Marcelo Caetano

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Neves and the second or paternal family name is Alves Caetano.

Marcelo Caetano
102nd Prime Minister of Portugal
In office September 27, 1968 – April 25, 1974
President	Américo Tomás
Preceded by	António de Oliveira Salazar
Succeeded by	António de Spínola
Minister for the Colonies
In office September 6, 1944 – February 2, 1947
Prime Minister	António de Oliveira Salazar
Preceded by	Francisco José Vieira Machado
Succeeded by	Teófilo Duarte
Personal details
Born	17 August 1906 Lisbon, Portugal
Died	26 October 1980(1980-10-26) (aged 74) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Political party	National Union (later renamed People's National Action)
Spouse(s)	Maria Teresa Teixeira de Queirós de Barros, Mrs. Caetano
Children	José Maria, João, Miguel and Ana Maria
Alma mater	University of Lisbon

Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐɾˈsɛlu kɐiˈtɐnu]; Lisbon, 17 August 1906 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 26 October 1980), was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974.

Early political and academic career

He was a son of José Maria de Almeida Alves Caetano and his first wife Josefa Maria das Neves. Graduated as a Licentiate and later a Doctorate in Law, Caetano was a Cathedratic Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where he graduated and of which he would also become the 9th Dean or Rector. An ultraconservative politician and a self-proclaimed reactionary in his youth,^[1] Caetano started his political career in the 1930s under the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. He soon became an important figure in the "Estado Novo" government, and in 1940 was appointed chief of the Portuguese Youth organisation. Caetano progressed in his academic career at the university, publishing several works and lecturing law. While in jail due to political causes, Álvaro Cunhal, law student, the future leader and founder of the Portuguese Communist Party, submitted his final thesis on the topic of abortion before a faculty jury that included Marcelo Caetano. Between 1944 and 1947 Caetano was Minister of the Colonies and since 1947 President of the Executive Board of the National Union. He served as President of the Corporative Chamber between 1949 and 1955.

From 1955 to 1958 Caetano, was the number two of the regime, as Minister Attached to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, second only to Salazar himself, who was approaching retirement age. His relationship with Salazar was tense at times, hindering him from becoming clearly a successor. Back to the academic career while maintaining formally important political functions such as executive president of the National Union, Caetano was the 9th Rector of the University of Lisbon from 1959 on, but the Academic Crisis of 1962 led him to resign after protesting students clashed with riot police in the university's campus. On the other hand, students who were supportive of the regime, tried to boycott the anti-regime activism. There were indeed three generations of militants of the radical right at the Portuguese universities and schools between 1945 and 1974, guided by a revolutionary nationalism partly influenced by the political sub-culture of European neofascism. The core of these radical students' struggle lay in an uncompromising defence of the Portuguese Empire in the days of the authoritarian regime.^[2]

Prime minister

In August 1968, at 79, Salazar suddenly suffered a stroke after a fall in his home, and after 36 years as prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, a personal creation, he was removed from power. President Américo Tomás, after weighing a number of choices, appointed Caetano to replace Salazar on 27 September 1968.^[3] Tomás never consulted Salazar about this decision. By some accounts, when Salazar died in July 1970, he still believed he was prime minister.

Most of the people hoped that the new 102nd prime minister would soften the edges of Salazar's authoritarian regime and modernize the economy. Caetano moved on to foster economic growth and some social improvements, such as the awarding of a monthly pension to rural workers who had never had the chance to pay social security. The objectives of Caetano's pension reform were threefold: enhancing equity, reducing fiscal and actuarial imbalance, and achieving more efficiency for the economy as a whole, for example, by establishing contributions less distortive to labour markets or by allowing the savings generated by pension funds to increase the investments in the economy. Some large scale investments were made at national level, such as the building of a major oil processing centre in Sines. In 1969, with the replacement of António de Oliveira Salazar by Marcelo Caetano, the Estado Novo-controlled nation got indeed a very slight taste of democracy and Caetano allowed the formation of the first democratic labour union movement since the 1920s. The economy reacted very well at first, but into the 1970s some serious problems began to show, due in part to two-digit inflation (from 1970 and on) and to the short-term effects of the 1973 oil crisis (despite the largely unexploited oil reserves that Portugal had in its overseas territories of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe that by 1973 were being developed at a fast pace, and were promising sources of wealth in the medium- to long-term).

On the political side, Caetano's power was largely held in check by Tomás, who had been largely a figurehead under Salazar. This was due more to a balance of power and personalities than any constitutional provision. As a result, there wasn't much that Caetano actually could or was willing to do. He considered running for President, which would have given him more power, but dismissed the idea. Caetano made some attempts to blunt the harsher edges of the regime. Among some gestures, the PIDE, the dreaded secret police was renamed the DGS (Direcção Geral de Segurança, General-Directorate of Security). The opposition was allowed to run in the 1969 elections, though it was formally possible since 1945, but again with no realistic chance of winning any seats. The National Assembly during the Estado Novo was not conceived as a chamber for parties, but merely for popular representatives, chosen and elected on single lists. The 1969 and 1973 legislative elections changed little in that practice, and the National Union won all seats, as it happened before.

