book |last1= Monteiro|first1= Fábio|date= 2019|title=Esquecidos em Abril: os mortos da revolução sem sangue|url=http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/bibnacional/2033153|trans-title= Forgotten in April: the dead of the bloodless revolution|language= pt-PT|publication-place= Lisbon|publisher= Livros Horizonte|series=Horizonte histórico|department=PT--453138/19|isbn= 978-972-24-1904-8|type=Book|access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>
| injuries = 45<ref>{{cite book |last1= Monteiro|first1= Fábio|date= 2019|title=Esquecidos em Abril: os mortos da revolução sem sangue|url=http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/bibnacional/2033153|trans-title= Forgotten in April: the dead of the bloodless revolution|language= pt-PT|publication-place= Lisbon|publisher= Livros Horizonte|series=Horizonte histórico|department=PT--453138/19|isbn= 978-972-24-1904-8|type=Book|access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>
| arrests = Hundreds of [[General Directorate of Security (Portugal)|General Directorate of Security]] agents
}}
{{History of Portugal}}
{{stack end}}
The '''Carnation Revolution''' ({{langx|pt|Revolução dos Cravos}}), code-named '''Operation Historic Turn''' ({{lang|pt|Operação Viragem Histórica}}),<ref>{{cite web| last = Castro| first = Rodrigo Sousa e| date = 2024| trans-title = The arms and artillery in the operation "Historic Turn". Portuguese journal of military history - Dossier: 25 of April of 1974. Military operations| url =https://www.defesa.gov.pt/pt/defesa/organizacao/comissoes/cphm/rphm/edicoes/ANO4/62024/5/ | title = A Arma De Artilharia Na Operação «Viragem Histórica». Revista Portuguesa de História Militar - Dossier: 25 de Abril de 1974. Operações Militares.| website = defesa.gov.pt| language = pt-PT| publisher = [[Ministry of National Defence (Portugal)|Ministry of National Defence]] | access-date = April 8, 2025}}</ref> also known as the '''25th of April''' ({{lang|pt|25 de Abril|}}), was a [[military coup]] in Portugal by officers that overthrew the {{lang|pt-PT|[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]}} regime on 25 April 1974.<ref>{{citation | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_4754000/4754581.stm | title = 1974: Rebels seize control of Portugal | publisher = [[BBC]] | work = On This Day, 25 April | date=25 April 1974 | access-date=2 January 2010}}.</ref> The coup produced major social, economic, territorial, demographic, and political changes in the European country and its [[Portuguese Empire|overseas colonies]] through the [[Ongoing Revolutionary Process]] (''Processo Revolucionário em Curso''). It resulted in the [[Portuguese transition to democracy]] and the end of the [[Portuguese Colonial War]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rezola |first=Maria Inácia |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-portuguese-revolution-of-1974-1975-9781789761832 |title=The Portuguese Revolution of 1974-1975: An Unexpected Path to Democracy |date=2024 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-83553-657-5 |language=en}}</ref> It also had worldwide repercussions by marking the beginning of the [[Waves of democracy|third wave of democracy]].

The revolution began as a coup organised by the [[Armed Forces Movement]] ({{langx|pt|Movimento das Forças Armadas|links=no}}, MFA), composed of military officers who opposed the regime, but it was soon coupled with an unanticipated popular [[civil resistance]] campaign. Negotiations with [[African independence movements]] began, and by the end of 1974, Portuguese troops were withdrawn from [[Portuguese Guinea]], which became a [[UN member state]] as [[Guinea-Bissau]]. This was followed in 1975 by the independence of [[Portuguese Cape Verde|Cape Verde]], [[Portuguese Mozambique|Mozambique]], [[Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe|São Tomé and Príncipe]] and [[Portuguese Angola|Angola]] in Africa and the declaration of independence of [[Portuguese Timor|East Timor]] in [[Southeast Asia]]. These events prompted a [[mass exodus]] of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Angola and Mozambique), creating over a million Portuguese "returned" – the ''[[retornados]]''.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12079340 "Flight from Angola"]. ''[[The Economist]]''. 16 August 1975.</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=1975-07-07 |title=MOZAMBIQUE: Dismantling the Portuguese Empire |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,913229,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-06-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113204408/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,913229-1,00.html |archive-date=13 January 2009 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>

The Carnation Revolution got its name from the fact that almost no shots were fired, and from restaurant worker [[Celeste Caeiro]] who offered [[Dianthus caryophyllus|carnations]] to soldiers when the population took to the streets to celebrate the end of the dictatorship. Other demonstrators followed suit and placed carnations in the muzzles of guns and on soldiers' uniforms.<ref>{{cite news |last=Booker |first=Peter |date=24 April 2019 |title=Why April 25th is a holiday&nbsp;– the Carnation Revolution and the events of 1974 |url=https://algarvedailynews.com/news/11517-why-april-25th-is-a-holiday-the-carnation-revolution-and-the-events-of-1974 |access-date=29 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Robinson |first=Peter |title=Portugal's forgotten revolution |url=https://mronline.org/2024/04/26/portugals-forgotten-revolution/ |date=26 April 2024 |magazine=Monthly Review}}</ref> In Portugal, 25 April is a [[Public holidays in Portugal|national holiday]] ({{langx|pt|Dia da Liberdade}}, Freedom Day) that commemorates the revolution.

=={{anchor|Context}}Background==
By the 1970s, nearly a half-century of authoritarian rule weighed on Portugal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sousa |first=Helena |title=Recent Political History of Portugal |url=http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/sousa-helena-chap-4-history.html |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=[[University of Beira Interior]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010421220903/http://www.bocc.ubi.pt/pag/sousa-helena-chap-4-history.html |archive-date=21 April 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[28 May 1926 coup d'état]] implemented an authoritarian regime incorporating [[social Catholicism]] and [[integralism]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pinto |first1=António Costa |author-link=António Costa Pinto |last2=Rezola |first2=Maria Inácia |date=2007 |title=Political Catholicism, Crisis of Democracy and Salazar's New State in Portugal |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14690760701321320 |journal=Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions |language=en |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=353–368 |doi=10.1080/14690760701321320 |s2cid=143494119 |issn=1469-0764 |oclc=4893762881|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1933, the regime was renamed the {{lang|pt-PT|[[Estado Novo (Portugal)|Estado Novo]]}} (New State).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Emma Slattery |date=30 September 2021 |title=Your guide to the Carnation Revolution |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/carnation-revolution-guide-facts-coup-portugal-estado-novo-regime/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=25 April 2022 |website=[[History Extra]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702170539/https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/carnation-revolution-guide-facts-coup-portugal-estado-novo-regime/ |archive-date=2 July 2021}}</ref> [[António de Oliveira Salazar]] served as Prime Minister until 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 24, 2022 |title=António de Oliveira Salazar: prime minister of Portugal |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-de-Oliveira-Salazar |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref>

