Caetano's
reforms
sink in
a sea of
contradictions
When Marcelo Caetano took over from
Salazar as Prime Minister of Portugal,
there was widespread speculation that
«liberalisation» in the areas of colonial
policies, internal economic policies, and
the role of opposition would occur. At
the same time, it was unclear what the
power base inside Portugal for such reforms would be - given the strong role
of the ultra-right in the state, corporate,
and church machinery - and what the
motivation behind such «reforms)) was.
Caetano had moved into the top position
at a time, when after 40 years of Salazar,
some kind of change had to occur. The
colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and
Guine were becoming more and more
difficult to finance within the rigid and
deteriorating economic structures which
characterised the latter years of the Salazar dictatorship.    This led to increased
18
economic hardship inside Portugal and
spurred opposition to overall government
policies. Also, in the international sphere
it was important for the Portuguese to
gain political and military support from
abroad for the colonial wars, and to attract foreign capital into the Portuguese
and colonial economies. To be successful
in all arenas, Portugal needed an image of
« change.))
But this was certainly not going to mean
a change which altered the power relationship within Portugal or in regard to
the colonies. The changes that followed
were essentially the verbiage of pacification, to consolidate a slightly more expanded power base. Simultaneous with
these «reform)) measures, internal opposition and subsequent repression in the
Salazarist manner have continued.    The
% - • «S    *'
THE GHOST
OF SALAZAR
IS STILL
AT THE  WHEEL
political ideology and goals of Caetano
and Salazar have been the same. Yet, the
methods that Caetano initially attempted
to maintain control were more attuned to
the internal and external demands of the
twentieth century.
However, in viewing the past few years,
this strategy has not worked. Caetano
has turned in retreat. The inevitable
hollowness of his reforms have become
obvious to the opposition, and pressures
from the right have demanded a continued hard line in order to preserve
fascism.
Portugal under Salazar
Portugal was much the same when Sala-