Editing Carnation Revolution (section)

==Aftermath==
{{Main|Portuguese transition to democracy}}
[[File:25 Abril 1983 Porto by Henrique Matos 01.jpg|thumb|alt=Demonstration with red flags and a green mock tank|Parade in [[Porto]], 1983]]
After the coup, power was held by the [[National Salvation Junta]] (a military junta). Portugal experienced a turbulent period, known as the [[Processo Revolucionário Em Curso]] (Ongoing Revolutionary Process).

The conservative forces surrounding Spinola and the MFA radicals initially confronted each other covertly or overtly, and Spinola was forced to appoint key MFA figures to senior security positions. Right-wing military figures attempted an unsuccessful [[counter-coup]], leading to Spinola's removal from office. Unrest within the MFA between leftist forces often close to the [[Communist Party of Portugal|Communist Party]], and more moderate groups often allied with the [[Socialist Party (Portugal)|Socialists]] eventually led to the group's splintering and dissolution.

This stage of the PREC lasted until the [[coup of 25 November 1975]], led by a group of far-left officers, specifically Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. It was said to be a Communist plot to seize power, in order to discredit the powerful Communist Party. It was followed by a successful counter-coup by more centrist officers, and was marked by constant friction between liberal-democratic forces and leftist-communist political parties.<ref>{{in lang|pt}} [http://www1.ci.uc.pt/cd25a/wikka.php?wakka=eacalvao ENTREVISTA COM ALPOIM CALVÃO], Centro de Documentação 25 de Abril, [[University of Coimbra]]</ref> [[1975 Portuguese Constituent Assembly election|Portugal's first free election]] was held on 25 April 1975 to write a new constitution replacing the [[Constitution of Portugal#Constitution of 1933|1933 constitution]] in force during the Estado Novo era. [[1976 Portuguese legislative election|Another election]] was held in 1976, and the first constitutional government, led by centre-left socialist [[Mário Soares]], took office.

===Decolonisation===
{{Main|Angolan Civil War|Mozambican Civil War|Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Guinea-Bissau War of Independence}}
Before April 1974, the intractable Portuguese colonial war in Africa consumed up to 40 percent of the Portuguese budget. Although part of [[Guinea-Bissau]] became independent ''de facto'' in 1973, [[Bissau]] (its capital) and the large towns were still under Portuguese control. In [[Angola]] and [[Mozambique]] independence movements were active in more remote rural areas from which the Portuguese Army had retreated.

A consequence of the Carnation Revolution was the sudden withdrawal of Portuguese administrative and military personnel from its overseas colonies. Hundreds of thousands of [[Portuguese Africans]] returned to Portugal, becoming known as the ''retornados''. These people—workers, small business people, and farmers—often had deep roots in the former colonies.

Angola began a [[Angolan Civil War|decades-long civil war]] which involved the [[Soviet Union]], Cuba, South Africa, and the United States. Millions of Angolans died in the aftermath of independence due to armed conflict, [[malnutrition]] and disease. After a brief period of stability, Mozambique became embroiled in [[Mozambican Civil War|a civil war]] which left it one of the poorest nations in the world.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}} The country's situation improved after the 1990s, and [[multi-party elections]] have been held.

[[East Timor]] was [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|invaded by Indonesia]], and remained [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|occupied until 1999]]. There were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths from 1974 to 1999 (about 18,600 killings and 84,200 deaths from hunger and illness), most of which were incurred during the Indonesian occupation.<ref>{{cite web |author=Benetech Human Rights Data Analysis Group |title=The Profile of Human Rights Violations in Timor-Leste, 1974–1999 |work=A Report to the Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation of Timor-Leste |publisher=Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG) |date=9 February 2006 |url=http://www.hrdag.org/resources/timor_chapter_graphs/timor_chapter_page_02.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529004414/http://www.hrdag.org/resources/timor_chapter_graphs/timor_chapter_page_02.shtml |archive-date=29 May 2012 }}</ref>

After a long period of one-party rule, Guinea-Bissau experienced a brief [[Guinea-Bissau Civil War|civil war]] and a difficult transition to civilian rule in 1998. [[Cape Verde]] and [[São Tomé and Príncipe]] avoided civil war during the decolonisation period, and established [[Multi-party system|multi-party political systems]] by the early 1990s. By a treaty signed in 1974, Portugal recognised the incorporation of former [[Portuguese India]] into [[India]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.commonlii.org/in/other/treaties/INTSer/1974/53.html|title=TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF PORTUGAL ON RECOGNITION OF INDIA'S SOVEREIGNTY OVER GOA, DAMAN, DIU, DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND RELATED MATTERS [1974] INTSer 53|website=www.commonlii.org}}</ref> The 1961 annexation of the tiny Portuguese colony of [[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá]] by [[Benin]] was also recognised by Portugal in 1975.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

A 1978 Portuguese offer to return [[Macau]] to China was refused, as the Chinese government did not want to risk jeopardising negotiations with the UK over returning Hong Kong. The territory remained a Portuguese colony until 1999, when [[Transfer of sovereignty over Macau|it was transferred to China]] with [[Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau|a joint declaration]], and enacted a "[[one country, two systems]]" policy similar to that of [[Hong Kong]].

