After decades of a corporatist state and centuries of slavery and colonialism in Africa, a combined national liberation war and discontent within a European army prompted a fierce challenge to white supremacy and attempts to build socialism
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
Wednesday April 29, 2026
Historical Review
On April 24, 1974, some 52 years ago, a group of lower-ranking officers within the colonial military forces of Portugal overthrew their superiors along with the fascist state.
These actions had been years in the making due to the character of the government in Lisbon and the centuries-long legacy of African enslavement and colonial domination.
The Armed Forces Movement (MFA) which arose to remove the fascist regime in Portugal was the outgrowth of discontent with the social impact of the colonial wars waged against the national liberation movements in Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Sao Tome and Principe. Also, the Azores territory in the North Atlantic had been utilized by the Portuguese colonial army as well as the United States as a refueling station and imperialist base for the genocidal wars in Africa by Lisbon and efforts by Washington to suppress the complete liberation and unification of Vietnam.
Although the Carnation Revolution of April 25 was described as a “bloodless coup”, the historical events which prompted the collapse of the Portuguese fascist-colonial system stemmed from the millions in Africa who were subjected to centuries of enslavement and colonialism dating back to the 15th century. The Atlantic Slave Trade was initiated by the monarchies and mercantilists of Spain and Portugal.
There were thousands of freedom fighters and civilians wounded and killed during the period of the national liberation wars between 1961-1974. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the fascist regime of Marcello Caetano was describing the colonies in Africa as “Overseas Portuguese Territories”, therefore ideologically disclaiming the inherent right to self-determination and independence of the people of these colonies.
The MFA was led by members of the Portuguese Communist Party enlisted in the colonial military forces. These soldiers saw the impact of the wars in Africa aimed at maintaining imperialist rule.
Many Portuguese soldiers lost their lives as well in Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Angola as the national liberation movements of the Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) fought heroically for the overthrow of Portuguese fascist imperialism. These three liberation movements had formed an alliance in 1961 in Casablanca, Morocco. FRELIMO had come about as a result of the merger of three different organizations which consolidated in 1962. Later, the Movement for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe (MLSTP), founded in 1960 as the Committee for the Liberation of Sao Tome and Principe, it later changed its name to the MLSTP and was recognized as the sole legitimate representatives of the people of these island-nations off the southwest coast of Africa.
The Carnation Revolution first declaration was designed to end the colonial wars and to establish an independence process for the African colonies. In addition, Gao, which had been seized by Portugal during the early 16th century, was taken over by India in 1961, ending 450 years colonialism by Lisbon. Portugal dropped its claimed to Gao after the Carnation Revolution of 1974.
In Africa, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde declared their independence later in 1974 just months after the MFA overthrew the fascist New State. Mozambique and Angola became independent in June and November respectively during 1975. Angola was inflicted by an imperialist instigated civil war in the immediate post-independence period when the U.S.-Apartheid South African supported Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the Angolan National Liberation Front (FNLA), were defeated in their efforts to take control of the capital of Luanda.
FNLA, which was based in the neo-colony of Zaire under Mobuto Sese Seko, eventually collapsed under its own contradictions. UNITA would continue as a reactionary fifth column of imperialism and was armed to fight the socialist-oriented MPLA Workers Party for more than two decades with the backing of the racist regime based in Pretoria and Southwest Africa (now Namibia).
Cuban internationalist forces intervened in Angola at the request of the MPLA where they fought against the apartheid South African Defense Forces (SADF) and UNITA between 1976 1988. The outcome of the war for the full liberation of Angola resulted in the independence of the Republic of Namibia in 1990. During the same period, the apartheid regime was forced under mass pressure, labor militancy and armed struggle to release the leaders of the African National Congress, including Nelson Mandela, which created the conditions for the democratic breakthrough of late April and early May of 1994.