After Salazar's stroke in 1968, Caetano had taken over the office of Prime Minister and his main slogan was "evolution in continuity", suggesting that there would be a reform of the Salazarist system. His so-called "political spring" (also called Marcelist Spring - Primavera Marcelista) included greater political tolerance and freedom of the press and was regarded as an opportunity by the opposition to gain concessions from the regime. The changes from the "political spring" didn't go far enough for large elements of the population who were eager for more freedom and civil rights and had no memory of the instability that preceded Salazar. However, even these reforms had to be extracted with some effort from the more hardline members of the government, namely Tomás. At bottom, Caetano was still an authoritarian himself, and didn't understand democracy. He was very disappointed that the opposition was not content with the meager reforms that he was able to wring out of the hardliners. Indeed, the elections of 1969 and 1973, as in past elections, were characterized by harsh repression of opposition elements. In 1973, Caetano was pressured by the ultra-right faction inside the Salazarist élite to abandon his reform experiment.

Portuguese overseas territories in Africa during the Estado Novo regime: Angola and Mozambique were by far the two largest of those territories.

Since the beginning of the 1960s, the Portuguese overseas provinces in Africa had been struggling for independence, but the government in Lisbon was not willing to concede and Salazar sent troops to fight the guerrilla and terrorism of the independence movements. By 1970, the war in Africa was consuming as much as 40% of the Portuguese budget and there was no sign of a final solution in sight. At a military level, a part of Guinea was de facto independent since 1973, but the capital and the major towns were still under Portuguese control. In Angola and Mozambique, independence movements were only active in a few remote countryside areas from where the Portuguese Army had retreated. However, their impending presence and the fact that they wouldn't go away dominated public anxiety. In addition, throughout the war period Portugal faced increasing dissent, arms embargoes and other punitive sanctions imposed by most of the international community.

After spending the early years of his priesthood in Africa, the British priest Adrian Hastings created a storm in 1973 with an article in The Times about the so-called "Wiriyamu massacre" in Mozambique, alleging that the Portuguese Army had massacred 400 villagers at the village of Wiriyamu, near Tete, in December 1972. His report was printed a week before Caetano was due to visit Britain to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the Anglo-Portuguese alliance. Portugal's growing isolation following Hastings's claims has often been cited as a factor that helped to bring about the "carnation revolution" coup which deposed the Caetano regime in 1974.^[4]

The combined guerrilla forces of the MPLA, the UNITA, and the FNLA, in Angola, PAIGC in Portuguese Guinea, and FRELIMO in Mozambique, succeeded in their rebellion when their continued guerrilla warfare prompted elements of the Portuguese Armed Forces to stage a coup at Lisbon in 1974.^[5][6] The Portuguese Armed Forces' Movimento das Forças Armadas overthrew the Lisbon government in protest of ongoing wars that seemed to have no military end in sight, as well as in rebellion against the new Military Laws that were to be presented next year (Decree Law: Decretos-Leis n.os 353, de 13 de Julho de 1973, e 409, de 20 de Agosto) in order to cut down military expenses and incorporate militia and military academy officers in the Army branches as equals.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Overthrow, exile and death

By the beginning of 1974, signals of rebellion increased. The Armed Forces Movement was formed within the army and started planning a coup d'état to end the Estado Novo. In March, an unsuccessful attempt against the regime was made. By that time, Caetano had offered his resignation to the President more than once, but it was denied. There was now little attempt or political possibility to control the opposition's movements. On April 25, the military overthrew the regime in the Carnation Revolution. There was almost no resistance.

Caetano resigned, and was flown under custody to the Madeira Islands where he stayed for a few days. According to the film April Captains, Caetano, prior to boarding the plane that would take him to exile, thanked his captors for treating him well and wished them the best of luck with the country. He then flew to exile in Brazil, where he died in Rio de Janeiro of a heart attack in 1980.^[12]

Publications

Marcelo Caetano published several books, including several highly rated law books and two books of memoirs in exile: Minhas Memórias de Salazar (My memories of Salazar) ISBN B0000E8L13 and Depoimento (Testimony).

He was one of the world's top authorities in administrative law, some of his works being studied even in Soviet Universities. He also wrote Os nativos na economía africana in 1954. During his exile in Brazil, Caetano pursued academic activities, and published works on Administrative and Constitutional Law.

