The Riddle of Salazar — Fascist or Saint?

Opponents of the regime have been rigorously suppressed. Last March Captain Henrique Galvao, a former National Union deputy in the so-called Portuguese parliament, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. In 1947 Galvao was sent on a special fact-finding mission to the Portuguese slave-colony of Angola in order to answer charges laid against Portugal by the United Nations. Galvao was appalled by the corruption, maladministration and slavery and produced a report highly critical of the regime. The report was suppressed and Galvao was dismissed from his position as a deputy, to be subjected to continual persecution by the regime. Because he gave his support to the opposition candidate in the 1951 Presidential "election", Galvao was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in 1951 for "conspiring against the state". Now he has been sentenced for a further 16 years on the charge that while he was in gaol previously he printed and circulated leaflets criticising the Head of State. The trial was a farce. It was held in secret and Galvao was not permitted to call witnesses for his defence. The result was a foregone conclusion.

In the last few months Dr. Salazar was quietly preparing the scene for the presidential "election" which was held in May. Salazar's political police have been systematically persecuting the Portuguese democrats who are known to the regime. The opposition printing firm in Alviero has been raided and is now under police supervision, and all documents at the opposition headquarters in Oporto have been seized. A number of prominent democrats have been arrested. Among these are Judge Sebastio Ribeiro, author of a book attacking the regime. Professors Azevedo Gomes and Samara Reis have been ordered by the police to disband the democratic clubs which they had organised.

The Presidential election last May was decided by a carefully pruned electorate. Whereas in New Zealand approximately three persons in five are eligible to vote, in Portugal a mere one in six have this right. At the most a mere one and a half million out of nine million can register their vote. The opposition has to campaign in an atmosphere of fear. