Aljube Political Prison

Portugal was ruled by a dictatorship called the Estado Novo regime from 1933 to 1974. It was started by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, who was the ruler of Portugal from 1932 until 1968. The ditadura militar (military dictatorship). The regime's main goal was to retain all of the empire's that it had gained over the years. The regime was extremely harsh to its citizens, and used a secret police to stay in control and retain its power. It was through this secret police that they took away civil liberties and rights, and put fear into the hearts of all Portuguese citizens except for those on their side. If anyone was heard speaking against the dictatorship, they would be arrested and put in jails like the Aljube political prison that we visited. These people had no rights, and could be held there for as long as the corrupt government deemed necessary. The police had many spies in the country, and these spies would alert officials if anyone was speaking against the regime and they would be arrested without any questions asked. For this reason, nobody trusted anyone else and everybody was afraid. The treatment in a prison like this was cruel. For years they would be subjected to poor food and facilities, few visits from family, and harsh torture methods including beatings, as well as having to stay standing and not sleep for days on end (there was a man who stayed there who didn't sleep for a total of 19 days). On April 25,
1974, the Estado Novo regime was overthrown in the Carnation Revolution by a military group called the Armed Forces Movement. I really enjoyed learning about this prison as well as this sad era in Portuguese history. Included in the following pictures are the cells that the prisoners stayed in, records and file cabinets of the members of the secret police, a picture of April 25th when they revolted against the regime (the broke into the building and threw out all of the files), a picture of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar, and pictures of the many victims of the regime that lost their lives during the military dictatorship. There are some aspects of the Portuguese lifestyle that evidently stem from this era, including the fact that many Portuguese people still don't have a lot of confidence or trust in those around them.