Marriage and descendants

On 27 October 1930 he married Maria Teresa Teixeira de Queirós de Barros (23 July 1906 - 14 January 1971), ironically the sister of antifascist politician Henrique de Barros, 1st and only President of the Constituent Assembly of Portugal, daughter of writer João de Barros and wife Raquel Teixeira de Queirós and paternal granddaughter of the 1st Viscount of Marinha Grande, and had four children:^[13]

• José Maria de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 17 August 1933), married firstly to Maria João Ressano Garcia de Lacerda, daughter of João Caetano Soares da Silveira Pereira Forjaz de Lacerda (Paris, 13 September 1903 - ?) (a distant relative of the 1st Baron and 1st Viscount of Nossa Senhora das Mercês, the 1st Baron of Salvaterra de Magos and the 1st Viscount of Alvalade) and wife Maria Júlia Cardoso Ressano Garcia (Lisbon, 4 December 1909 - ?) (granddaughter of the 51st Minister of the Treasury on 7 February 1897 Frederico Ressano Garcia, Spanish, and twice great-niece of the 1st Baron and 1st Viscount of Nossa Senhora da Luz), whom he divorced, and had issue, and married secondly as her second husband to Maria Laura do Soveral Rodrigues Luís (b. Benguela, 23 March 1933), divorced with issue from Edmundo Gastão da Costa Ribeiro da Silva and daughter of António Carlos Luís and wife Ernestina da Lança do Soveral Rodrigues (b. Castro Verde, Castro Verde), a distant relative of the 1st Viscount of Belver, and had issue:
  • Maria João de Lacerda de Barros Caetano (b. 1957), married to Abel Saturnino da Silva de Moura Pinheiro, a Lawyer and great businessman, and had issue:
    • Pedro Caetano de Moura Pinheiro, married to Maria Gabriela Nogueira da Silva Rosa, and had issue:
      • Carolina da Silva Rosa de Moura Pinheiro (b. 1 January 2006)
      • José Maria da Silva Rosa de Moura Pinheiro (b. 3 August 2009)
    • Frederico Caetano de Moura Pinheiro (b. 6 March 1979), married to Ana Raquel Soares Caetano de Moura Pinheiro, and has issue:
      • Francisca Soares Caetano de Moura Pinheiro (b. 13 August 2008)
    • Francisco Caetano de Moura Pinheiro (b. 1983)
  • Rita Maria de Lacerda de Barros Caetano, married and divorced English John Ronald Martin, and had issue:
    • Sophia Catherine Caetano Martin (b. 1982), married to João Girão Vieira Lamy da Fontoura, son of Fernando Nuno Lamy da Fontoura (b. 8 June 1949) and wife (m. Cascais, 25 May 1978) Maria Isabel Girão Vieira
    • Sean Michael Caetano Martin
  • Maria do Soveral Alves Caetano (b. 13 November 1974), unmarried and without issue
• João de Barros Alves Caetano (Lisbon, 12 December 1931 – 27 June 2009), an Architect and the 1,332nd Associate of the Clube Tauromáquico, married to French Françoise Michelle Nicolas, and had issue:
  • Filipe Nicolas de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 18 May 1960), married and divorced in January 2008 Luísa Maria Tavares Inácio, an Architect, and had issue:
    • Catarina Inácio Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 20 June 1996)
    • Francisca Inácio Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 16 October 2003)
  • Marina Nicolas de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 21 February 1962), married with French Marc Vielard, and had issue:
    • Henri Alves Caetano Vielard
    • Clara Alves Caetano Vielard
  • Manuel Nicolas de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 13 January 1965), married with Ana ... Pinheiro, Journalist, and had issue:
    • Ema Pinheiro Alves Caetano
    • Alice Pinheiro Alves Caetano
  • Ana Nicolas de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 4 September 1970), together with Luis Filipe Ramos Gonçalves Pereira, lawyer, and had issue:
    • Lourenço Alves Caetano Gonçalves Pereira
    • Vasco Alves Caetano Gonçalves Pereira
    • Joana Alves Caetano Gonçalves Pereira
• Miguel de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, São Sebastião da Pedreira, 26 July 1935), married to Maria José de Freitas Pereira Lupi (b. Lisbon, Lumiar, 26 September 1934), daughter of José Lupi (Lisbon, Encarnação, 22 September 1902 - Lisbon, Lumiar, 16 January 1970), of Italian male line descent, and wife (m. Lisbon, 19 June 1930) Maria Amélia de Freitas Pereira (Lisbon, 4 July 1900 - Lisbon, 5 December 1982), and had issue:
  • Jorge Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 23 April 1959), married on 5 September 1988 to Catarina de Ataíde Mota de Melo Antunes (b. Ponta Delgada, 6 October 1962), daughter of Ernesto Melo Antunes and wife Gabriela Maria da Câmara de Ataíde Mota, and had issue:
    • Maria de Melo Antunes Lupi Caetano (b. 5 December 1990)
    • Pedro de Melo Antunes Lupi Caetano (b. 24 October 1995)
  • João Marcelo Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 5 May 1960), married to Ana Filomena Rochartre Álvares (b. 22 December 1959), of maternal French, and had issue:
    • Miguel Álvares Lupi Caetano (b. Porto, Sé, 23 May 1985)
    • Francisco Álvares Lupi Caetano (b. Porto, Cedofeita, 15 March 1988)
    • Isabel Álvares Lupi Caetano (b. Porto, Cedofeita, 2 December 1991)
  • Francisco Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 8 May 1961), married to Maria Teresa dos Reis Sobral (b. 17 October 1962), without issue
  • Pedro Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 29 June 1964), married to Marina Haroutounian de Sequeira Costa (b. 28 May 1966), of maternal Armenian descent, and had issue:
    • Marta de Sequeira Costa Lupi Caetano
    • Sofia de Sequeira Costa Lupi Caetano
    • Diana de Sequeira Costa Lupi Caetano
    • Maria de Sequeira Costa Lupi Caetano
    • Ana de Sequeira Costa Lupi Caetano
  • Diogo Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 13 November 1965), married to Maria João Peixe Risques Pereira (b. 2 March 1969), daughter of Óscar Marques Risques Pereira (Moçambique, 17 October 1935 - Cascais, 11 November 1999) (a distant relative of Pedro Santana Lopes and the mother of Joaquim de Almeida's daughter) and wife Ana Maria do Nascimento Peixe, and had issue:
    • Tiago Risques Pereira Lupi Caetano
    • Nuno Maria Risques Pereira Lupi Caetano
  • Luís Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 15 October 1966), married on 9 December 1995 to Rosa María de Castro y de la Montaña, Spanish, and had issue:
    • Pablo de Castro Caetano
    • Carlota de Castro Caetano
  • Rui Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 16 January 1972), married to Anabela Cardim Pinto de Queirós (b. 13 April 1972), without issue
  • José Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 9 November 1962), married to Maria José Simão Pereira, without issue
• Ana Maria de Barros Alves Caetano (b. Lisbon, 7 December 1937), married in Lisbon, Alvalade, in 1997 as his second wife to Caetano Maria Reinhardt Beirão da Veiga (b. 1941), divorced with issue from Maria Teresa Nunes de Albuquerque Teotónio Pereira, a renowned Architect, without issue

