On 25 April 1974 a coup d'état by the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) put an end to 48 years of the Estado Novo dictatorship in Portugal, starting what would become known as the Carnation Revolution. The MFA immediately attracted public support and later political prestige which allowed it have a prominent place in the stabilization of the state and the consolidation of democracy. Nevertheless, the MFA would eventually succumb to the crisis of governance imposed by social unrest during the second half of 1975. In this article we analyze the rise and fall of this movement of Army officers, how it won popular support and the reasons that explain its collapse, a case study of global relevance due to the prominent role it played in overthrowing the oldest military dictatorship in twentieth-century Western Europe.
military; Armed Forces Movement; Carnation Revolution