Although there are documented cases of some local elections where an independent candidate who was allowed to run did actually win,<ref>{{cite web|type=article|location=Moimenta da Serra|url=https://rr.pt/noticia/legislativas-2019/2019/09/26/os-jovens-nao-sabem-nada-do-que-era-antes-do-25-de-abril-todos-deviam-ir-votar/166079/|title=Os jovens não sabem nada do que era antes do 25 de abril, todos deviam ir votar|trans-title=The youth don't know anything about how things used to be before the April 25th, everyone should vote|lang=pt-PT|website=Rádio Renascença|date=September 26, 2019|first=Liliana|last=Carona|access-date=October 29, 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251116052936/https://rr.pt/noticia/legislativas-2019/2019/09/26/os-jovens-nao-sabem-nada-do-que-era-antes-do-25-de-abril-todos-deviam-ir-votar/166079/|archive-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> those were exceedingly rare and the vast majority were [[sham election]]s where the government candidate usually ran unopposed, while the opposition used the limited political freedoms allowed during the brief election period to protest, withdrawing their candidates before the election to deny the regime [[political legitimacy]].

The Estado Novo's political police, the [[PIDE]] (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado, later the DGS, Direcção-Geral de Segurança and originally the PVDE, Polícia de Vigilância e Defesa do Estado), [[Persecution|persecuted]] opponents of the regime, who were often tortured, imprisoned or killed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Silva |first=Lara |date=April 25, 2022 |title=25 Things To Know About Portugal's Carnation Revolution |url=https://www.portugal.com/history-and-culture/25-things-to-know-about-portugals-carnation-revolution/ |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=Portugal.com}}</ref>

In 1958, General [[Humberto Delgado]], a former member of the regime, stood against the regime's presidential candidate, [[Américo Tomás]], and refused to allow his name to be withdrawn. Tomás won the election amidst claims of widespread electoral fraud, and the Salazar government abandoned the practice of popularly electing the president and gave the task to the [[National Assembly of Portugal|National Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oliveira |first=Pedro Aires |date=2011 |title=Generous Albion? Portuguese anti-Salazarists in the United Kingdom, c. 1960––74 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/427/article/815131 |journal=Portuguese Studies |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=175–207 |doi=10.1353/port.2011.0005 |issn=2222-4270 |oclc=9681167242|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Portugal's Estado Novo government remained neutral in the [[World War II|Second World War]], and was initially tolerated by its [[NATO]] post-war partners due to its [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] stance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portugal and NATO |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_162352.htm |access-date=April 25, 2022 |website=[[NATO]]}}</ref> As the [[Cold War]] developed, [[Western Bloc]] and [[Eastern Bloc]] states vied with each other in supporting [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrillas]] in the [[Portuguese colonies]], leading to the 1961–1974 [[Portuguese Colonial War]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schliehe |first=Nils |date=2019-05-01 |title=West German Solidarity Movements and the Struggle for the Decolonization of Lusophone Africa |url=https://journals.openedition.org/rccs/8723 |journal=Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais |language=en |issue=118 |pages=173–194 |doi=10.4000/rccs.8723 |s2cid=155462211 |issn=0254-1106 |oclc=8514209518|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Salazar had a [[stroke]] in 1968, and was replaced as [[Prime Minister of Portugal|prime minister]] by [[Marcelo Caetano]], who adopted a slogan of "continuous evolution", suggesting reforms, such as a monthly [[pension]] to rural workers who had never contributed to Portugal's [[social security]]. Caetano's Primavera Marcelista (Marcelist Spring) included greater political tolerance, but not a complete [[freedom of the press]] (prior censorship remained in place until April 25, 1974), and was seen as an opportunity for the opposition to gain [[Concession (politics)|concessions]] from the regime. In 1969, Caetano authorised the country's first democratic labour union movement since the 1920s. However, after the elections of [[1969 Portuguese legislative election|1969]] and [[1973 Portuguese legislative election|1973]], hard-liners in the government and the military pushed back against Caetano, with [[political repression]] against [[Communism|communists]] and [[Anti-colonialism|anti-colonialists]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

===Economic conditions===
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2017}}
The Estado Novo regime's economic policy encouraged the formation of large [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerates]]. The regime maintained a policy of [[corporatism]] which resulted in the placement of much of the economy in the hands of conglomerates including those founded by the families of [[António Champalimaud]] ([[Banco Totta & Açores]], [[Banco Pinto & Sotto Mayor]], [[Secil]], [[Cimpor]]), [[José Manuel de Mello]] ([[Companhia União Fabril]]), [[Américo Amorim]] ([[Corticeira Amorim]]) and the dos Santos family ([[Jerónimo Martins]]).{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

One of the largest was the Companhia União Fabril (CUF), with a wide range of interests including cement, petro and agro chemicals, textiles, beverages, naval and electrical engineering, [[insurance]], banking, paper, tourism and mining, with branches, plants and projects throughout the Portuguese Empire.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Other medium-sized family companies specialised in textiles (such as those in [[Covilhã]] and the northwest), ceramics, porcelain, glass and crystal (such as those in [[Alcobaça, Portugal|Alcobaça]], [[Caldas da Rainha]] and [[Marinha Grande]]), engineered wood (such as [[SONAE]], near [[Porto]]), canned fish ([[Algarve]] and the northwest), fishing, food and beverages (liqueurs, beer and [[port wine]]), tourism (in [[Estoril]], [[Cascais]], [[Sintra]] and the Algarve) and agriculture (the [[Alentejo]], known as the [[breadbasket]] of Portugal) by the early-1970s. Rural families engaged in agriculture and forestry.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

Income from the colonies came from resource extraction, of oil, coffee, cotton, cashews, coconuts, timber, minerals (including diamonds), metals (such as iron and aluminium), bananas, citrus, tea, sisal, beer, cement, fish and other seafood, beef and textiles.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} [[Labour unions]] were subject to severe restrictions,<ref>{{Cite web |title=O movimento sindical durante o Estado Novo: estado actual da investigação |url=https://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/3359.pdf |website=Universidade do Porto}}</ref> and [[minimum wage]] laws were not enforced. Starting in the 1960s, the outbreak of colonial wars in Africa set off significant social changes, among them the rapid incorporation of women into the labour market.

