Portugal,40 Years After the Revolution

2014

1974

2Copyright belongs to individual authors.

Please do not republish without prior permission from the individual authors.

E-Mail correspondence via mdbergfeld AT gmail DOT com

Editor

Mark Bergfeld

Contributors

Mark Bergfeld

Joo Camargo

Gui Castro Felga

Ismail Kpeli

Sara Moeira

Francisco Louc

Catarina Prncipe

Design

Vasco Alves

Note: Joo Camargos articles were previously published on Counterfire.org; Mark

Bergfelds articles have previously appeared different formats in

MRZine, Socialist Review and Neues Deutschland; The interview with Francisco

Louc first appeared in a far shorter version in Neues Deutschland and subsequently

was translated into more than five languages;

Catarina Principes articles have previously appeared in the ISJ and on Socialist-

worker.org; Ismail Kpeli provided English excerpts from his book Nelkenrevolution

Reloaded?

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part 1: Voices from the Resistance

Portugal: The Spell is Broken

Joo Camargo

Woodstroika: A Step Forward for Portuguese Protest

Joo Camargo

Merkel: Not Welcome In Portugal

Que Se Lixe A Troika

This is also a participation crisis

Interview with Gui Castro Felga

To focus on stuff that really matters

Interview with Sara Moreira

Part 2: Analysing the Resistance

Crisis and Resistance In Portugal

Mark Bergfeld

From mobilisation to resistance: Portugals struggle against austerity

Catarina Prncipe

I Prefer the Horses in My Lasagne to the Donkeys in the Government

Mark Bergfeld

5

7

14

17

20

23

28

33

42

63

Part 3: Regime Crisis

Police Batons for Protesters and Rubber Bullets

for the Kids of Bela Vista

Mark Bergfeld

This is a Regime Crisis!

Interview with Francisco Lou

Theaterpolitik in Portugal

Joo Camargo

Will Portugals Government Hold On?

Catarina Prncipe

Part 4: Revolution?

A Brief History of the Portuguese Revolution

Catarina Prncipe

The revolution of carnations re-loaded?

Crisis and social struggle in Portugal

Ismail Kpeli

Further Resources

Links

About the contributors

69

74

79

84

95

101

105

107

108

5This book is the product of more than two years of social struggles in Por-

tugal, and the long-lasting legacy of the 1974/75 Revolution. My gratitude

goes to all the contributing authors who have made their articles available.

It has been a pleasure knowing you, discussing and arguing with you about

the state of the Portuguese left and its social movements.

Catarina you have become a true friend over the last few years. Keep up

the good fight! Joo Make sure to visit keep in touch. You know that I am

always online ;) But come and visit me again.

Ismail Hopefully this book will bring us somewhat close to actually meeting

in IRL rather than on another URL.

Francisco May your work with Bloco be an inspiration to the rest of the

European left.

Special thanks to Vasco Alves for investing his time into turning a collection

of articles into this formidable piece of work. It is much appreciated! I wish

you all the best for your return to Portugal. I am sure that I will see you soon.

There are many people who have no part in the production of this book but

played a role in either bringing the contributors together, or enabling this

project in the first place:

Acknowledgements

6Yoshi Furuhashi at MRZine for giving me a platform to publish articles on

Portugal over the last two years, the team at Socialist Review (UK); the

team at Socialistworker.org (US); Joseph Choonara for enabling me to go to

Portugal in the first place; Katja Herzberg at Neues Deutschland for always

supporting my writing efforts; Rodrigo Riveira for the countless discussions

which helped me come to terms with the Portuguese left; Liliana Zuna for

helping me with my Portuguese; Marco Neves Marques for his comradeship;

Joo Carlos for putting me up in Lisboa during November 2012; Professor

Andreas Bieler for chasing up articles and publishing one of my articles with

RC44; Fabian Figueiredo, Irina (Posdaist-Faction); Renato Soeiro; Miguel

Borba de S for sending me Trotskys Lessons of October in Portuguese so

I could learn what really was important(!?); Bernardo Corra for the time we

could spend together in Lisbon; Sren Goard and the Streatham Commune

for putting up Joo C and Joana while they were in Britain; everyone at

Bloco headquarters, Mariana Mortagua; the team at RT for the airtime; and

the countless activists and people I met, spoke to and learned from during

my time in Portugal. Last but not least, all the people who will actually read

this ebook.

This work is dedicated to the people of Portugal and their unrelenting strug-

gle against the Troikas austerity measures. Que Se Lixe A Troika!

In eternal gratitude and solidarity,

Mark Bergfeld

London, April 2014

7This year commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Portuguese Revolu-

tion of 1974/1975. Millions of people in Portugal will be celebrating the fall

of the fascist Salazar dictatorship and end to the colonial wars. While at

the time hundreds maybe even thousands of leftists of all colour travelled to

Portugal to get a glimpse of what popular power and real democracy might

look like, the events of 1974/1975 are barely known today. The memory of

these years has faded like much of the left that participated in the events.

Yet this should not be the case as there are plenty of documents, books and

youtube clips which detail the story, discuss the nature of the revolution, the

role of the Communist Party (PCP), the other organizations and the ensuing

transition to a social-democratic regime which would not challenge Western

European capitalism.

The history of the Portuguese revolution is important for several reasons. It

helps us to understand that even the most stable regimes are built on sand

as Rosa Luxemburg would put it. It also highlighted the contradictory role

that a conscript army could play in revolutionary situations; lessons we once

again have seen unfold in Egypt. The outcome of the Portuguese Revolu-

tion was not pre-determined. There was a real chance of social revolution

and the overthrow of capitalism in the small land strip on Europes Atlan-

tic Coast. There are many reasons as to why social-democracy won over

economic justice and real democracy from below. If you expect debates

on these issues in the following pages you will be disappointed. There are

plenty of books, videos and webpages which revisit these historical debates.

Mark Bergfeld

Introduction

8The writings of Peter Robinson and Phil Mailer amongst others disclose the

real possibilities pregnant in the situation following the military coup on 25

April 1974.

Our project is different. We are only interested in history insofar that it

continues to inform the present struggles happening in Portugal. These

struggles continue to be marginalized within English-speaking press, labour,

socialist and anti-capitalist movements. In fact, Portugal has been witness-

ing its largest demonstrations since the fall of the fascist Salazar Regime in

1974. The articles collected in this ebook should facilitate a better under-

standing of Portugals vibrant social struggles which continue to challenge

the Troika of ECB, EU and IMF. The discussions and debates presented in

this collection are informed by our participation, observation and allegiance

with these movements which seek to turn the tide on neoliberalism and

austerity in Portugal. They are biased insofar that they side with the people

against a system which has wreaked havoc in Portugal in the past and

present.

The first part of this book concentrates on the resistance to the Troikas

austerity measures imposed on Portugal. While all eyes focused on the

indignad@s in the Spanish State, the Egyptian Revolution and Occupy Wall

Street, Portugal had its very own movement which largely went unnoticed.

Joo Camargo details the early rise of the Portuguese social movements in

2012. These demonstrations were the first of their kind after years of silence

and acceptance of neoliberal policy. They displayed that the Portuguese

people did have the willpower to fight against the dictates of financialized

capitalism. Camargos article written in the immediate aftermath of the dem-

onstration on September 15, 2012 reads like a declaration. It is a reminder

of the energy, the sheer excitement at the prospect that the Portuguese

9people no longer would accept the dictates of the Troika.

Camargo goes on to argue that the movement quickly spiralled into a cul-

tural movement against austerity. Older artists from the revolutionary years

joined younger artists against the Troika in unison. To speak of a cultural

movement against austerity raises an important question in regard to how

the struggle in Portugal conceives itself. Does it see itself as a national lib-

eration struggle in which the people of Portugal stand united against the dic-

tates of international or European capitalism, or is it a class struggle? From

Camargos essays we start to understand how the austerity measures have

started to rip right through Portuguese society and thus have drawn many

new actors into a position of resistance.

