50 Years of Portuguese Democracy
My talk in Lisbon
What with travel and a nasty cold, I couldn’t do a video interview this week. So I thought I would put up video from conference I spoke at in Lisbon April 21 — a conference at the Bank of Portugal commemorating the overthrow of the fascist regime 50 years prior. It was a bittersweet event for an American, given what’s happening here.
You can watch my own talk starting about 20 minutes in.
I was in Portugal in fall 1975 supporting the overthrow of fascism and the hopes for a better world. We met with soldiers, students, workers - factory and agricultural - and was swept up in the wave of revolutionary hope. In the US one doesn't learn in the social studies curriculum or in the intro global histories about portgual, fascism, Salazar. Watching your talk brought tears to my eyes. I am a CUNY professor. Go CUNY!!!
The carnation revolution; I remember it well. Soon after that the Franco regime was replaced. The Iberian peninsula was democratic again.