25/04/2009

25 de Abril SEMPRE...

The only revolution made with flowers...

BBC ON THIS DAY | 25 | 1974: Rebels seize control of Portugal

1974: Rebels seize control of Portugal

Army rebels are in control of Portugal tonight after an almost bloodless dawn coup ended nearly 50 years of dictatorship...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/25/newsid_4754000/4754581.stm

Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos), also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup^[1] started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC (Processo Revolucionário Em Curso, or On-Going Revolutionary Process), characterized by social turmoil and power dispute between left and right wing political forces. Despite repeated appeals from the revolutionaries on the radio inciting the population to stay home, thousands of Portuguese descended on the streets, mixing themselves with the military insurgents.^[2] The military-led coup can be described as the necessary means of bringing back democracy to Portugal, ending the unpopular Colonial War where thousands of Portuguese soldiers had died, and replacing the authoritarian Estado Novo (New State) regime and its secret police which repressed independent thinking and other political ideals.