This first wave of struggle initiated by the Que Se Lixe A Troika coalition was

followed by a second wave of struggle which coincided with the Southern

European general strike in 2012. Mark Bergfeld gives a dynamic overview of

the depth of the crisis and the ensuing resistance which rocked Portugal in

2012. As the Portuguese ruling classes slavishly follow the dictates of the

Troika the ruling classes undermine their own rule and create even bigger

waves of protest. The post-revolutionary consensus which once ensured

stability is no longer. This was exemplified by the mass demonstration which

saw parliament pelted with stones, bottles and other objects. The article

gives the necessary background and analysis to Camargos declarations.

Together they offer a picture of a Portugal hit by crisis. In late 2012, it looked

like the government might fall any given day. However, the government could

hang in there for a couple of months more.

Ismail Kpelis interviews with activists involved in the Portuguese social

movements give an insight into who the people are who have been strug-

10

gling in the face of continuous budget cuts but also resisting the Troikas

austerity measures. We have taken the conscious decision to not anglicize

these interviews so that people can hear the voices of activists rather than

believe that these are professional activists with perfect English skills. Too

often we read of foreign struggles believing that these people speak perfect

English, use words common to struggles in the UK or the USA. However

language is a means by which we communicate. By reproducing these

interviews in activists own words, we seek to show that these activists have

their own language, and found their own words to express their struggles,

demands and issues.

Catarina Prncipes article From mobilisation to resistance: Portugals

struggle against austerity advances important arguments in respect to the

development of social movements today. The demonstrations and move-

ments between 2011 and 2012 were not spontaneous, or simply organized

by Facebook. They are the result of subterranean socio-economic processes

which have taken place in Portugal prior to the outbreak of the economic

crisis. Organizations such as PrecariosInflexiveis show the extent to which

Portuguese society, its left and contemporary activism have transformed

since the days of the revolution. Catarinas assessment of the movements is

contentious and courageous at the same time. It provides a balance to some

of the arguments which Mark Bergfeld and Joo Camargo advance. The

differences are agonistic insofar that they share the same language, and

aspirations. While some of the differences can be attributed to the different

moments the articles were written in, and the different positions that writers

occupied, it would be intellectually lazy to take an ambivalent position to-

wards different interpretations. Suffice it to say, the proof lies in whether the

social movements of the next few years will be able to defeat the goverrn-

ment and create a viable alternative for working class and the subaltern

11

peoples in Portugal.

Francisco Loucs call for a left government in Portugal in the second part of

this ebook is possibly such an alternative. Inspired by the electoral success

of SYRIZA in 2012, the Bloco De Esquerda called for a left government.

Again, this call raises important questions for the radical European left which

the Latin American social movements had to come to terms with in the first

years of the 21st Century. Moreover, Louca, a participant in the revolutionary

events of 1974/1975 makes an important argument regarding the legacy of

the revolution: Could the legacy of the revolution possibly inhibit the further

development of the Portuguese social movements?

This years celebrations of the Portuguese revolution will be co-opted by the

sections of Portugals ruling class which wants to turn back the clock on the

gains that the revolution made. This attempt to tear up the post-revolutionary

consensus has left the ruling class weak and fractured. Joo and Catarina,

once again, give different takes on the crisis which shook the government in

2013. Their articles confirm Loucs predicament that Portugal is experienc-

ing a regime crisis of unprecedented dimension. This is highlighted by Mark

Bergfelds piece on the police shooting of Ruben Marques and the infiltra-

tion of the protest movements in wake of the economic crisis. One factor

of the regime crisis which we did not have time to discuss in the following

pages is the continued role of the Socialist Party-dominated Constitutional

Court which has outlawed several austerity packages passed by the gov-

ernment. This rift between Portugals highest court and the government will

surely resurface in months and years to come. This omission is unfortunate

but a by-product of running this project without a budget.

In the last part, Ismail Kpeli and Catarina Prncipe shine a light on the leg-

12

acy of the Portuguese revolution. While the emphasis of the book is clearly

weighted towards the crisis and resistance unfolding in Portugal at present,

we believe the book could not do without such a discussion. The revolution

might lie 40 years back now but it continues to inspire. Alfonso Zecas Vila

Grandola Morena is repeatedly sung on demonstrations and the carnation

remains a symbol of resistance. These final two chapters hope to facilitate

the view that the revolutionary development of a people can span decades.

This lesson contributes to a rethinking of the tasks of the left, and the old

dichotomies of reform or revolution. Instead reforms should be conceived

as necessary steps in the revolutionary development of a people. They are

constitutive acts which strengthen the resoluteness and determination. In

this view, we have a long way to go but can console ourselves in the fact

that none of our struggles are in vein.

You might have read one or the other article in a different publication. While

most of the articles have appeared elsewhere we believed that it was neces-

sary to bring them together in order to start a debate on the state of social

movements in Portugal. As you will be able to see, the authors do not neces-

sarily share the same opinions on a number of issues. What they all do have

in common is their determination to change the world.

Part I: Voices from the Resistance

14

It looks as if the Portuguese people have had enough of austerity.

People came out in their droves on September 15, 2012 across the country

under the slogan Screw the Troika, we want our lives! Close to a million

people protested against the government and the Troika of IMF, ECB and

EU.

It was the biggest protest in Portugal since the revolution in 1974, signalling

that the consensus over austerity is long gone and buried. The demonstra-

tion on 15 September marked the end of an era. The signal was decisive:

the mass of the people went into the streets shouting IMF out of here, gov-

ernment resignation now and we want our lives!.

The Troika and the government no longer represent the will and the political

prospect of the majority of citizens, and so the door is now open for a new

democratic election towards a future that rejects the Troikas criminal and

destructive agreements.

The political declaration with which this historical protest ended in the Praa

de Espanha (Spain Square) was clear and unequivocal: first, an end the

Troika memorandum; second, the government must resign (rejecting any

other governmental solution which continues to implement the austerity

regime); and third, it appeals for a popular general strike, organised not only

Joo Camargo

(1) This article was written after the demonstration on 15 September 2012

Portugal: The Spell is Broken 1

15

by unions but by social movements and people in neighbourhoods, work-

places, schools, faculties, hospitals and townships, to stop the country and

demonstrate that only labour, knowledge and citizen participation can build a

country.

This gigantic demonstration was not a ritual of letting off steam. It was the

other way around. It built up pressure and most people out in the streets

had never been on a protest before. There was a big emphasis on the need

for organisation. There was an appeal for a gathering the following Friday in

front of the State Council, where people will convene to discuss the political

crisis and possible resolutions.

The people have spoken: no to the Troika and no to their henchmen; no

technocrat solutions and no salvation government by the same people who

have carried out the austerity plan thus far. The conservatives have been

frightened into a corner and will now try and come up with a non-democratic

solution. The people vowed to push them further into the corner and protest

against any solution that involves the Troika.

A group of thirty people, from different political backgrounds, varied levels of

intervention, and even people who had until now not been part of any politi-

cal and public activity proved that they can join together to do something.

This is extraordinary. Based on a simple and clear consensus, standing their

ground on a position, they appealed to the country and even beyond (on the

same day there were big protests against austerity in Madrid). In Lisbon, in

Praa de Espanha, a text was read aloud from comrades in Spain. It sup-

ported our common and international struggle.

The demonstrations are a sign of the times, and they send a message to all

16

sectors that refuse a future of submission to austerity and the Troika regime.

We need to join together for a common purpose.

And so, with at least half a million in Lisbon, 150,000 in Porto, 20,000 in

Coimbra, 10,000 in Aveiro and hundreds of thousands more in over 40

towns and cities across the country, the rotten propaganda consensus was

torn. Today people know that this isnt the only possible way. They know that

this is an impossible path and the only future is one without austerity and

ending the Age of the Troika.

The struggle will go on, and it will be made by these people, and many others.