===Colonial war===
{{Main|Portuguese Colonial War}}
[[File:Portuguese colonial war blank map.svg|thumb|alt=Colour-coded map of Portugal and Africa|Portuguese colonies in Africa under the ''Estado Novo'' regime]]
[[File:AssaltonaMatadaSanga.jpg|thumb|alt=Armed soldier in a helicopter|[[Portuguese Air Force|PoAF]] helicopter in Africa]]

Independence movements began in the African colonies of [[Portuguese Mozambique]], [[Portuguese Congo]], [[Portuguese Angola]], and [[Portuguese Guinea]]. The Salazar and Caetano regimes responded with diverting more and more of Portugal's [[National budget|budget]] to colonial administration and [[military expenditure]], and the country became increasingly [[International isolation|isolated]] from the rest of the world, facing increasing internal dissent, [[arms embargo]]es and other [[international sanctions]].<ref name="Adrian Hastings">{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1310333/Adrian-Hastings.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Adrian Hastings | date=26 June 2001}}</ref>

By the early-1970s, the [[Portuguese Armed Forces|Portuguese military]] was overstretched and there was no political solution in sight. Although the number of [[Casualty (person)|casualties]] was relatively small, the war had entered its second decade; Portugal faced criticism from the international community, and was becoming increasingly isolated. In 1973 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for Portugal's immediate withdrawal from Guinea.<ref name="Matos">{{cite book |last1=Matos |first1=José Augusto |last2=Oliveira |first2=Zélia |title=Carnation Revolution. Volume 1: The Road to the Coup that changed Portugal, 1974 |date=October 2023 |publisher=Helion & Co. Ltd. |location=Warwick |isbn=9781804513668}}</ref> Atrocities such as the [[Wiriyamu Massacre]] undermined the war's popularity and the government's diplomatic position, although details of the massacre are still disputed.<ref name="Adrian Hastings"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cabrita |first=Felícia |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/232301193 |title=Massacres em África |publisher=Esfera dos livros |year=2008 |isbn=978-989-626-089-7 |edition=1a |location=Lisboa |pages=243–282 |oclc=232301193}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907626,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918214935/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907626,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=18 September 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Mozambique: Mystery Massacre | date=30 July 1973}}</ref>

The war became unpopular in Portugal, and the country became increasingly polarised. Thousands of left-wing students and anti-war activists avoided [[conscription]] by [[Illegal emigration#Portugal|emigrating illegally]], primarily to [[France]] and the [[United States]]. Meanwhile, three generations of right-wing militants in Portuguese schools were guided by a [[revolutionary nationalism]] partially influenced by European [[neo-fascism]], and supported the [[Portuguese Empire]] and an authoritarian regime.<ref>[http://www.scielo.oces.mctes.pt/pdf/aso/n188/n188a04.pdf A direita radical na Universidade de Coimbra (1945–1974)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303234238/http://www.scielo.oces.mctes.pt/pdf/aso/n188/n188a04.pdf |date=3 March 2009 }}, Marchi, Riccardo. A direita radical na Universidade de Coimbra (1945–1974). Anál. Social, July 2008, nº 188, pp.&nbsp;551–576. {{ISSN|0003-2573}}.</ref>

The war had a profound impact on the country. The revolutionary [[Armed Forces Movement]] (MFA) began as an attempt to liberate Portugal from the Estado Novo regime and challenge new military laws which were [[coming into force]].<ref name="infopedia.pt">{{in lang|pt}} Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA). In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: [[Porto Editora]], 2003–2009. [Consult. 2009-01-07]. Disponível na www: URL: https://www.infopedia.pt/artigos/$movimento-das-forcas-armadas-(mfa)</ref><ref name="Armed_Forces_Movement">[http://maltez.info/respublica/portugalpolitico/grupospoliticos/movimento_das_forcas_armadas.htm Movimento das Forças Armadas (1974–1975)], Projecto CRiPE – Centro de Estudos em Relações Internacionais, Ciência Política e Estratégia. © José Adelino Maltez. Cópias autorizadas, desde que indicada a origem. Última revisão em: 2 October 2008.</ref> The laws would reduce the military budget and reformulate the Portuguese military.<ref>''Decretos-Leis n.os 353, de 13 de Julho de 1973, e 409, de 20 de Agosto''.</ref> Younger military-academy graduates resented Caetano's programme of commissioning militia officers who completed a brief training course and had served in the colonies' defensive campaigns at the same rank as academy graduates.<ref name=Matos/>

=={{anchor|Events}}Revolution==
{{For timeline}}
[[File:Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Campaign Poster 1976.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Campaign poster of a smiling Otelo Saraiva de Carvalh|1976 campaign poster for [[Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho]], a leader of the Carnation Revolution]]

By December 1973, it had become clear to several military officers that the Colonial War was unsustainable and the only solution to end it should be a political one, therefore [[Vasco Lourenço]], [[Vítor Alves (soldier)|Vítor Alves]] and [[Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho]] formed a commission to prepare a military coup to topple the regime.<ref>{{cite web|website=RTP Ensina|title=As motivações do golpe militar de 25 de Abril de 1974|trans-title=The motivations for the military coup of April 25 of 1974|lang=pt-PT|url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/explicador/as-motivacoes-do-golpe-militar-de-25-de-abril-de-1974/|first=Mariana|last=Lagarto|date=2021|access-date=October 29, 2025}}</ref>

In February 1974, Caetano decided to remove General [[António de Spínola]] from the command of Portuguese forces in Guinea in the face of Spínola's increasing disagreement with the promotion of military officers and the direction of Portuguese colonial policy. This occurred shortly after the publication of Spínola's book, ''Portugal and the Future'', which expressed his political and military views of the Portuguese Colonial War. Several military officers who opposed the war formed the MFA to overthrow the government in a [[military coup]]. The MFA was headed by [[Vítor Alves (soldier)|Vítor Alves]], [[Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho]] and Vasco Lourenço, and was joined later by [[Salgueiro Maia]]. The movement was aided by other Portuguese army officers who supported Spínola and democratic civil and military reform.