===Economic issues===
{{Revolution sidebar}}
The [[Economic history of Portugal|Portuguese economy changed significantly]] between 1961 and 1973. Total output (GDP at factory cost) had grown by 120 percent in real terms. The pre-revolutionary period was characterised by robust [[Annual growth rate|annual growth]] in [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] (6.9 percent), [[industrial production]] (nine percent), [[Consumption (economics)|consumption]] (6.5 percent), and [[gross fixed capital formation]] (7.8 percent). The revolutionary period experienced a slowly-growing economy, whose only impetus was its 1986 entrance into the [[European Economic Community]]. Although Portugal never regained its pre-revolution growth, at the time of the revolution it was an [[underdeveloped country]] with poor [[infrastructure]], inefficient agriculture and some of the worst health and education indicators in Europe.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

Pre-revolutionary Portugal had some social and economic achievements.<ref>{{citation | language = pt | url = http://www.sedes.pt/conteudo.aspx?args=1,2 | title = Fundação da SEDES – As primeiras motivações | quote = Nos anos 60 e até 1973 teve lugar, provavelmente, o mais rápido período de crescimento económico da nossa História, traduzido na industrialização, na expansão do turismo, no comércio com a EFTA, no desenvolvimento dos sectores financeiros, investimento estrangeiro e grandes projectos de infra-estruturas. Em consequência, os indicadores de rendimentos e consumo acompanham essa evolução, reforçados ainda pelas remessas de emigrantes. | publisher = [[SEDES]] | access-date = 6 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120319193720/http://www.sedes.pt/conteudo.aspx?args=1,2 | archive-date = 19 March 2012 | url-status = dead }}.</ref> After a long period of economic decline before 1914, the Portuguese economy recovered slightly until 1950. It began a period of economic growth in common with Western Europe, of which it was the poorest country until the 1980s. Portuguese economic growth between 1960 and 1973 (under the Estado Novo regime) created an opportunity for integration with the developed economies of Western Europe despite the colonial war. Through emigration, trade, tourism and foreign investment, individuals and companies changed their patterns of production and consumption. The increasing complexity of a growing economy sparked new technical and organisational challenges.<ref>{{citation | url = http://www.dge.ubi.pt/investigar/TDiscussao/2001/TD052001.pdf | first = Tiago Neves | last = Sequeira | publisher = [[University of Beira Interior]] | title = Crescrimento Económico no Pós-Guerra: os casos de Espanha, Portugal e Irlanda | language = pt | access-date = 6 November 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081031002147/http://www.dge.ubi.pt/investigar/TDiscussao/2001/TD052001.pdf | archive-date = 31 October 2008 | url-status = dead }}.</ref><ref>{{citation | url = https://ideas.repec.org/p/ave/wpaper/382006.html | first = Joaquim da Costa | last = Leite | publisher = [[Aveiro University]] | title = Instituições, Gestão e Crescimento Económico: Portugal, 1950–73 | journal = Working Papers de Economia (Economics Working Papers) | date = March 2006 | language = pt }}.</ref>

On 13 November 1972, Fundo do Ultramar (The Overseas Fund, a [[sovereign wealth fund]]) was enacted with Decreto-Lei n.º 448/ /72 and the Ministry of Defence ordinance Portaria 696/72 to finance the war.<ref>{{in lang|pt}} [https://www.dn.pt/inicio/opiniao/interior.aspx?content_id=1722768&seccao=Convidados&page=1 A verdade sobre o Fundo do Ultramar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511164133/http://www.dn.pt/inicio/opiniao/interior.aspx?content_id=1722768&seccao=Convidados&page=1 |date=11 May 2013 }}, [[Diário de Notícias]] (29 November 2012).</ref> The increasing burden of the war effort meant that the government had to find continuous sources of financing. Decreto-Lei n.º 353, of 13 July 1973 and Decreto-Lei n.º 409 of 20 August 1973 were enforced to reduce military expenses and increase the number of officers by incorporating [[militia]] and military-academy officers as equals.<ref name="infopedia.pt"/><ref name="Armed_Forces_Movement"/><ref>{{in lang|pt}} Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA). In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: [[Porto Editora]], 2003–2009. [Consult. 2009-01-07]. Disponível na www: URL: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080202051435/http://www.infopedia.pt/$movimento-das-forcas-armadas-(mfa)].</ref><ref>João Bravo da Matta, [http://ultramar.terraweb.biz/Noticia_joaobravodamatta_Diabo_guerradoultramar.htm A Guerra do Ultramar], O Diabo, 14 October 2008, pp.22.</ref>