17

Portugal witnessed a different type of protest against the Troika - the

united force of the International Monetary Fund, the BCE and the European

Council - last Saturday 13th October. In 23 cities around the country and

some overseas (namely in Brazil) artists, musicians, poets, actors, street

artists and many others joined the Screw the Troika protest. This was a

cultural protest on a national scale, with some 60,000 in Lisbon, 10,000 in

Porto, and many more across the country.

In Lisbon there was an 8 hour long protest marathon of culture and politics

- some called it Woodstroika. At 5pm, after the end of a trade union 10-day

march against unemployment, the protest was launched with a performance

by an ad-hoc symphonic orchestra performing Beethovens 5th Symphony.

Theatrical performances by some of Portugals actors, dancers and poets

accompanied political speeches and music until late into the night.

Some of Portugal leading performers expressed their support for the fight

against austerity by performing songs against this government, the Troika

and austerity. There was a massive display of support for the current strug-

gle, planned and organized by creatives and political activists. Screw the

Troika - Culture is Resistance! the protesters declared; it represented a

step towards a cultural movement against austerity.

Joo Camargo

Woodstroika: A Step Forward for Portuguese Protest 2

(2) This article was written in October 2012 following the second Que Se Lixe A Troika

Demonstration

18

Old revolutionary songs blended with new ones, as musicians who had

been highly influential in the 1974 revolution joined younger artists in creat-

ing a new culture against austerity.

Art and show business professionals are in a dire situation due to a new

round of budget cuts. They used this moment to voice their situation, ac-

knowledging that their situation is the situation of the Portuguese people.

They came forward to show solidarity and unity with the international move-

ment against austerity.

Actor Joo Reis read a statement written by the organizers of the protest (a

group of artists, technicians and political activists that organized the Screw

The Troika - We Want Our Lives protests last month). It proposed the next

step: A mass demonstration to reject the state budget on October 31. With

the slogan O oramento no passar! - The budget shall not pass - the

protest will see trade unions and social movements come together to create

a mass movement.

Next month there will be a General Strike on November 14, co-ordinated

with Spanish unions in an attempt to bring together the first ever Iberian

general strike. The action is timed just after German Chancellor Angela Mer-

kels visit on November 12.

This is an exciting time for political action in Portugal, with massive mobili-

sations of the people. The government is now politically and publicly dead.

Only the Presidents inertia keeps it afloat; the streets demand the right-

wing coalitions head and the end of austerity.

The protest in Lisbon ended with a song made popular by political prisoners

19

during the Portugese dictatorship, a song that has been performed at many

recent protests: Acordai! (Wake Up!).

It was a fitting end to a protest that joined an international movement, uniting

the people behind the prospect of a decent future, emancipation and social

justice. The people have awakened.

Wake Up,

ye men that sleep

rocking the pain

of a wicked silence!

Come with the shouting

virile souls,

And pluck the tree

whose root is asleep!

Wake Up,

Wake up thunders and typhoons

that sleep in the air

and in the crowds!

Come set alight

the stars and the songs,

the rocks and the seas,

the world and the hearts!

Wake up!

Wake up,

Lighten up with souls and suns,

this dockless sea

with no flash from lighthouses

And wake at last,

after the final struggles,

our ancient heroes

sleeping in the caves

Wake up!

20

Dear Chancellor Merkel,

We start by saying we address you only as chancellor of Germany. We did

not vote for you and do not acknowledge the existence of a chancellor of

Europe. We, the subscribers of this open letter, write to you as free citizens.

Citizens of a country you wish to visit on the next 12th of November, as well

as citizens in solidarity with all the countries attacked by austerity. Due to

the character of the announced visit, those who have to struggle daily with

the dire economic and social situation in Portugal, must stress that you are

not welcome. You should be considered persona non grata in Portuguese

territory because you clearly come to interfere with the Portuguese States

decisions without being democratically mandated by those who live here.

Even so, because our government has of late ceased to obide with the laws

of this country and its Republican constitution, we address this letter directly

to you. The presence of many great businessman in your entourage is an

outrage. Under the guise of foreign investment, you will bring a group of

people that will come to plunder the ruins in which your policies have left the

Portuguese economy, as well as those of Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain.

Your delegation is composed not only by those who have coerced the Portu-

Que Se Lixe A Troika

Merkel: Not Welcome In Portugal 3

(3) This article was written after the demonstration on 15 September 2012

21

guese state, with the connivance of its government, to privatize its property

and most valuable assets, but also by the potential beneficiaries of those

properties and assets, bought today at fire-sale prices.

This letter cannot and should not be seen as any sort of nationalist of chau-

vinist vindication its a direct address to you as the chief promoter of the

Neoliberal doctrine which is ruining Europe. We do not address the German

people who have all the democratic legitimacy to elect whomever they want

for their representative offices. However, in this country where we live, your

name was never on any ballot. We did not elect you. As such, we do not rec-

ognize you the right to represent us and even less the right to make political

decisions on our behalf.

And we are not alone. On the 14th of November, two days after your an-

nounced visit, we will rise with several others in a general strike which will

include many European countries. It will be a strike against the govern-

ments which have betrayed and still betray the trust the citizens deposited

on them, a strike against the austerity applied by them. But do not delude

yourself, chancellor. It will be a strike against the austerity imposed by the

troika and against all those which intend to transform it into an authoritar-

ian regime. It will be a strike against you, Mme. Merkel. And if we salute the

people of Greece, Spain, Italy Cyprus and Malta, we also salute the German

people who suffer with us. We know very well that the Wirtschaftswunder,

Germanys economical miracle, was built on the basis of successive debt

pardons by its main creditors. We know that the supposed current German

economic thrust is built on a brutal crackdown on wages for over 10 years

and the massive promotion of precarious labour, temporary and low-wage

work that afflicts a great part of the German people. That also shows the

perspective you, chancellor Merkel, have for your own country.

22

Its very likely that you wont reply. And its probable that the Portuguese

government, subservient, weak and feeble, will receive you with flowers and

applause. But the truth, chancellor, is that the majority of the Portuguese

population blatantly disapproves of this government and the way in which it

is destroying the country, supported by the troika and yourself. Even if you

choose a secret route and a private airport to get away from the demonstra-

tions against your visit, you have to know that they will occur all around the

country. And they will be protests against you and what you represent. Your

entourage may try and ignore us. The European Commission, the Interna-

tional Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank may try to ignore the

streets. But we are more and more, Mme. Merkel. Here and in all countries.

Our protests will be stronger and stronger. We become more aware of real-

ity every day. The stories you have all told us were always awkward and now

we know they were full-out lies.

We have awaken, Mme. Merkel. You are an unwelcome guest.

23

Tell us something about yourself: Whats your profession; do you

have any kind of income? Or: How do you sustain your life? Do you

observe a change in your personal situation since the crisis (of the

last 4-5 years)?

Me and other two out-of work architects are starting a walking-tour agency,

a greeters group of some sort, in Porto. Its called the worst tours (thewor-

sttours.weebly.com). I also do posters, designs and projects for a living. It

seldom pays enough to get by. Finally, I work part time in a coffee shop/bar

Porto that currently only opens during the nights... so: doodling, tours, tea

and cake.

What are your political activities? How you get involved? Are you

satisfied with your political work?

I am or have been involved in several different groups and struggles: In the

last year I was involved in the organization of street protests in Porto. I help

out at the community centres in my neighbourhood (es.col.a, casa viva), in

the hope of helping to create real alternatives to the neoliberal system - be

it organizing to resist privatizations or evictions, helping with a free shop or

facilitating assemblies. Im in a left-wing party (Left Bloc) since 1999, was

Interview with Gui Castro Felga

This is also a participation crisis 4

(4) Interviews conducted by Ismail Kpeli

24

involved in my students union, in the architecture school, and then in a group

of architects struggling with the absence of regulation in our profession and

the restrictions imposed by its professional order.

