Marcelo Caetano

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Image:Marcellocaetano.jpg Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano also spelled Marcello Caetano (pron. IPA /Template:IPA/; August 17 1906 – October 26 1980) was a Portuguese politician.

Graduated in Law, Caetano was a professor at the Law School of the University of Lisbon. An ultraconservative politician, by 1940 Caetano started his political career under the authoritarian dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar. He soon become an important figure in the "Estado Novo" regime and was appointed chief of the Mocidade Portuguesa (Portuguese Youth), and after that Minister of the Colonies. His relationship with Salazar was tense at times, and he was never clearly a successor.

In 1968, however, Salazar suddenly suffered a stroke after falling from a chair, and after 36 years as prime minister, he was removed from power. President Admiral Américo Thomaz, after weighing a number of choices, appointed Caetano to replace Salazar in September 28, 1968. Portuguese people hoped that the new prime-minister would soften the authoritarian regime and modernize the economy.

Caetano moved on to foster economic growth and some social improvements, such as the awarding of a monthly pension to rural workers who had never had the chance to pay social security. Some large scale investments were made at national level, such as the building of a major oil processing center in Sines. The economy reacted very well at first, but into the 70's some problems began to show, due in part to the effects of the oil crisis and the Middle East wars.

On the political side, Caetano's power was largely held in check by the President. This was in contrast to the situation in Salazar's time, and was due more to a balance of power and personalities than any constitutional provision. As a result, there wasn't much that Caetano actually could or was willing to do. He considered running for President, which would have given him more power, but discarded the idea.

Among some gestures, the secret police was reformed, and renamed DGS (Direcção Geral de Segurança, General-Directorate of Security). The opposition was allowed to run in the 1969 elections, albeit in a controlled way. The National Assembly during the Estado Novo was not conceived as a chamber for parties, but merely for popular representatives, chosen and elected on single lists. The 1969 elections changed that view, but brought little else.

Above his concessions, Caetano was a conservative, and he didn't understand democracy. He was puzzled and saddened that the opposition didn't feel happy with just the meager political liberties he was willing and able to exact from the more hardline members of the State, namely the President.

Since the beginning of the 1960s, the Portuguese colonies in Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé e Príncipe and Cape Verde) were struggling for independence, but the Lisbon government was not willing to concede and Salazar sent troops to fight the independence movements. By 1970, the war in Africa was consuming as much as 40% of the Portuguese budget and there was no sign of a solution in sight. At a military level, most of Guinea-Bissau was de facto independent since 1973. In Angola and Mozambique, independence movements controlled at most some remote areas. However, their impending presence and the fact that they wouldn't go away dominated public anxiety.

By the beginning of 1974, signals of rebellion increased. A movement named "Movimento das Forças Armadas" (MFA) was formed within the army and started planning a coup d'état to end the "Estado Novo" regime. In March, an unsuccessful attempt against the regime was made. By that time, Caetano had offered his resignation to the President more than once, but it was denied. There was now little attempt or political possibility to control the opposition's movements. On April 25, the military overthrew and imprisoned Caetano in the "Carnation Revolution".

Caetano was flown to exile in Brazil, where he died in 1980.

Publication

Marcelo Caetano published several books, including several highly rated law books and two books in exile: "Minhas Memorias de Salazar" (My memories of Salazar) (ISBN B0000E8L13) and "Depoimento" (Testimony).

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