In March 16, 1974, a group of 200 soldiers headed by [[Armando Marques Ramos]] organized a failed military coup in [[Caldas da Rainha]]. The unsuccessful attempt managed to convince Marcelo Caetano that the level of unrest in the military against the regime was overrated, and gave the leaders of the MFA the opportunity to learn from the mistakes made.<ref>{{cite web|website=RTP Ensina|title=As motivações do golpe militar de 25 de Abril de 1974|trans-title=The motivations for the military coup of April 25 of 1974|lang=pt-PT|url=https://ensina.rtp.pt/explicador/as-motivacoes-do-golpe-militar-de-25-de-abril-de-1974/|first=Mariana|last=Lagarto|date=2021|access-date=October 29, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=Arquivo Distrital de Leiria|title=16 de março de 1974 – o levantamento das Caldas na imprensa regional da época|trans-title=March 16 of 1974 - the attempted coup at Caldas as it was reported by the regional press at the time|lang=pt-PT|url=https://adlra.dglab.gov.pt/2017/03/09/16-de-marco/|author=<!-- not stated --> |date=March 9, 2017|access-date=October 29, 2025}}</ref>

The coup was given the code name "Operation Historic Turn" and it had two secret signals: First, the disc jockey at Emissores Associados de Lisboa gave the time signal ''Falta cinco minutos às vinte e três'' at 22:55 on 24 April before turntabling [[Paulo de Carvalho]]'s "[[E Depois do Adeus]]" (Portugal's entry in the [[1974 Eurovision Song Contest]]). This alerted rebel captains and soldiers to begin the coup. The second signal came at 00:20 on 25 April, when [[Rádio Renascença]] broadcast "[[Grândola, Vila Morena]]" (a song by [[Zeca Afonso]], an influential political [[folk music]]ian and singer, many of whose songs were banned from Portuguese radio at the time). The MFA gave the signals to take over strategic points of power in the country. The content of the songs was largely uncontroversial—censorship would have prevented more inflammatory songs—but their broadcasting was a signal, not a direct call to arms.<ref>{{cite news| last=Fernandes | first=Alex | title=How Portugal's 1974 Eurovision entry toppled the country's fascist regime | newspaper=The Observer | date=21 April 2024 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/21/how-portugals-1974-eurovision-entry-toppled-the-countrys-fascist-regime}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-04-22|title=25 de Abril: Uma revolução ao comando dos microfones - JPN|url=https://www.jpn.up.pt/2012/04/22/25-de-abril-uma-revolucao-ao-comando-dos-microfones/|access-date=2021-03-05|website=JPN - JornalismoPortoNet|language=pt-PT}}</ref>

Six hours later, the Caetano government relented. Despite repeated radio appeals from the "Captains of April" (the MFA) advising civilians to stay home, thousands of Portuguese took to the streets&nbsp;– mingling with, and supporting, the military insurgents. A central gathering point was the Lisbon flower market, then richly stocked with carnations (which were in season). Some of the insurgents put carnations in their [[gun barrel]]s, an image broadcast on television worldwide<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://adst.org/2015/04/the-carnation-revolution-a-peaceful-coup-in-portugal/|title=The Carnation Revolution – A Peaceful Coup in Portugal – Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training|date=13 April 2015|work=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US}}</ref> which gave the revolution its name. Although no [[mass demonstration]]s preceded the coup, spontaneous civilian involvement turned the military coup into a popular revolution "led by radical army officers, soldiers, workers and peasants that toppled the senile Salazar dictatorship, using the language of socialism and democracy. The attempt to radicalise the outcome", noted a contemporary observer of the time, "had little mass support and was easily suppressed by the [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|Socialist Party]] and its allies."<ref>{{cite book|first=Tariq |last=Ali |title='Preface' in A Calculus of Power |publisher=Verso |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84467-620-0}}</ref>

Caetano found refuge in the main headquarters of the Lisbon military police, the [[National Republican Guard (Portugal)|National Republican Guard]], at the Largo do Carmo. This building was surrounded by the MFA, which pressured him to cede power to Spínola. President Tomás was kept on the sidelines during the revolution and was only informed about the events that unfolded by [[Fernando da Silva Pais]], head of the GDS. Tomás, his family and some members of the president's staff took refuge at the [[fort of Giribita]], returning, later in the same day, to his personal residence in Lisbon. On the morning of April 26, however, he was sent to [[Madeira]] on his way to exile.<ref>{{cite web|website=Museu da Presidência da República Portuguesa|title=MPR - Américo Tomás|author=Presidência da República - Direção de Serviços de Informática - SV|lang=pt-PT|year = 2021|trans-title=President's Museum - Américo Tomás|access-date=November 3, 2025|url=https://www.museu.presidencia.pt/pt/conhecer/presidentes-da-republica-biografias/presidentes-da-ditadura/americo-tomas/}}</ref> Caetano and Tomás were sent to Brazil; Caetano spent the rest of his life there, and Tomás returned to Portugal a few years later. The revolution was closely watched by neighbouring Spain, where the government (and the opposition) were planning the [[Head of state succession|succession]] of Spanish dictator [[Francisco Franco]]. Franco died a year and a half later, in 1975.