I worry about counter-propaganda and Im very unsatisfied with the numbers

of people protesting, and lack of activism and participation. It shocks me

that, despite the total failure of the austerity politics and measures and the

cycle of eternal debt we are in, the official propaganda manages to lower the

debate to only one point of view, that they discuss as if it were two opin-

ions, repeated ad nauseum in the media, disguised as technical, neutral

or non-political. I believe that its politics, and therefore, power/class strug-

gles... or the There Is No Alternative crap. So I draw caricatures to highlight

the situation, or make posters to help promote a demonstration, etc.

What are the most important aspects of the current crisis? What is

the most striking symptom of the crisis? Which are the most im-

portant/most interesting protest movements against the austerity

politics during the last 4-5 years? What was the most striking/im-

pressive experience (for you) during the protests?

Symptoms of the crisis: biggest wave of emigration since the sixties, drop in

wages, an increase of homelessness, children leaving school, hunger, dis-

appearance of the welfare state, unemployment, politicians praising charity

and a certain smell of fascism in the overall security political speech against

protesters.

Most interesting movements in the last year or so: Occupy Wall Street, in

the way they highlighted the concentration of power and wealth in the top

1%, or in the way they chose non-violence as a tactic, or in the way they

25

communicated with the rest of the people. The indignados, in the way the

organized themselves, the miners and the jornaleros in Marinaleda, in

Spain... es.col.a, of course, in Portugal, as well the estivadores struggles in

the ports, or the occupation of Rossio in Lisbon. And many important field

studies and research which show the impossibility of the neoliberal para-

digm, the auditing of the debts, and all the present projects of alternative

self-managed networks, commerce (the direct trade market in Greece...),

communication systems, production and distribution.

The most striking experience for me: the reoccupation of es.col.a on April

25.

Activism in the time of crisis. How does it work, when do you try to

mobilize people? What is the relationship between the grassroots-

movements and the left parties?

You never know how to mobilize people. You just try and take the questions

you have, and the discrepancies you see in the matrix, state them out loud

and hope that the rest of the people will relate and feel motivated to act on

it. I think looking for the best possible processes of working and relating, in

each different group, helps to not lose people that are trying to get involved,

both in parties as in other activist-groups - activism is motivated by the

sense of making a difference and being able to really participate in the con-

struction of alternatives and/or political programs. I think the final objective

should be mirrored in the ways to get there - be it in the fighting excessive

concentrations of power or in the striving for more direct participation and

less professional structures, the sharing of information and better decision-

making processes.

26

In regards to the grassroots movements and the (left-wing) parties, I think it

could be better. Ideally, they would parallel, intertwining in concrete actions

here and there. Parties taking up movements causes and demands into law

and into their programs, movements influencing and proposing new debates

and paths of most resistance, parties being influenced by the new forms of

organisation. In reality...Well, people in activist groups tend to suspect the

good will of political parties, and fear attempts of control, or cant find com-

mon processes of decision. ...I dont believe thats an excuse, by the way - if

you really try, you find ways to work with people different from you - neither

is an excuse the difficult history between most of the different parts of the

left (from communists to anarchists and everything in between).

I think it is very dangerous to simply say all parties are bad and/or the

same - that logic, and the shitty politicians we have been having for ages,

makes more than half the population not vote: and the right wing keeps per-

petuating itself in power.

I know for many the left wing could be better and is not radical enough,

because it proposes reform (and because it is still thinking about growth

to solve our enormous, spiral-recession). Problem is, even these simple,

not-that-radical-proposals (to tax and control the banks, to end offshores, to

get better legislation on work and employment etc) are not getting through -

even though they should be better for the majority of the population. Left is

better than right. Theres left and right, up and down. I still think so.

This is a very complex problem, of course. Im not saying that the democra-

cy we have is very good - the es.col.a process, as well as the persecution of

activists involved in demonstrations, prove that both justice and political rep-

resentation are unfair repressive and beast. Im just saying that I want more

27

active democracy, not less. Political parties, as an abstract notion, are just a

group of people with similar ideas and projects who get together and make

programs and run for managing the public affairs according to those pro-

grams - the problem for me is the vertical power structures that sometimes

the parties evolve into (and that may also happen in other kind of political

groups and structures, not only in parties). Not the concept of party in itself -

I dont think well manage to not need representation any time soon. I prefer

to have a say in who gets chosen than have the IMF chose...

There is some difficulty in all groups in hearing other points of view, and

negotiating programs. And some egos, a lot of different practices and

codes, and several arenas of discussion and intervention. Despite all those

problems, there have been times, this last year, in Porto (general strikes, the

es.col.a process, fights against privatizations, etc) where people have been

able to get together - I think it is possible, plausible, and very necessary. We

need more people everywhere. In all groups, formal or informal, in all scales

and social fields, demanding real change and opposing solidarity and crea-

tivity to the individualistic-dog-eat-dog-capitalist-world. This is also a partici-

pation crisis.

28

Tell us something about yourself: Whats your profession, do you

have any kind of income? Or: How do you sustain your life? Do you

observe a change in your personal situation since the crisis (of the

last 4-5 years)?

It was after I came back to Porto from my second term as a Lecturer in the

National University of Timor Leste, in 2008, that my attitude towards work

drastically changed. I had finished my studies on Software Engineering and

Computer Science in early 2006, and then worked in a web development

company in Porto as a Projects Manager. One year after, I decided to em-

bark on a teaching experience in that far-off half-island - a former Portuguese

colony which freed itself from the 24 years long Indonesian occupation in

1999. The difference between life in Timor Leste and how we in the West

relate with time, money, people and our surrounding environment - many

times moved by misconceptions of success and prosperity - really stroke

me.

I then chose to start spending my time on stuff that really matters instead

of enslaving all my hours to a full time job as an engineer. Besides, 9 to 5

jobs in Portugal, in practice, very easily become 9 to 8 occupations that

totally absorb your energy and attention. I felt I had more important things

to do. One doesnt need a lot of money to survive, and by freelancing on

Interview with Sara Moreira

To focus on stuff that really matters 5

(5) Interview by Ismail Kpeli, translated by Mark Bergfeld

29

web development once in a while I thought I would manage to pay my bills.

That was when I started volunteering as an author for Global Voices Online

- a non-profit citizen media initiative founded at the University of Harvard -,

and I founded together with friends an all-feminine non-profit NGO, Moving

Cause, whose mission was to promote social entrepreneurship initiatives

from Timor Leste in Portugal. I was interested in understanding how coop-

eratives such as Bonecas de Atauro (a Timorese womens workshop for

handcraft and sewing) could not only bring means of subsistence to commu-

nities in need but also action local social issues. [Note: Back then the word

entrepreneurship hadnt been adopted yet for the hegemonic discourse of

nowadays, which together with creativity, innovation and some other few

clichs, are presented as bailout tools that only give continuity for the situ-

ation we have dug ourselves in.]

During that time, besides moving causes between Timor and Portugal, I

also got involved with JUP (the Newspaper of the University of Porto), and

eventually managed the association behind it for a year. That experience, to-

gether with my collaboration with Global Voices - with the mission to amplify

the most interesting stories published on worldwide citizen media -, was

awakening for me in political terms, especially concerning the role of the

media as a weapon for social awareness. While the acquaintanceship with

the Universitys newspaper networks showed me an obvious lack of political

awareness among the Portuguese youth in that time, Global Voices stories

presented a whole new world of civic participation through online media.

After volunteering for one and a half years for GV, I became the Portuguese

language countries editor in May 2010. It is an exclusively virtual part time

job with a modest salary that allows me to pay for my monthly bills - as well

as to travel a bit every now and then to places like Chile, Brazil (2011),

Greece, Timor (2010-2011), Kenya and Mozambique (2012 :)

30

What are your political activities? How you get involved in this top-

ics? Are you going to work in this fields in the future? Are you satis-

fied with your political work?

Whether political or not, my main activities are (and will be :):

Writing/Translating citizen perspectives which are often ignored by main-

stream media: Global Voices Online highlights citizen stories with a focus

on human rights issues and freedom of expression. Besides editing the

Portuguese language countries front, I collaborate on the special cover-

age Europe in Crisis, by means of monitoring, writing, contextualizing and

translating stories reported on citizen media about everyday living and rising

alternatives in face of the economic crisis in European countries.

