Freedom in Portugal
SIR,—Most of what "Observer" says is no doubt true enough, but I wonder if he ever observed Portugal during the fifteen years of republican government that preceded Salazar. Does he remember the military revolutions that occurred with such tedious frequency that they could reasonably be regarded as the normal method of effecting a change of government ? Indeed, at one time, if my memory is correct, the elec- tricity company used to switch the lights off and on three times as a recognised warning to the public that a revolution had broken out. It is true that these revolutions caused relatively little damage or loss of life because the training and):equipment of the armed forces were so poor, and because few of the unfortunate conscripts who did the fighting can ever have known which side they were on or why ; fighting also was generally confined to Lisbon, Oporto and one or two other large towns.
Nevertheless, there were some unsavoury cases of assassination and summary execution of political opponents. Perhaps " Observer " would regard these, together with the earlier murder of Don Carlos and his eldest son, as evidence of political liberty. But how can it be said that those Governments represented the people ? Apart from the fact that most of them came into power as the result of military revolts, they had nothing to learn from Salazar about rigging elections. Much can be done with electoral rolls when only the literate have votes and more than three-quarters of the population are illiterate.
How does ' Observer" know that "millions of Portuguese" are struggling to obtain "their elementary political rights" ? The popula- tion of Portugal is only about 8,000,000, and many presumably support Salazar, and the bulk of that of the empire consists of coloured peoples who are not, I should imagine, sufficiently educated or politically advanced to care twopence what government is in power in Lisbon. I would recommend "Observer," on his next visit, to try to find out what Portugal was really like under the so-called democratic regime of the earlier republic, and. -then to ask himself what is the alternative-to
Salazar—with all his faults. The most probable seems to be a return to the old scramble of incompetent and unscrupulous professional politicians, with all the chaos and corruption from which Portugal suffered for so long. And then what ?
I enclose my name and address, but, to avoid possible inconvenience to my relatives in Portugal, may I also be allowed to remain, anony-
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