Evening star., 1949-02-20

regime which. though admittedly
efficient and orderly, seemed to
favor the rich and well-to-do In
the exercise of their natural ad-
BY the late 1930s Sala-
zar's new state had notably di-
minished In general popularity.
The Salazar dictatorship got q
big lift through the material
prosperity which came to Portugal
with World War II. Staying can
nily neutral. Portugal was able to
sell its products to both sides at
big profits. some Of which perco-
lated down to the peasants and
Workingmen. This war boom
lasted for some time into the post
war period.
Fish Industry Hurt
Then the boom suddenly burst.
Portugal was hard currency"
country, the escudo ranking only
a trifle behind the Swedish crown
and the Swiss franc in interna-
tional exchange. This. however,
meant not only high prices at
home, but also loss Of business to
countries which could not find the
escudos to balance their Portu-
guese accounts. For instance,
Portugal's canned fish industry, q
major item in its foreign trade.
took a nosedive when Britain
stopped taking its cumtomary
quota with value of 100000
sterling. Meanwhile, imported
food staples such as meat. wheat
and fats became so short in sup
ply that the government had to
subsidize them, using up much Of
its gold and dollar reserves in the
process. Everybody was unhappy
and apprehensive about the fu.
ture. while poverty was felt all
the more keenly when contrasted
with the recent boom period.
Naturally, the government was
blamed.
Opposition Formed
Three years ago the government
felt compelled to make certain
concessions to public opinion. no
tably by lifting the censorship on
printed or oral discussion and
criticism. Almost at once an Or
ganized opposition began to form,
headed by prominent intellectuals
and former political figures. Re-
penting of its leniency, the gov
ernment restored the censorship
and squelched the new opposition
by arrests and other police meas
ures. But the economic depres-
sion continued to get worse. and
the dictatorship was inevitably
held responsible by the sufferers.
It was under these circum-
stances that the government
yielded once more to the pressure
for political expression and ac-
tivity on the part of its oppo-
nents. The opposition this time
found suitable leader In the
person of Gen. Norton de Mattos.
a venerable gentleman with a dis
tinguished public career and
physical vigor that belied his 30
odd years. Gen. de Mattos is an
old-line liberal who had never
approved of the dictatorship.
Nominated as the opposition can
didate for the presidency, he made
no bones of pledging himself. if
elected, to dismiss Salazar, abol-
ish the dictatorship and restore q
democratic form of government.
The official candidate was. Of
course, the perpetual" President
Carmona. And behind him, Of
course, was ranged the whole
power of the administration.
Under such handicaps, it was
virtually impossible for the op-
position to have won the election.
1t might have made
a significant showing if an outside
factor had not radically changed
the situation. This unexpected
was none other than the
Communist International.
Red Kiss of Death
Hardly had the campaign got
under way when the Comintern
came out Fundamentally for the
candidacy of Norton de Mattos.
This was nothing short of the
proverbial kiss of DEATH" Com
munism is anathema in Portugal
not only to the government and its
but also to most Of the
Portuguese people, stanchly Ro-
man Catholic in religion and con-
in outlook. The dis
opposition did its best to
rid itself of this unwelcome sup
port, declaring it to be a deliberate
Communist plot to destroy liberal
and democratic elements which
had managed to survive more
than two decades of dictatorship.
more radical remedies.
Nevertheless, the opposition was
so badly diSorganized and the out
look had become so hopeless that.
on the eve of the election, Gen. dc
Mattos tried to withdraw his can
didacy.
However, even this strategic re-
treat was blocked by ruling OF
the Supreme Court that the with
drawal was invalid and that votes
for De Mattos would be legal.
That was a crowning victory for
the Government. The Communist
Endorsement of De Mattos had
given the government a
golden opportunity to sound of
on the Red menace" Now, it
De Mattos' attempted
withdrawal as confession Of ut
ter weakness. So the voters were
officially urged to go to the polls
and register vote Of con-
idence in President Carmona and
MS administration. This they did.
The dictatorship has thus been