Collective participation: I am involved with several associations in Porto,

such as urban permaculture and collective gardening project Horta-l!,

Transparncia Hackday, Guifi.net/Porto, and recently I organized a workshop

on alternative currencies that resulted in the formation of a group that is try-

ing to create a social currency for Portos city centre.

Training: I organized training programs for NGOs, other collectives and in-

dividuals on online strategies for more effective advocacy outreach and Free

Culture and Citizen Media, in Timor in 2011 and in Mozambique in 2012.

What are the most important aspects of the current crisis? What

is the most striking/impressive symptom of the crisis? Which are

the most important/most interesting protest movements against

the austerity politics during the last 4-5 years? What was the most

striking/impressive experience (for you) during the protests?

31

Many things have changed in my surroundings and in the broader Portu-

guese political, economic and social scenario - as well as worldwide - since

2008 until today. From my neighbourhood, I see more people - especially

the youth - who are unemployed, and thus have to get used to living on

less money; I see the aging of the population as a big parcel of the youth

emigrates in search for better conditions. Many buildings in the city are left

abandoned, while a growing number of families enters default, unable to

pay their mortgages. One of the most important consequences of this crisis

is the fact that it has brought people together in new and renewed local

associations, and more than never political debate is being brought to the

public arena. On the other hand it is impressive to see how the economic

recession leads the people to a generalized state of (what I call in Portu-

guese) perspectives recession. There is lack of hope, energy and initiative

to organize and react positively to the current situation. We are missing solid

and resilient action groups who dedicate to create a new world to live in.

There have been glimpses of important civic participation and mobilization,

though. The Scraping-by Generation Protest of March 2011 was the anti-

austerity mobilization kick off, drawing 150.000 to the streets, in a burst of

non-partisan, non-branded, authentic citizen power. From my perspective,

the whole history of the self-managed collective es.col.a da Fontinha in

Porto, has been the cherry on top of the cake concerning collective action,

as for the first time in a long time it enabled a national wave of solidarity for a

common cause. Other initiatives seemed to be relevant and important, such

as the Citizens Audit on the Public Debt and the Screw the Troika, but, once

again, follow ups, dissemination of results and creation of working groups

are missing.

Part II: Analysing the Resistance

33

A day before the right wing coalition government in Portugal was

to vote through its 2012 budget, the German finance minister Wolfgang

Schuble met his Portuguese counterpart Vitor Gaspar and proclaimed,

Portugal is on the right path and is, for all of us in the eurozone, a brilliant

example that the approach we have been following to stabilise the euro is

correct. Schuble went on to praise the exceptional job being performed

by the Portuguese government. But recent events have shown that the

austerity measures insisted on by the Troika of the European Union, Eu-

ropean Central Bank and IMF are creating serious fissures inside the ruling

coalition, growing resistance at the base of society and widespread debate

inside of the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary left.

The ruling coalition is made up of the Social Democrats (PSD), which de-

spite its name is a right wing party, and the Conservatives (CDS). While the

implementation of the Troikas austerity measures may have earned Portugal

the label of the good pupil of the Eurozone, Portugals deficit still stands

1.4 billion away from reaching the Troikas target for 2012.

Since the 78 billion heavy bail-out package in 2011 the government has

embarked on what the Economist magazine called a brutal austerity

course, equivalent to a fiscal atomic bomb. Civil servants salaries over

1,500 euros have been slashed by up to 10 percent, those earning over

Mark Bergfeld

Crisis and Resistance In Portugal 6

(6) This article was written in December 2012

34

1,000 euros have had their holiday pay scrapped and more than 600,000

public sector workers (around four out every five public sector workers) are

at risk of losing their jobs.

These attacks on workers contracts and conditions have been part of

Portuguese capitals long-term strategy for reducing labour costs, creating

high employment and boosting competitiveness inside of the eurozone so

as to attract foreign investment. As a consequence almost 50 percent of the

Portuguese workforce are on temporary contracts.

The unemployment rate lies above 15 percent and is predicted to rise fur-

ther next year. Unlike other southern European countries where youth unem-

ployment exceeds 50 percent in Portugal it only amounts to 27 percent

as large numbers of young people have been forced to emigrate. More than

10,000 under 25 year olds have migrated in the last four months alone,

many of them have moved to countries such as Germany and Britain, while

others have headed to Portugals former colonies in Angola, Mozambique

and Brazil. Recently prime minister Passos Coelho even told a group of

teachers faced with unemployment to emigrate if they couldnt find jobs.

The 3.5 billion cuts to healthcare, social security and education announced

in the budget for 2013 will only plunge Portugal deeper into crisis and re-

cession. The hard-line approach led by the Social Democrats has allowed its

coalition partner the Conservatives to pose as the more moderate force.

While they continue to vote through the austerity measures prescribed by

the Troika, the Conservatives verbal distance from Coelho and Gaspars

more radical reforms have created tensions inside the government. As un-

likely as a break-up of the coalition may seem it did take the intervention of

the Portuguese president to lower the temperature inside the coalition faced

with a by-election next year.

35

Wrapped in the language that calls for the re-foundation of the Portuguese

state, the current austerity policies threaten to uproot the gains made by

the revolution in 1974-5, when a coup by a group of left wing military offic-

ers against the fascist Salazar regime led to a wave of popular and workers

power. While other European countries received their first taste of neoliber-

alism in the late 1970s and 1980s, Portugal was establishing a welfare state

as part of the post-revolution settlement.

A deepening recession, the grim prospect of more bail-outs and the poten-

tial for EU budgetary targets to be missed all point towards the possibility

of further fracture lines developing at the top of Portuguese society over the

coming months.

The weekend before the 14 November general strike one such fracture ap-

peared when 10,000 active and retired members of the military in civilian

dress marched against austerity through the capital, Lisbon. Some officers

complained that their salaries have been cut by as much as 25 percent. One

banner read The military is unhappy, the people are unhappy. Given the

role that radical officers played in the 1974-5 Revolution, many people sup-

ported the militarys protest. Later on television, one member of the military

went on to say, We will do everything so that the indignation of the people

will not be suppressed.went on to say, We will do everything so that the

indignation of the people will not be suppressed.

On 15 September a demonstration was called by a group of artists, intel-

lectuals and public figures under the banner of Screw the Troika! (Que

Se Lixe a Troika!) We want our lives! From small villages in the Azores to

Sparks of resistance

36

the Algarve, to the industrial cities of Lisbon and Porto, more than 600,000

people took to the streets against the governments proposal to increase

workers social security contributions by 7 percent (some reports put the

turnout on the protests as high as one million, out of a population of just

10.5 million).

The demonstrations were key to forcing the government to backtrack from

their initial proposal. Importantly, they sparked a new wave of popular mobili-

sations culminating in the general strike on 14 November.

The size of the demonstrations on 15 September even surpassed those of

1974. But while the mobilisations in 1974 saw people hugging and kissing

each other and overflowing with joy, the demonstrations on 15 September

were very different, reflecting the fear and anger workers feel faced with all

social gains made by the revolution disappearing in front of their eyes.

While a small group of activists were able to make a massive impact with

their call on 15 September, it also exposed the lack of political organisation

on the ground. The scale of the demonstration was a surprise to everyone

including seasoned trade union activists and those of the radical left in the

Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda). While Left Bloc members did become part

of organising the local demonstrations, the still important Communist Party

failed to call on its members to join the protests until an hour prior to the

start of the rallies.

A few weeks later though the weaknesses of initiatives such as Que Se

Lixe a Troika would be exposed when they called for a demonstration

against Angela Merkels visit to Lisbon and only a couple of hundred activ-

ists turned up.

37

The 14 November general strike was a massive success for the Communist-

led CGTP trade union federation compared to its strike back in March this

year. Despite the Socialist Party influenced UGT union federation denounc-

ing the strike as sectarian and calling on its members to work, a number of

local UGT-affiliated branches did decide to walk out. These rifts were further

exposed when the Socialist Party mayor of Lisbon came out in support of

the strikers demands. While the Socialist Party remains committed to a pro-

austerity position, pressure from the trade union movement has shown the

possibility of pulling it leftwards.

The CGTP is strongest in the public sector while the private sector remains

largely non-unionised. In Lisbon, I visited a picket line of about 40 to 50 bin

workers who were out picketing from about 10pm the evening before the

general strike. Only two out of 123 workers attempted to cross the picket

lines. Hospital, transport and postal workers ensured that the public sector

ground to a halt for the day. Even the airline company TAP had to cancel 48

percent of its flights. Postal workers of the recently privatised CTT company

complained about having lost sick pay, Christmas and holiday pay as well as

being forced onto temporary contracts.

Despite their small size, political initiatives such as Estudantes pela Greve

geral (Students for the General Strike) and Precarios Inflexiveis (which

campaigns over casualisation and temporary contracts) and rank and file

trade union members forced the CGTP to call demonstrations in Porto and

Lisbon on the day of the strike, something that hasnt always happened in

previous strikes. More than 3,000 strikers marched in Porto, while in Lis-

New initiatives

38

bon around 7,000 took to the streets. As the demonstration wound its way

through the narrow hilly streets of Lisbon people joined in from the houses

and apartments chanting Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal - the struggle is

international.

Later that evening, after the speeches by CGTP union leaders had ended,

protesters pulled down the fences that separated the masses from parlia-

ment and started throwing rocks, eggs and other objects towards a line

of riot police protecting the building. As night time fell over the capital, the

police decided to clear the square outside of parliament and the day ended

in a pitched battle between protesters and the state.

Following this incident, CGTP leader Armenio Carlos declared, I wont give

any moralistic speeches but I sincerely regret the actions taken tonight.

While activists argued that the statement could have been worse, it has

drawn new battle lines in a fragile movement with hardly any roots in the un-

ions and a strong Communist Party which could pull the plug on any further

action.

The governments decision to raise the wages of the police and the paramili-

tary gendarmerie by 11 percent following the general strike is aimed at cre-

ating a wedge between a demoralised police force imbued with the memory

of the revolution and a growing strike and protest movement.

While the Communist Party would like to channel the movement towards

next years by-elections, the dockers have instead provided a new focus for

resistance. Over the course of the last three months they have paralysed

most of south Portugals ports through a work to rule action over a new

labour code meant to relax employment regulations. Thousands have partici-

39

pated in solidarity demonstrations, while hundreds of dockers have turned

out for Angela Merkels visit to Lisbon, for example. In turn, the CGTP has

been forced to call a demonstration to support the dockers day of action.

While the lack of political organisation has contributed to the volatility of the

situation it also places limits on the Portuguese movement against the Troi-

ka. Creating rank and file networks inside unions and networks of activists in

the neighbourhoods, schools and universities will be crucial if the movement

is to turn the sparks of resistance into raging bonfires.

Unless there is a bigger political challenge from the streets and greater

pressure from below, the risk is that the movement will be at the mercy of

the actions of the CGTP and Communist Party leaders who view the strike

movement as something distinct from the fight for political power. Today,

as in 1974, the Communist Party has little interest in creating rank and file

networks which could spiral out of its control and create a real challenge to

the stability of the system.

The demonstrations on 15 September showed that mass mobilisations

could derail unpopular austerity measures like the increase in social security

contributions - a powerful lesson. The general strike on 14 November will

have further strengthened the movement as workers paralysed the whole of

the public sector for the first time.

The volatility and sudden shifts have thrown up many questions among activ-

ists. However, there are two interlinked questions which the anti-capitalist

Debates in the movement

40

and revolutionary left will have to provide clarity over: Could a left govern-

ment made up of the Left Bloc, the Communist Party and the Socialist Party

stop the Troika and austerity? And how do we transform resistance into a

project which can change the balance of forces and even transform society?

At the Left Bloc congress in mid-November delegates debated the prospect

of breaking the ruling coalition and the establishment of a left government.

Many believe that the rapid rise of the radical left coalition Syriza in Greece

earlier in June show the possibilities for the left in Portugal. However, the

recent history of the two coalitions is very different. Syrizas rapid rise is the

product of the near continuous popular mobilisations and repeated general

strikes which have marked Greece for more than four years now.

The Left Bloc, however, was electorally decimated in elections in 2011 when

it lost half of its 16 members of parliament. Currently the Left Bloc stands

at 7.5 percent in the opinion polls. Even with the support of the Communist

Party, which advocates a left and patriotic government, the forces for such

a project would still only come to roughly 17 percent. While this is impres-

sive, it is far short of a majority. This leads the Left Bloc to look towards the

Socialist Party which advocates intelligent austerity and is currently lead-

ing in the polls.

Francisco Lou, the Left Blocs leading figure over the last period, has ar-

gued that a left government would be government of the social movements

that are running through the arteries of the Republic. What would the rela-

tionship of such a government to the movements be? While those questions

were raised by the left tide that swept Latin America earlier this century,

the European parliamentary and extra-parliamentary left are confronted with

them ten years on.

41

The two-day debate at the Left Blocs Congress tried to come to terms with

this. Some delegates argued that the left government is a necessary step in

the transition to socialism and a revolutionary tool that can transform anger

at injustice into active mobilisation. However, any government that dares to

step out of line would be confronted with the dictates of the European Un-

ion as well as the hostility of Portuguese capital.

For the Portuguese workers and anti-austerity movement the most urgent

task is to build rank and file networks that can go beyond the one-day set-

piece strikes called by the CGTP. Such networks of workers could help

people who have to choose whether to pay for their rent or put food on their

plates, facilitate solidarity and take action to coincide with the dockers who

are waging a heroic battle. They would also need to confront political ques-

tions such as the Communist Partys insistence that the fight against the

Troika is a national liberation struggle, when it is clearly a class struggle.

As Paolo, a postal worker, argued on the picket line on the day of the gen-

eral strike, Its fantastic that workers everywhere are striking today. But

this struggle should have happened when austerity first started. The last

government started this drive for austerity by slashing public services, our

salaries, and raising taxes for the poor. I havent seen anything like this since

the revolution back when I was three years old. This is a struggle of workers

against the capitalists. We need the same to happen here as in Greece and

Spain.

Rank and file

42

Portugal, as one of the countries in the European Union taken hos-

tage by the Troika (the International Monetary Fund, the European Central

Bank and the European Commission), has been subjected to increasingly

harsh austerity policies that have led the country into a recession of historic

proportions, the result being mass impoverishment. The mandate from the

Troika is being compounded by additional cuts being made by the current

government in what amounts to the fastest and most brutal neoliberal pro-

gramme ever introduced in Portugal. The right wing Portuguese administra-

tion is using the crisis and the memorandum with the Troika as a pretext

to attack labour rights and dismantle the Portuguese welfare state; the

demands for further austerity presented by the Portuguese and European

ruling classes seem endless.

However, these extreme attacks have not translated into a rising tide of

resistance. Moments of mass mobilisation have happened during the last

two yearsabove all in the monster demonstrations against austerity on 15

September 2012 and 2 March 2013. But these were unable to transform

themselves into generalised resistance capable of shifting the balance of

class forces in Portugal. This article seeks to understand this disconnect by

proposing that the mass mobilisations happen almost apart from the struc-

tures in the country that would be capable of organising a rooted long-term

resistance. This gap between the mobilisations and the social structures has

Catarina Prncipe

From mobilisation to resistance: Portugals struggle against austerity 7

(7) This article was written in late 2012

43

occurred because of the decision by the social movements over the last five

or six years not to organise in the workplace or local communities. Although

this choice was the correct one at the time it was made, its limitations are

now being revealed. This article aims to summarise and analyse the story

of the resistance in Portugal during the last few years, highlighting both our

successes and limitations and contributing to the strategic debate in a spirit

of solidarity.