According to government estimates, about {{convert|900000|ha|acre|abbr=off}} of agricultural land were seized between April 1974 and December 1975 as part of [[land reform]]; about 32 percent of the appropriations were ruled illegal.{{Full citation needed|date=January 2019}} In January 1976, the government pledged to restore the illegally occupied land to its owners in 1976, and enacted the Land Reform Review Law the following year. Restoration of illegally occupied land began in 1978.<ref>{{citation| url = http://countrystudies.us/portugal/63.htm | quote = In the mid-1980s, agricultural productivity was half that of the levels in Greece and Spain and a quarter of the EC average. The land tenure system was polarized between two extremes: small and fragmented family farms in the north and large collective farms in the south that proved incapable of modernizing. The decollectivization of agriculture, which began in modest form in the late 1970s and accelerated in the late 1980s, promised to increase the efficiency of human and land resources in the south during the 1990s. | publisher = U.S. Library of Congress | work = Country Studies | title = Portugal}}</ref><ref>{{citation | url = http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europe/Portugal-AGRICULTURE.html | title = Portugal Agriculture | encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of the Nations}}</ref>

In 1960, Portugal's per-capita GDP was 38 percent of the European Economic Community average. By the end of the Salazar period in 1968 it had risen to 48 percent, and in 1973 it had reached 56.4 percent; the percentages were affected by the 40 percent of the budget which underwrote the African wars. In 1975 (the year of greatest revolutionary turmoil), Portugal's per-capita GDP declined to 52.3 percent of the EEC average. Due to revolutionary economic policies, oil shocks, recession in Europe and the return of hundreds of thousands of overseas Portuguese from its former colonies, Portugal began an economic crisis in 1974–1975.<ref>{{citation | title = Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation | first = Juan José | last = Linz | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TqRn1lAypsgC&q=Financial+crisis+1974+Portugal&pg=PA128 | publisher = JHU Press | isbn = 978-0-8018-5158-2 | year = 1996}}.</ref>

[[Real gross domestic product]] growth resumed as a result of Portugal's economic resurgence since 1985 and adhesion to the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC). The country's 1991 per-capita GDP reached 54.9 percent of the EEC average, slightly exceeding the level at the height of the revolutionary period.<ref>{{citation | url = http://countrystudies.us/portugal/64.htm | title = Economic Growth and Change | publisher = [[U.S. Library of Congress]] | work = Country Studies}}.</ref>

A January 2011 story in the ''Diário de Notícias'' (a Portuguese tabloid format newspaper) reported that the [[government of Portugal]] encouraged overspending and investment bubbles in public-private partnerships between 1974 and 2010, and the economy has been damaged by risky [[credit (finance)|credit]], [[public debt]] creation, [[overstaffing]] in the public sector, a rigid labour market and mismanaged [[European Union]]'s [[structural and cohesion funds]] for almost four decades. Prime Minister [[José Sócrates]]' cabinet was unable to foresee or forestall this when symptoms first appeared in 2005, and could not ameliorate the situation when Portugal was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2011 and required financial assistance from the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the European Union.<ref>{{in lang|pt}} [https://dn.sapo.pt/inicio/tv/interior.aspx?content_id=1750097&seccao=Media Grande investigação DN Conheça o verdadeiro peso do Estado] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110108021723/http://dn.sapo.pt/inicio/tv/interior.aspx?content_id=1750097&seccao=Media |date=8 January 2011 }}, [[Diário de Notícias]] (7 January 2011).</ref>

===Freedom of religion===
The [[Constitution of Portugal|constitution of 1976]] guarantees all religions the right to practise, and non-Catholic groups are recognised as legal entities with the [[Freedom of assembly|right to assemble]]. Non-Catholic [[conscientious objector]]s have the right to apply for alternative military service. The [[Catholic Church]], however, still sought to impede other missionary activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj1/7%20-%20sergej%20flere.pdf|title=REGISTRATION OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES|access-date=9 December 2011|archive-date=20 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420225246/http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj1/7%20-%20sergej%20flere.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>