The military operation itself ended at 18:00 on 25 April having lasted 19 hours, however hostilities continued in Lisbon until the end of the siege of the national headquarters of the [[General Directorate of Security (Portugal)|General Directorate of Security]] (GDS), the siege ended on 09:45 of the next day.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cervello|first=Josep Sanchez|date=December 1993|title=A Revolução Portuguesa e a sua Influência na Transição Espanhola (1961-1976)|trans-title=The Portuguese Revolution and its influence on the Spanish Transition (1961-1976)|language=pt-PT|publisher=Assírio & Alvim|isbn=978-972-37-0317-7}}</ref> At the national level, hostilities continued for several days afterwards with some districts still not recognizing the revolution at Lisbon. That situation continued until the fall of [[Coimbra]] district to the new regime on the 30th.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Costa|first1= Victor|last2= Ramires|first2= Alexandre|date= 2014|title=A força do povo: o 25 de Abril em Coimbra|url=http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/bibnacional/1908697|trans-title= The force of the people: the 25 of April in Coimbra|language= pt-PT|publication-place= Coimbra|publisher= Lápis de Memórias|publication-date= September 3, 2016|isbn= 978-989-8674-05-0|access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>

Hostilities in Lisbon are considered to have ended after the end of the siege of GDS when [[Fernando da Silva Pais]], its last director-general, removed, in the presence of commander Luís Costa Correia, the portraits of Salazar, Caetano, and Tomás from the wall of his office.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Pimentel|first=Irene Flunster|date=May 23, 2024|title=The 25 of April of 1974 and the PIDE/GDS|url=https://novaresearch.unl.pt/en/publications/o-25-de-abril-de-1974-e-a-pidedgs?utm_source=chatgpt.com|trans-title=O 25 de Abril de 1974 e a PIDE/DGS.|journal=Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais|volume=133 |pages=121–146 |language=pt|doi=10.4000/11PR5 |access-date = April 8, 2025|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The movement still had to ensure the control of all Portugal however, given the resistance by local authorities in other district capitals, the revolution in Lisbon had no practical effects in those districts as the former regime's authorities were still in place there. That was the case of Coimbra where only on 30 April, with the direct involvement of the military, after a four-day siege of the GDS branch in Coimbra headquarters, the new democratic powers were constituted at the [[University of Coimbra|university]], the city, at the [[Civil Government|civil government]] of the [[District of Coimbra|district]] and at the [[Municipalities of Portugal|municipalities]] belonging to it.{{efn|The siege begun at 22:00 on 26 April by civilians who were soon surrounded by local forces of the [[Polícia de Segurança Pública|Public Security Police]] still loyal to the former regime, only on the following day at dawn with the arrival of some forces of the military were the police overwhelmed, that was not the case however with the GDS, which only surrendered two days after the arrival of [[Portuguese Paratroopers|elite units]] commanded by Lieutenant colonel Rafael Durão on the 28th.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Costa|first1= Victor|last2= Ramires|first2= Alexandre|date= 2014|title=A força do povo: o 25 de Abril em Coimbra|url=http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/bibnacional/1908697|trans-title= The force of the people: the 25 of April in Coimbra|language= pt-PT|publication-place= Coimbra|publisher= Lápis de Memórias|publication-date= September 3, 2016|isbn= 978-989-8674-05-0|access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>}}

During the siege of the GDS headquarters, at 20:15 on 25 April, GDS authorities started shooting [[warning shots]] towards the crowd outside the building, killing four civilians and injuring 45. That same evening and the following days, several GDS personnel were arrested. At 21:20 the same evening, a low level GDS staff member, was shot dead by MFA forces.{{efn|António Lage, a low level member of staff, was, together with another worker, the only people still inside the HQ, having high level workers and agents already run away. He was shot dead by sieging forces for running away after he had surrendered himself once he heard shouts of civilians demanding for his execution in retribution for the deaths of four people.<ref>{{cite web|website=A Voz de Trás-os-Montes|access-date= April 18, 2025|date=April 25, 2024|last=Cordeiro|first=Olga Telo|publication-place=Vila Real|title=O sangue esquecido da revolução|url-status=live|language=pt-PT|trans-title=The forgotten blood of the revolution|url=https://www.avozdetrasosmontes.pt/o-sangue-esquecido-da-revolucao/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250425121428/https://www.avozdetrasosmontes.pt/o-sangue-esquecido-da-revolucao/|archive-date=April 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Pimentel|first=Irene Flunster|date=May 23, 2024|title=The 25 of April of 1974 and the PIDE/GDS|url=https://novaresearch.unl.pt/en/publications/o-25-de-abril-de-1974-e-a-pidedgs?utm_source=chatgpt.com|trans-title=O 25 de Abril de 1974 e a PIDE/DGS.|journal=Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais|volume=133 |pages=121–146 |language=pt-PT|doi=10.4000/11PR5 |access-date=April 8, 2025|doi-access=free}}</ref>}} A member of the shock [[Polícia de Segurança Pública|police]] was also shot dead at the Luís de Camões square by the MFAs when in a misunderstanding, they started targeting a motorcade of police cars which the agent was part of. The identities of the perpetrators of all these deaths are still unknown.<ref>{{cite book |last1= Monteiro|first1= Fábio|date= 2019|title=Esquecidos em Abril: os mortos da revolução sem sangue|url=http://id.bnportugal.gov.pt/bib/bibnacional/2033153|trans-title= Forgotten in April: the dead of the bloodless revolution|language= pt-PT|publication-place= Lisbon|publisher= Livros Horizonte|series=Horizonte histórico|department=PT--453138/19|isbn= 978-972-24-1904-8|type=Book|access-date=April 18, 2025}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Portuguese transition to democracy}}

[[File:Supplement to the Diary of the Government (Portugal) of April 25, 1974.pdf|thumb|right|First laws published in the {{lang|pt-PT|[[Diário da República|Diário do Governo]]}} following the overthrow of the government.]]
After the coup, power was held by the [[National Salvation Junta]] (a military junta). Portugal experienced a turbulent period, known as the [[Processo Revolucionário Em Curso]] (Ongoing Revolutionary Process).

The conservative forces surrounding Spinola and the MFA radicals initially confronted each other covertly or overtly, and Spinola was forced to appoint key MFA figures to senior security positions. Right-wing military figures attempted an unsuccessful [[counter-coup]], leading to Spinola's removal from office. Unrest within the MFA between leftist forces often close to the [[Communist Party of Portugal|Communist Party]], and more moderate groups often allied with the Socialists eventually led to the group's splintering and dissolution.

This stage of the PREC lasted until the [[coup of 25 November 1975]], led by a group of far-left officers, specifically Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. It was said to be a Communist plot to seize power, in order to discredit the powerful Communist Party. It was followed by a successful counter-coup by more centrist officers, and was marked by constant friction between liberal-democratic forces and leftist-communist political parties.<ref>{{in lang|pt}} [http://www1.ci.uc.pt/cd25a/wikka.php?wakka=eacalvao ENTREVISTA COM ALPOIM CALVÃO], Centro de Documentação 25 de Abril, [[University of Coimbra]]</ref> [[1975 Portuguese Constituent Assembly election|Portugal's first free election]] was held on 25 April 1975 to write a new constitution replacing the [[Constitution of Portugal#Constitution of 1933|1933 constitution]] in force during the Estado Novo era. [[1976 Portuguese legislative election|Another election]] was held in 1976, and the first constitutional government, led by centre-left socialist [[Mário Soares]], took office.