Ancestors

Ancestors of Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano

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Notes and references

1. ^ At 20, Caetano directed the review Ordem Nova (1926–1927), which declared itself on the cover as "Catholic", "monarchist", "anti-democratic", "anti-liberal", "counter-revolutionary", "anti-bourgeois", "anti-bolshevist" and "intolerant", among other epithets.
2. ^ A direita radical na Universidade de Coimbra (1945–1974), MARCHI, Riccardo. A direita radical na Universidade de Coimbra (1945-1974). Anál. Social, jul. 2008, nº 188, pp. 551–76. ISSN 0003-2573.
3. ^ See Decree N° 48597.
4. ^ Adrian Hastings, The Telegraph (June 26, 2001)
5. ^ Laidi, Zaki. The Superpowers and Africa: The Constraints of a Rivalry:1960-1990. Chicago: Univ. Of Chicago, 1990.
6. ^ António Pires Nunes, Angola 1966-74
7. ^ (Portuguese) Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA). In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2009. [Consult. 2009-01-07]. Disponível na www: <URL: http://www.infopedia.pt/$movimento-das-forcas-armadas-(mfa)>.
8. ^ Movimento das Forças Armadas (1974-1975), Projecto CRiPE- Centro de Estudos em Relações Internacionais, Ciência Política e Estratégia. © José Adelino Maltez. Cópias autorizadas, desde que indicada a origem. Última revisão em: 02-10-2008
9. ^ (Portuguese) A Guerra Colonial na Guine/Bissau (07 de 07), Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho on the Decree Law, RTP 2 television, youtube.com.
10. ^ (Portuguese) Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA). In Infopédia [Em linha]. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003-2009. [Consult. 2009-01-07]. Disponível na www: <URL: http://www.infopedia.pt/$movimento-das-forcas-armadas-(mfa)>.
11. ^ João Bravo da Matta, A Guerra do Ultramar, O Diabo, 14th October 2008, pp.22
12. ^ Time Magazine
13. ^ http://www.geneall.net/P/per_page.php?id=32342

Government offices
Preceded by António de Oliveira Salazar	Prime Minister of Portugal 1968–1974	Succeeded by António de Spínola (interim, as President of the National Salvation Junta) Adelino da Palma Carlos (effective)

Persondata
Name	Caetano, Marcelo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 August 1906
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Date of death	26 October 1980
Place of death	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil