April 25. "Critical reflection" dossier on "Hot Summer"

The commission commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April launched this Thursday a multimedia dossier dedicated to the “Hot Summer” of 1975, which proposes a critical reflection on a period “marked by strong instability and intense popular mobilization”.

This new dossier features original text by historian Francisco Bairrão Ruivo and brings together historical documents, press clippings and films that allow us to “ immerse ourselves in the political and social context of the period ,” the commission highlighted in a statement.

For Maria Inácia Rezola, executive commissioner of the commemorative commission for the 50th anniversary of April 25th, this dossier “is essential to understanding one of the most intense and decisive moments of the Revolution.”

"By revisiting this period with the support of historical research and visual and documentary evidence, we aim not only to clarify the events but also to promote critical reflection on how we construct the memory of democracy in Portugal," emphasized Maria Inácia Rezola, quoted in the press release.

Among the main events “of a decisive summer for the course of the Revolution” of April 25th addressed by the dossier are the breakdown of the government coalition that supported the IV Provisional Government, the fragmentation of political projects within the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) and the intensification of demonstrations and actions in public spaces, often marked by episodes of violence.

The 50th anniversary commemorative committee of April 25th also highlighted that the dossier provides “a historical assessment that seeks to place the “Hot Summer” in the chronology and memory of the Carnation Revolution”.

The dossier contains photographs and other historical documents, such as the press conference of three hooded individuals at the public presentation of Soldados Unidos Vencerão (SUV), broadcast by RTP, or an infographic showing the fatalities resulting from violent actions by the far-right, between July and September 1975.

In the dossier, Francisco Bairrão Ruivo highlights that the “Hot Summer” refers , in its longest version, to the period between March 11, 1975 (or the elections for the Constituent Assembly of April 25) and November 25 of the same year.

"The acute political confrontation, with persecutions and arrests, the revolutionary escalation, the strength of the left and the danger of civil war support the narrative of the 'Hot Summer' as a time of chaos and violence, and of the alleged, but never proven, Sovietization of the country and communist dictatorship," it reads.

Bairrão Ruivo emphasizes that this line of discourse “still attributes the country’s backwardness and its economic problems to socialism, “Gonçalvism” and the “Hot Summer””.

“Conversely, the 'Hot Summer' is understood as a time of important socioeconomic advances and improvements in the lives of the poorest populations,” he also states.

“The importance of Agrarian Reform and its effects on reducing unemployment and seasonal work, the generalization of permanent work, the establishment of working hours, the use of uncultivated land and the return of wastelands to communities are highlighted,” it reads.

Francisco Bairrão Ruivo also points out that the end of this period could be brought forward to the inauguration of the VI Government, on September 19, 1975, or the attack on the Spanish embassy on the 27th of the same month.

“The “Hot Summer” would be followed by a scorching autumn marked by episodes such as the “RASP/CICAP case”, deaths and injuries in Santarém in the context of the Agrarian Reform, the destruction of the transmitting antennas of Rádio Renascença by order of the Government, the firecrackers and smoke at the rally in support of the Sixth Government, the siege of the Constituent Assembly and, finally, the events of November 25th”, he emphasizes.

The dossier is open access . The 50th anniversary celebrations of the 25th of April began in March 2022 and will continue until the end of 2026, with each year focusing on a priority theme.

The year 2025 has been dedicated to the first free elections, a central milestone in the construction of Portuguese democracy.