===Decolonisation===
{{Main|Angolan Civil War|Mozambican Civil War|Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Guinea-Bissau War of Independence}}

Before April 1974, the intractable Portuguese colonial war in Africa consumed up to 40 percent of the Portuguese budget. Although part of Guinea-Bissau became independent ''de facto'' in 1973, [[Bissau]] (its capital) and the large towns were still under Portuguese control. In Angola and Mozambique independence movements were active in more remote rural areas from which the Portuguese Army had retreated.

A consequence of the Carnation Revolution was the sudden withdrawal of Portuguese administrative and military personnel from its overseas colonies. Hundreds of thousands of [[Portuguese Africans]] returned to Portugal, becoming known as the ''retornados''. These people—workers, small business people, and farmers—often had deep roots in the former colonies.

A 1978 Portuguese offer to return [[Macau]] to China was refused, as the Chinese government did not want to risk jeopardising negotiations with the UK over returning [[Hong Kong]]. The territory remained a Portuguese colony until 1999, when [[Transfer of sovereignty over Macau|it was transferred to China]] with [[Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau|a joint declaration]], and enacted a "[[one country, two systems]]" policy similar to that of Hong Kong.

===Economic issues===
{{Revolution sidebar}}
The [[Economic history of Portugal|Portuguese economy changed significantly]] between 1961 and 1973. Total output (GDP at factory cost) had grown by 120 percent in real terms. The pre-revolutionary period was characterised by robust [[Annual growth rate|annual growth]] in [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] (6.9 percent), [[industrial production]] (nine percent), [[Consumption (economics)|consumption]] (6.5 percent), and [[gross fixed capital formation]] (7.8 percent). The revolutionary period experienced a slowly-growing economy, whose only impetus was its 1986 entrance into the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC). Although Portugal never regained its pre-revolution growth, at the time of the revolution it was an [[underdeveloped country]] with poor [[infrastructure]], inefficient agriculture and some of the worst health and education indicators in Europe.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Pre-revolutionary Portugal had some social and economic achievements.<ref>{{citation | language = pt | url = http://www.sedes.pt/conteudo.aspx?args=1,2 | title = Fundação da SEDES – As primeiras motivações | quote = Nos anos 60 e até 1973 teve lugar, provavelmente, o mais rápido período de crescimento económico da nossa História, traduzido na industrialização, na expansão do turismo, no comércio com a EFTA, no desenvolvimento dos sectores financeiros, investimento estrangeiro e grandes projectos de infra-estruturas. Em consequência, os indicadores de rendimentos e consumo acompanham essa evolução, reforçados ainda pelas remessas de emigrantes. | publisher = [[SEDES]] | access-date = 6 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120319193720/http://www.sedes.pt/conteudo.aspx?args=1,2 | archive-date = 19 March 2012 | url-status = dead }}.</ref> After a long period of economic decline before 1914, the Portuguese economy recovered slightly until 1950. It began a period of economic growth in common with Western Europe, of which it was the poorest country until the 1980s. Portuguese economic growth between 1960 and 1973 (under the Estado Novo regime) created an opportunity for integration with the developed economies of Western Europe despite the colonial war. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and companies changed their patterns of production and consumption. The increasing complexity of a growing economy sparked new technical and organisational challenges.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.dge.ubi.pt/investigar/TDiscussao/2001/TD052001.pdf | first = Tiago Neves | last = Sequeira | publisher = [[University of Beira Interior]] | title = Crescrimento Económico no Pós-Guerra: os casos de Espanha, Portugal e Irlanda | language = pt | access-date = 6 November 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081031002147/http://www.dge.ubi.pt/investigar/TDiscussao/2001/TD052001.pdf | archive-date = 31 October 2008 | url-status = dead }}.</ref><ref>{{citation | url = https://ideas.repec.org/p/ave/wpaper/382006.html | first = Joaquim da Costa | last = Leite | publisher = [[Aveiro University]] | title = Instituições, Gestão e Crescimento Económico: Portugal, 1950–73 | journal = Working Papers de Economia (Economics Working Papers) | date = March 2006 | language = pt }}.</ref>

On 13 November 1972, Fundo do Ultramar (The Overseas Fund, a [[sovereign wealth fund]]) was enacted with Decreto-Lei n.º 448/ /72 and the Ministry of Defence ordinance Portaria 696/72 to finance the war.<ref>{{in lang|pt}} [https://www.dn.pt/inicio/opiniao/interior.aspx?content_id=1722768&seccao=Convidados&page=1 A verdade sobre o Fundo do Ultramar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511164133/http://www.dn.pt/inicio/opiniao/interior.aspx?content_id=1722768&seccao=Convidados&page=1 |date=11 May 2013 }}, [[Diário de Notícias]] (29 November 2012).</ref> The increasing burden of the war effort meant that the government had to find continuous sources of financing. Decreto-Lei n.º 353, of 13 July 1973 and Decreto-Lei n.º 409 of 20 August 1973 were enforced to reduce military expenses and increase the number of officers by incorporating [[militia]] and military-academy officers as equals.<ref name="infopedia.pt"/><ref name="Armed_Forces_Movement"/><ref>{{in lang|pt}} Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA). In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: [[Porto Editora]], 2003–2009. [Consult. 2009-01-07]. Disponível na www: URL: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080202051435/http://www.infopedia.pt/$movimento-das-forcas-armadas-(mfa)].</ref><ref>João Bravo da Matta, [http://ultramar.terraweb.biz/Noticia_joaobravodamatta_Diabo_guerradoultramar.htm A Guerra do Ultramar], O Diabo, 14 October 2008, pp.22.</ref>

According to government estimates, about {{convert|900000|ha|acre|abbr=off}} of agricultural land were seized between April 1974 and December 1975 as part of [[land reform]]; about 32 percent of the appropriations were ruled illegal.{{Full citation needed|date=January 2019}} In January 1976, the government pledged to restore the illegally occupied land to its owners in 1976, and enacted the Land Reform Review Law the following year. Restoration of illegally occupied land began in 1978.<ref>{{citation| url = http://countrystudies.us/portugal/63.htm | quote = In the mid-1980s, agricultural productivity was half that of the levels in Greece and Spain and a quarter of the EC average. The land tenure system was polarized between two extremes: small and fragmented family farms in the north and large collective farms in the south that proved incapable of modernizing. The decollectivization of agriculture, which began in modest form in the late 1970s and accelerated in the late 1980s, promised to increase the efficiency of human and land resources in the south during the 1990s. | publisher = U.S. Library of Congress | work = Country Studies | title = Portugal}}</ref><ref>{{citation | url = http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Portugal-AGRICULTURE.html | title = Portugal Agriculture | encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of the Nations}}</ref>

In 1960, Portugal's per-capita GDP was 38 percent of the EEC average. By the end of the Salazar period in 1968 it had risen to 48 percent, and in 1973 it had reached 56.4 percent; the percentages were affected by the 40 percent of the budget which underwrote the African wars. In 1975 (the year of greatest revolutionary turmoil), Portugal's per-capita GDP declined to 52.3 percent of the EEC average. Due to revolutionary economic policies, oil shocks, recession in Europe and the return of hundreds of thousands of overseas Portuguese from its former colonies, Portugal began an economic crisis in 1974–1975.<ref>{{citation | title = Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation | first = Juan José | last = Linz | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TqRn1lAypsgC&q=Financial+crisis+1974+Portugal&pg=PA128 | publisher = JHU Press | isbn = 978-0-8018-5158-2 | year = 1996}}.</ref>

[[Real gross domestic product]] growth resumed as a result of Portugal's economic resurgence since 1985 and adhesion to the EEC. The country's 1991 per-capita GDP reached 54.9 percent of the EEC average, slightly exceeding the level at the height of the revolutionary period.<ref>{{citation | url = http://countrystudies.us/portugal/64.htm | title = Economic Growth and Change | publisher = [[U.S. Library of Congress]] | work = Country Studies}}.</ref>

A January 2011 story in the ''Diário de Notícias'' (a Portuguese tabloid format newspaper) reported that the [[government of Portugal]] encouraged overspending and investment bubbles in public-private partnerships between 1974 and 2010, and the economy has been damaged by risky [[credit (finance)|credit]], [[public debt]] creation, [[overstaffing]] in the public sector, a rigid labour market and mismanaged [[European Union]]'s [[structural and cohesion funds]] for almost four decades. Prime Minister [[José Sócrates]]' cabinet was unable to foresee or forestall this when symptoms first appeared in 2005, and could not ameliorate the situation when Portugal was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2011 and required financial assistance from the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the European Union.<ref>{{in lang|pt}} [https://dn.sapo.pt/inicio/tv/interior.aspx?content_id=1750097&seccao=Media Grande investigação DN Conheça o verdadeiro peso do Estado] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108021723/http://dn.sapo.pt/inicio/tv/interior.aspx?content_id=1750097&seccao=Media |date=8 January 2011 }}, [[Diário de Notícias]] (7 January 2011).</ref>

===Freedom of religion===
The constitution of 1976 guarantees all religions the right to practise, and non-Catholic groups are recognised as legal entities with the [[Freedom of assembly|right to assemble]]. Non-Catholic [[conscientious objector]]s have the right to apply for alternative military service. The [[Catholic Church]], however, still sought to impede other missionary activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj1/7%20-%20sergej%20flere.pdf|title=REGISTRATION OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES|access-date=9 December 2011|archive-date=20 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420225246/http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj1/7%20-%20sergej%20flere.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Monuments}}Legacy==
[[File:Ponte25Abril1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Long, red suspension bridge against a cloudless sky|Originally named after former Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, the 25 de Abril Bridge is a Lisbon icon]]
[[File:Lisboa_Monumento_25_Abril.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Monument to the Carnation Revolution by [[João Cutileiro]] in Lisbon]]

Construction of what is now called the [[25 de Abril Bridge]] began on 5 November 1962. It opened on 6 August 1966 as the Salazar Bridge, named after Estado Novo leader Salazar. Soon after the Carnation Revolution of 1974, the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge to commemorate the revolution. Citizens who removed the large, brass "Salazar" sign from a main pillar of the bridge and painted a provisional "25 de Abril" in its place were recorded on film.

Many Portuguese streets and squares are named ''vinte e cinco de Abril'' (25 April), for the day of the revolution. The [[Portuguese Mint]] chose the 40th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution for its 2014 [[2 euro commemorative coin]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-union/euro/euro-coins-and-notes/euro-coins/commemorative-and-collector-euro-coins_en?field_nal_country_tid_selective=22088&field_cc_issue_page_target_id_selective=All|title=Commemorative coins|website=European Commission - European Commission|language=en|access-date=2017-07-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019151358/https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-union/euro/euro-coins-and-notes/euro-coins/commemorative-and-collector-euro-coins_en?field_nal_country_tid_selective=22088&field_cc_issue_page_target_id_selective=All|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2011, during the [[2010–14 Portuguese financial crisis|Portuguese financial crisis]] when the country had to request international financial assistance, [[Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho]], the Portuguese military officer who was the chief strategist of the 1974 [[Carnation Revolution]] in Lisbon, stated that he wouldn't have started the revolution if he had known what the country would become after it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 April 2011 |title='Se soubesse como o País ia ficar, não fazia a revolução' |url=https://www.dn.pt/portugal/se-soubesse-como-o-pais-ia-ficar-nao-fazia-a-revolucao-1829262.html/ |website=[[Diário de Notícias]] |language=pt}}</ref> He also stated that the country would need a man as honest as [[António de Oliveira Salazar|Salazar]] to deal with the crisis, but from a non-[[fascist]] perspective.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 April 2011 |title=Otelo: precisamos de um homem honesto como Salazar |url=https://www.dn.pt/dossiers/tv-e-media/revistas-de-imprensa/noticias/interior/otelo-precisamos-de-um-homem-honesto-como-salazar-1835446.html/ |website=[[Diário de Notícias]] |language=pt}}</ref>
===Freedom Day===
Freedom Day (25 April) is a [[Public holidays in Portugal|national holiday]], with state-sponsored and spontaneous commemorations of the civil liberties and political freedoms achieved after the revolution. It commemorates the 25 April 1974 revolution and Portugal's first free elections on that date the following year.

