Some Reflections on Portugal's Counter-Revolution

Paul Sweezy takes on the difficult task of explaining class struggles in Portugal (Monthly Review, September and October 1975). It is indeed a formidable challenge to come up with explanations of the underlying social and economic patterns that gave rise to the whirlwind political events there. Between the coup of April 25, 1974, and the presidential elections of June 28, 1976, seven governments were formed and 15 political parties emerged to the left of the Communist Party, including a Maoist party aligned with one of the rightist groups (against social imperialism), as well as an array of social democratic and other bourgeois parties. While Sweezy's work contributes greatly to our understanding of this situation, his analysis also opens the debate. It is important to get the record straight on some of the points that he raises and, on others, to offer supplementary remarks which may help to clarify.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website

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