In 2007 a group of activists coming out of the student movement decided to

bring the Euro May Day concept to Portugal.1 The trade unions with their

bureaucratised and closed structures were slow to respond to the grow-

ing number of precarious workers. Precarity was seen as a generational

problemolder workers were (supposedly) not affected by it and some saw

precarity as the fault of young workers unwilling or uninterested in fighting

for their own rights. Within the unions this scapegoating of younger workers

could also be found. Moreover, precarity was an unknown term for most Por-

tuguese workers, who lacked a collective definition of their working condi-

tions. Many people viewed the issue through a strictly individual lens, saying:

I have a fixed-term contract. Im not precarious, or: I have an individual

contract through a temporary work agency, but thats particular to my pro-

fession; its not a generalised problem.

In this political context the decision to import the Euro May Day as a fresh,

young and new way of protesting was the appropriate political choice for

several reasons:

1) We understood that it was necessary to see precarity as some-

They want us precariousWe will be rebellious!

44

thing affecting all spheres of life. The idea of precarity in life as a com-

mon point of departure allowed us to discuss precarity not only as a labour

condition but also to discuss how it related to questions of independence,

self-determination and life planning, as well as discrimination and racism.

2) Because of the broad framing of the conflict and the novelty of a

new, creative movement led by young people, we were able to change the

public narrative on precarity. It was no longer seen as an individual choice,

but rather as the result of political and economic processes. This means that

today in Portugal there is a collective understanding of what precarity is and

how it concerns everyone, no matter what age.

3) Because we knew that precarity was a coming reality for the entire

Portuguese working class, we rejected the notion that it was a generational

issue. Thus we did not organise Euro May Day in competition with the tra-

ditional trade union demonstrations (as was the case in several other coun-

tries), but sought to add struggles to the struggle by pursuing connections

and joining and mobilising for the trade unions protests (so, for example, the

Euro May Day participants always join the trade unions May Day demonstra-

tion). This choice helped to form a new connection between the trade un-

ions and the social movements that, however fragile, is very important for the

protests against the Troika today.

In Portugal more workers are unemployed than are unionised, and most

precarious workers are not unionised. Portugals largest trade union confed-

eration, the CGTP, was not addressing this issue adequately and thus left

a large political vacuum to be filled. Given the low level of struggle and our

lack of connections to the trade unions, we chose at that moment to organ-

ise outside of the workplace. This was a correct political choiceat the time.

45

The CGTP is a fairly militant trade union confederation and is politically very

close to the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), but it has a very closed

apparatus and a bureaucratised structure and is very suspicious of any ac-

tivity that does not come from inside its own organisation. Moreover, many of

the young activists who started the anti-precarity movement in Portugal are

from or close to Bloco de Esquerda (Left Bloc, the party of the radical left)

or from more autonomist organisations, and thus have little or no influence

inside the unions. In this difficult situation real collaboration between the

union leadership and the movement was more or less impossible. Excluded

from the traditional structures of organised labour, the movement was

forced to adapt by organising precarious workers away from the point of

production. It was a necessary and correct decision to make, but a decision

prompted by weakness, not strength. It is the conversion of this necessity

into a virtue that holds the movement back today.

The Euro May Day parade has been held in Lisbon since 2007 and in Porto

since 2009. Two very important organisations emerged out of these dem-

onstrations: the Precrios Inflexveis (Inflexible Precarious) in Lisbon and

Ferve Fartos d Estes Recibos Verdes (We Are Tired of these Green

Receipts) in Porto. These two groups managed to keep the question of

precarity on the political agenda all year round (the Euro May Day networks

are only active in the months leading up to 1 May) and served as important

public platforms to criticise precarity, becoming well known in the media and

developing their own campaigns. However, the fact that we continually tried

to organise outside the workplace left us in a fragile position of being unable

to directly address the workers and their daily problems; having no strength,

capacity or resources to organise local struggles, let alone a strike. The core

of these organisations is composed of some of the most active and dedi-

cated activists, but lacking a social field in which to intervene, the growth of

46

the organisation is either slow or non-existent. We have no influence in the

workplaces and therefore lack the necessary response that a workers or-

ganisation needs to have. Nevertheless, the core of these organisations was

always present in the organisation and mobilisations of the most important

protests in Portugal over the last two years.

Since 12 March 2011 there were several moments of protest that deserve

to be mentioned: the Desperate Generation demonstration (12 March

2011), the Real Democracy Now demo (15 October 2011) and the two

Screw the Troika demos (15 September 2012 and 2 March 2013).

In January 2011 a Portuguese folk music group released a song entitled

How Silly I Am denouncing widespread precarity and lack of perspective

among the youth. The song went viral online and inspired a group of four

friends to call for a demonstration on 12 March through Facebook. Almost

half a million people took to the streets in many cities across Portugal, join-

ing in one of the biggest demonstration since the Portuguese Revolution of

1974-5.

The focus of the demonstration was the unbearable situation of a genera-

tion without a future. But because the manifesto was very broad, neoliberal

voices tried to appropriate it. Confronted with this problem, the main organ-

isers decided to request help from anti-precarity, LGBT and other move-

ments, who provided them with advice and support while respecting their

political autonomy. The result was that the movement was able to overcome

appropriation by the right and attempts to frame the issue as one of a con-

The Desperate Generation

47

flict between generations, fostering displays of genuine intergenerational

solidarity. Ultimately the demonstration consisted of young precarious work-

ers accompanied by their parents and grandparents, who attended out of

solidarity but also to express their own opposition to the ruling Socialist

Partys (PS) proposed cuts.

Part of the success of this demonstration can be ascribed to the media

attention it receivedoccurring in the wake of the Arab Spring and the

debates about the role of the new media in organising protests. Something

similar happening in Portugal caught the attention of the media and cast a

lot of attention on the mobilisation. Moreover, the PS government of Jos

Scrates already found itself in a severe crisis of public opinion following

the passage of several rounds of austerity. The media opportunistically aided

the mobilisation to harm the government, but quickly lost interest after the

demonstration.

It would be a mistake, however, to credit the demonstrations success to

media attention alone: 12 March also represented a new form of popular

mobilisation. Because of its indeterminate character, it attracted a wide vari-

ety of people and extended into layers of the population far beyond the nor-

mal reach of the unions and left parties, so much so that the unions and the

Communist Party initially treated the mobilisation with suspicion, distrustful

of a mass movement beyond their control.

It is worth noting that the mood of popular discontent and the popular criti-

cisms of democratic institutions was not reflected in the general election

results of 5 June 2011. The content of the Troika memorandum (which was

signed by the PS, PSD and CDS2 before the elections) was not made

public for a long time, so most voters did not understand what its implica-

48

tions would be at the time of the election. A feeling of inevitability and to

some extent a popular belief that the austerity measures were necessary to

save the Portuguese economy clearly worked to the detriment of the anti-

memorandum left: the Blocos share of the vote fell from almost 10 percent

in 2009 to 5.2 percent, with an abstention rate of around 40 percent. The

PCP was able to maintain its result as it has a very established base of

support, but was also not able to win new votes. Why the Bloco faced such

a drastic defeat at the polls will be addressed later. Nevertheless, the posi-

tive experience of the 12 March mobilisation gave the social movements a

needed breath of fresh air for the coming year.

The movement of the squares also took root in Portugal in 2011. It started

as an attempt to imitate the enormous occupations of squares in Spain and

Greece but on a much smaller scale. Beginning in mid-May in the heat of the

electoral campaign some one hundred activists occupied a central square

of Lisbon for two weeks. There were also occupations of squares in Porto,

Coimbra and Ponta Delgada. Emulating the politics of the Indignados, the

demands went from a singular focus on precarity towards a systemic cri-

tique. The occupations of the squares linked up with activists from the 12

March mobilisations and established a network to join the international call

for a demonstration against austerity on 15 October 2011.