==Films==
* ''Setúbal, ville rouge'' (France–Portugal 1975 documentary, b/w and colour, 16&nbsp;mm, 93 minutes, by Daniel Edinger)&nbsp;– In October 1975 [[Setúbal]], neighbourhood committees, factory committees, soldiers' committees and peasant cooperatives organise a central committee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iskra.fr/front_office/fiche.php?vMenu=titre&vRubrique=catalogue&vIDfilm=126|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721001234/http://www.iskra.fr/front_office/fiche.php?vMenu=titre&vRubrique=catalogue&vIDfilm=126|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2011|title=Setubal Ville Rouge|work=ISKRA|access-date=19 January 2018}}</ref>
* ''Cravos de Abril'' (''April Carnations''), 1976 documentary, b/w and colour, 16&nbsp;mm, 28 minutes, by Ricardo Costa – Depicts the revolutionary events from 24 April to 1 May 1974, illustrated by the French cartoonist [[Siné]].
* ''Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal'' – U.S.–Portugal 1977, 16&nbsp;mm, b/w and colour, 85 minutes, directed by [[Robert Kramer]]
* ''[[A Hora da Liberdade]]'' (''The Hour of Freedom''), 1999 documentary, by Joana Pontes, [[:pt:Emídio Rangel|Emídio Rangel]] and [[:pt:Rodrigo de Sousa e Castro|Rodrigo de Sousa e Castro]]
* ''[[Capitães de Abril]]'' (''April Captains''), a 2000 dramatic film by [[Maria de Medeiros]] about the Carnation Revolution
* ''25 de Abril: uma Aventura para a Democracia'' (''25th April: an Adventure for Democracy''), 2000 documentary, by [[Edgar Pêra]]
* The [[BBC]]-made ''A New Sun is Born'', a two-part television series, for the UK's [[Open University]]. The first episode details the coup, and the second narrates the [[Portuguese transition to democracy|transition to democracy]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Goldblatt|first=David|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|title=A New Sun Is Born (1997)|oclc=51658463}}</ref>
* ''[[Longwave (film)|Longwave]]'' (''Les Grandes Ondes (à l'ouest)''), a 2013 [[screwball comedy]] about Swiss radio reporters assigned to Portugal in 1974<ref>{{Cite web |last=van Hoeij |first=Boyd |date=22 August 2013 |title=Longwave (Les Grandes Ondes (a l'Ouest)): Locarno Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/longwave-les-grandes-ondes-a-609672 |access-date=28 March 2014 |publisher=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q130301971|id=tt0241112|title=Les grandes ondes (à l'ouest) (2013)}}</ref>
* The [[German Democratic Republic|GDR]] made several films about the revolution and transmitted on state television, including, (''Lourenço und der Lieutenant'') and (''Santa Vitoria gibt nicht auf'').
* ''[[Revolução sem sangue]]'' (2024)

==See also==
*[[Aster Revolution]]
*[[Armed Revolutionary Action]]
*[[5 October 1910 revolution]]
*[[1960 Turkish coup d'état]]
* [[Flower Power (photograph)]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Chilcote |first=Ronald H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NmyAEQAAQBAJ |title=The Portuguese Revolution: State and Class in the Transition to Democracy |date=2010 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-7425-6792-4 |location=Lanham |oclc=440282343}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Ferreira |first1=Hugo Gil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXWc8fHOkEEC |title=Portugal's Revolution: Ten Years On |last2=Marshall |first2=Michael W. |date=1986 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-32204-1 |location=Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Green |first=Gil |title=Portugal's Revolution |date=1976 |publisher=[[International Publishers]] |isbn=978-0-7178-0461-0 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Insight Team of the ''[[Sunday Times]]'' |url=https://archive.org/details/insightonportuga0000unse |title=Insight on Portugal: The Year of the Captains |publisher=[[André Deutsch]] |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-233-96765-3 |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Mailer |first1=Phil |title=Portugal: The Impossible Revolution? |last2=Brinton |first2=Maurice |publisher=[[PM Press]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-60486-336-9 |location=Oakland, CA}}
** {{cite web|last=Mailer |first=Phil |title=Portugal: The Impossible Revolution? |date=7 August 2005 |url=https://libcom.org/article/portugal-impossible-revolution-phil-mailer |via=libcom.org}} Online copy of Mailer's book, plus [[Maurice Brinton]]'s original Introduction to the 1977 edition.
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymAVDAAAQBAJ |title=Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present |date=2009 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-955201-6 |editor-last=Roberts |editor-first=Adam |location=Oxford [England] ; New York |oclc=294885650 |editor-last2=Garton Ash |editor-first2=Timothy}}
* {{Cite book |last=Robinson |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-ekf1g5llUC |title=Revolutionary Rehearsals |publisher=[[Haymarket Books]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-931859-02-8 |editor-last=Barker |editor-first=Collin |chapter=Portugal 1974-75: Popular power}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wise |first=Audrey |title=Eyewitness in Revolutionary Portugal |date=1975 |publisher=Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation for Spokesman Books |isbn=978-0-85124-133-3 |location=Nottingham}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wright |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cINUCik7OeUC |title=The Destruction of a Nation: United States' Policy Towards Angola Since 1945 |date=1997 |publisher=[[Pluto Press]] |isbn=978-0-7453-1029-9 |location=London}}

==External links==
* {{Cite web|url=http://adst.org/2015/04/the-carnation-revolution-a-peaceful-coup-in-portugal/|title=Accounts of the Carnation Revolution by U.S. diplomats|publisher=Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST)}}

{{Portugal topics}}
{{Cold War}}
{{Subject bar|auto=y|History|Portugal}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Carnation Revolution| ]]
[[Category:1974 in Portugal]]
[[Category:1974 in politics]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1974]]
[[Category:April 1974 in Europe]]
[[Category:1970s coups d'état]]
[[Category:1970s revolutions]]
[[Category:Anti-fascism]]
[[Category:Cold War rebellions]]
[[Category:Military coups in Portugal]]
[[Category:Nonviolent revolutions]]
[[Category:Revolutions in Portugal]]
[[Category:Decolonization]]
[[Category:Democratization]]
[[Category:Socialism in Portugal]]
[[Category:Socialist revolutions]]