One More of the “Generous Deluded” – Folha de S. Paulo, October 6, 1974
by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
I think the time has come to comment on Portugal’s case, as all the illusions the April 25 coup gave rise to have been dispelled, revealing the naked reality.
At least, relatively speaking, Portugal was in order. A movement arose against this order, promising to improve things, assuring that it would maintain order and, in addition, bring freedom. Six months later, the epilogue is here: the revolutionaries began by shredding order and are now eliminating what freedom there was.
A negative balance, therefore.
With the “moderates” removed from power, only a left-wing coalition remained at the helm of the country, led by astute and disciplined communists who covertly manipulated complacent, weak, and disorganized socialists.
Amid all this, the Portuguese colonial empire crumbled, and the safety of white populations and black majorities in Portuguese Africa is seriously threatened by a handful of agitators encouraged by Moscow.
Europe trembles at the sight of communism on the verge of taking hold in the Tagus, and the US shudders at the possibility of airports across Portugal’s mainland and islands falling under the control of Russian military aviation.
In short, Portugal’s internal catastrophe is compounded by an international crisis.
* * *
Some friendly anti-Soviet reader may grumble about “those communists.” In reality, however, the main culprits in this collapse were not the communists but the so-called moderates. Yes, they were the ones who’ve always opened the gates to communism everywhere, in Italy and Chile, in Portugal and Brazil.
In tracing the origins of Portugal’s misfortunes, perhaps we should first and foremost blame certain “generous” politicians and intellectuals from Marcello Caetano’s era. Deluded by the fallacious distinction between the so-called peaceful and intellectual Communist Party and the revolutionary ferment promoted by younger Party members, they continued to support police repression against the latter while promoting the transfer of certain positions to the former. The result is there for all to see. When the attack came, communists and others united against the regime. The illusion of the “generous” ended in the most bitter disappointment.
Upon coming to power, the eclectic government led by General Spínola emphasized the policy of “generous illusions,” albeit in a different style. Believing that a compromise with the left was possible, many conservatives approached the government, helping it establish itself and take its first steps.
The brutal, torrential, and destructive decolonization process, which the moderates expected to be thoughtful, slow, and skillful, failed to dispel their “generous illusions.”
The “generous” believed that even if things took a turn for the worse, General Spínola’s personality and the unquestionable weight of the conservative majority would slow the pace of events.
As conditions worsened, General Spínola tried to rally the silent majority, but in vain. The general had to acknowledge that, with or without personality, a void had formed around him within the Armed Forces. The silent majority, intimidated by street agitators and a faction of the military, had to retreat into silence.
* * *
True, they are talking about holding elections. If the elections are conducted properly, the left’s defeat will be spectacular. However, I wonder whether there will be elections and, if so, whether they will be fair.
How can there be fair elections when the press is muzzled, opposition figures are terrified of police despotism, and political leaders are imprisoned or in exile as refugees?
Portugal may have entered a melancholic decline like that of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland. Who is most to blame? The men of “generous illusions,” modeled after Kerensky and Frei, who opened the gates to communism.
But aren’t the men of “generous illusions” friends of the anticommunists? If so, I would echo Voltaire’s lament: “Lord, protect me from my friends; I can take care of my enemies.”