On 13 October the government presented the plan for the 2012 state

budget. It called for, among other things, deep wage cuts and the elimina-

tion of holiday bonuses for public sector workers. Over 100,000 demonstra-

15 October 2011Real Democracy Now!

49

tors protested against the budget in Lisbon and 15,000 in Porto. In Lisbon

the demonstrators surrounded the parliament and conducted an assembly

that lasted through the night. Amazingly the assembly decided to call for

a general strike, despite many of the participants being completely new to

political activism.

Building upon this momentum, Portugals two trade union confederations

called for a general strike on 24 November. It should be noted that the

Portuguese trade unions had also called a general strike against austerity in

November 2010. Different this time was the initiative from the movements

for the strike, as opposed to the ritualised one-day actions the unions seem

to call every year.

The 15 October protests marked several important political developments

in Portugal. The clearest was the qualitative change in the political demands

since 12 March. The demonstration of 12 March had been politically in-

determinate and mixedthe anti-capitalist left was present, and the social

movements (feminist, LGBT, anti-precarity, anti-racist), sections of the politi-

cal right and even some elements of the far-right tried to insert themselves

in the demonstration. By October the focus had become clearer: it was not

limited to a critique of precarity and an uncertain future, but was a more

focused critique of the government and the austerity policies as whole.

Quantitatively the October demonstration was smaller, but qualitatively it

was much better.

The October demonstrations also witnessed the introduction of other politi-

cal elements of the Occupy movement. These included: the questioning of

parliamentary democracy and democratic institutions; opposition to the rule

of the 1 percent; and a general distrust of established political parties and

50

organisationsa feeling that already existed in Portugal, but not as clear or

as loud as now. The terrible electoral results for the left, the 40 percent ab-

stention rate and an ongoing process of institutionalisation of the radical left

created a mood and political space for the distrust of political organisations

and the trade unions. This is an important fact to understand as it remains

one of the major problems continuing to face the radical left today.

The last important aspect is the relation to the CGTP. The process of dia-

logue between the movements and the unions that began in 2007 has

strong limitations. On the one hand, the cooperation between social move-

ments and the union bureaucracy, however limited, is a welcome sign. It

shows that movement activists do not oppose traditional workers organisa-

tions. At the same time, however, the reach of the movement remains very

limited. The movements lack any sort of rank and file organisations that

could serve as conduits into the wider working class and remain utterly de-

pendent on the bureaucratic leaderships.

Following the October demonstrations there were no mass protests for

almost a year. Portugal saw a general strike on 22 March and some sec-

tional struggles, but in mainstream news media and politics Portugal was

portrayed as the well behaved student of the European south. The people of

Portugal understood the need for austerity; they agreed they had lived be-

yond their means and therefore had to make the appropriate sacrifices. The

Portuguese people and government were portrayed as embracing the Troika

as a good friend.

Screw the Troikawe want our lives

51

This portrayal is not completely untrue: the notion that austerity was inevita-

ble was very powerful in the minds of the people. Many thought there was

no other way out and initially hoped to weather the coming period through

individual solutions. It was also difficult to respond politically, as some of the

governments proposed measures were delayed until 2013, thus mitigat-

ing the effects on the population. Portugal seemed to be acquiescing to the

demands of the Troika and was held up as a good example in contrast to

Greece, whose left was already beginning to transform that countrys poli-

tics at the time.

Faced with this lull in activity, organisers from the anti-precarity movement

together with otherssome of them public figurescalled for a demonstra-

tion on 15 September 2012. The timing corresponded to the restart of the

political year when the state budget for 2013 would start to be discussed.

Simultaneously, these activists knew the beginning of the school year would

bring with it discontent, since thousands of teachers were not going to have

a job due to government cuts in education. The demonstration was mainly

called through Facebook and once again the media gave it significant cover-

age.

On 7 September prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho and finance minister

Vitor Gaspar announced the austerity measures contained in the 2013 state

budget. Alongside further cuts to wages and pensions and the elimination

of holiday bonuses, the budget also foresaw a dramatic increase in social

security taxes. In practical terms it would mean the transfer of one months

salary a year from the workers to the bosses, a further drop in internal con-

sumption and the penalisation of the poorest members of society.

These measures prompted a wave of resistance in society. After the an-

52

nouncement of the new measures the call for a demonstration grew mas-

sively on Facebook and in the media. The informal network of people that

called for the demonstration also established contact with the trade unions,

from whom they got no answer. It is important to say that although the trade

union bureaucracy decided not to actively be part of the organisation of the

demo (though the general secretary stated on 14 September that he would

individually join the demonstration), the rank and file activists and members

joined the demonstration in a massive way.

Screw the TroikaWe want our lives was the motto for the demonstration

that took place on 15 September in Portugal. Roughly 1 million people took

the streets of 40 cities around Portugal (in addition to solidarity demonstra-

tions across Brazil and Europe). At the end of the demonstration the organ-

isers called for a popular general strike and decided to establish contact

with the trade unions in order to make this demand possible.

The reactions to the announcements regarding the social security tax were

deeply negative. No one publicly supported this measure, not even mem-

bers of the Troika committee. At the same time the Portuguese constitu-

tional court declared the measure unconstitutional in the public sector. The

government decided to retreat on both proposals and said that they would

announce new measures soon.

Meanwhile, the CGTP decided to call for a demonstration on 29 Septem-

ber. This demonstration mobilised more than 200,000 people in Lisbon.

The leader of the CGTP, Armnio Carlos, announced during his speech that

the unions would meet the widespread demand for a general strike, though

without setting a specific date.

53

On 3 October the finance minister announced new measures while speak-

ing on television. Having been forced to retreat on the two main measures

the changes to the social security tax and the elimination of holiday bonus-

esthe government instead presented the biggest single income tax hike in

Portuguese history, amounting to an increase of 35 percent. Essentially the

government sought to compensate for the cuts they could not enact with tax

increases.

After this brutal attack the CGTP called for a general strike for 14 November

and its Spanish counterparts announced their intention to participate and

suggested an Iberian general strike. The European Confederation of Trade

Unions met on 16 October to discuss the possibility of widening the wave

of general strikes throughout Europe. These discussions resulted in the first

multi-state general strike in European history.

The general strike of 14 November had a strong impact in Portugal, not

only because participation was extremely high, but also because it gave an

international perspective to the struggle and was the first step to developing

protests against austerity on a European scale. One of the most interesting

things in this process is that the impetus for a strike emerged from the mobi-

lisations that preceded it and were organised by groups outside of the trade

unions. At the same time, it clearly shows the weakness of these move-

mentsalthough there were one million people on the streets, the organisers

have no influence in the decisions of the trade unions and had to wait for the

leadership of the CGTP to support the strike to make it possible.

54

These three moments of mass mobilisation in Portugal have clear similari-

ties: the three of them came from rootless organisations, they showed that

the potential level of participation is much bigger than the number of people

who are already organised, they happened as a momentary reaction to a

concrete political proposal from the government and they all received above-

average media coverage. The incredibly positive response to the move-

ments critique of austerity underlines what possibilities lie on the horizon

for Portugals radical left. So what is the problem? Why are we not seeing

any big mobilisations now? Why has the working class not been able to

exert pressure on the government through sectional struggles or sympathy

strikes? Why has the impact of austerity not generated a mood of resist-

ance? These are the most important questions for the Portuguese resist-

ance right now.

As previously stated, when we started the anti-precarity mobilisations in

2007 we made a correct political choice that allowed the creation of a col-

lective identity and an important pole of political attraction in Portuguese

society. However, the choice to organise outside of the workplace was

made out of weakness: we had no capacity politically to influence the trade

unions and no networks inside the union structures. Besides, the trade union

bureaucracy has little interest in creating grassroots networks of rank and

file activists that could potentially slip out of their control and challenge the

stability of the system. The Portuguese CP views the fight against the Troika

as a struggle of national liberation and proposes a patriotic left govern-

ment. It sees the political and economic struggles as occurring in different,

separate spheres. In such a context this rootless social movementof work-

ers but not rooted in the workplaceis at the mercy of the leadership of the

The weaknesses of the resistance

55

CGTP. The potential pitfalls of this situation were demonstrated both on the

15 October