Lessons of the Post-Carnation Revolution Process, 1974-2026
Over the last half-century, the developments in Portugal are instructive for other western capitalist states seeking to overthrow fascism and imperialism. Although the Communist Party and other left formation established the first post-revolution government, they were not able to consolidate their authority leading to years of instability and economic turmoil.
One source on the history of Portugal says of the situation following the Carnation Revolution that:
“A few weeks after the Carnation Revolution, on May 16, 1974, the first provisional government of Portugal took office. This government had many political forces, from communists to liberal democrats. However, this government later fell in July of 1974 and there were six other provisional governments until two years later when the first constitutional government was formed. The coup of November 25, 1975, was a failed pro-communist coup carried out by Portuguese communists and socialists against the post-Carnation Revolution governing bodies. The activities hoped to make Portugal a communist country but failed and a counter-coup by moderates was in turn successful. For many anti-communists, this day is widely celebrated.” (https://www.portugal.com/history-and-culture/25-things-to-know-about-portugals-carnation-revolution/)
Since 1976, Portugal has swung from socialist, social democratic to moderate governments. In the recent 2024 elections, a far-right party has emerged which gained nearly 20% of the votes.
The U.S. was quite concerned after the Carnation Revolution that the country would become a socialist state under communist leadership. The U.S. wanted to stave off further radicalization and maintain Portugal as a member of NATO.
During the1990s, Portugal joined the European Union (EU) while adopting the euro as its currency. The PCP has experienced a decline in electoral support from playing a pivotal role in the Carnation Revolution and subsequent coalition governments to gaining approximately 2% of the votes in the most recent elections.
The PCP maintains support in some rural areas where they control local councils. Nonetheless, there is no indication of a left-wing resurgence in Portugal to counter the burgeoning neo-fascist political forces which builds their campaigns on anti-immigrant racism and xenophobia.
U.S. Imperialism and the Fascist Threat
The New State came into being after the overthrow of the monarchy in Portugal in 1910 and the failure to consolidate a bourgeois democratic dispensation. By 1933, the corporatists and fascists were consolidated under Antonio de Oliveira Salazer.
Salazar suffered a stroke in 1968 leading to the eventual administration of Marcello Caetano. The refusal to modernize the state and the continuation of colonialism in Africa undermined fascist rule in Portugal.
These historical developments are instructive for recent events in the U.S. The deterioration of the capitalist system since 1975 has resulted in the greater consolidation of corporate power.
Although the wars in Southeast Asia during the 1960s and early-to-mid 1970s resulted in the defeat of U.S. imperialism in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia along with the independence of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa, Washington and Wall Street have continued to seek ways in which they can maintain their world dominance.
Various wars of regime-change and conquest have occurred since the 1980s and 1990s. With the collapse of the socialist states in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the imperialist believed that the stage was set for their unrivaled supremacy on a global scale.
Yet, the continuing rise of the People’s Republic of China and other power centers such as the Islamic Republic of Iran in West Asia has alarmed U.S. imperialism. The formation of the BRICS Plus Summit has brought together states which represent more than half of the world’s population. BRICS has committed to “de-dollarization” and multilateralism.
The administration of President Donald Trump is a manifestation of the current political and economic crisis of capitalism and imperialism. Trump’s attempt to consolidate an outright fascist state in the U.S. has been met by opposition internationally and domestically.
The war against Iran and the struggle for the liberation of Palestine and other states in West Asia has exposed cracks within the existing order. However, what is needed is the transformation of the capitalist state and building an anti-imperialist foreign policy and socialism.
To carry out these changes it is necessary to build a broad-based coalition of revolutionary and progressive forces. These elements could emerge from disaffected elements within the military, the working class and the nationally oppressed.
What is becoming more obvious is the failure to rejuvenate the capitalist system unhampered by the demands and organized resistance from the proletariat and the oppressed. Until socialism is placed on the agenda there is no hope for political stability and economic justice to come into being.
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Distributed By: THE PAN-AFRICAN RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION PROJECT–
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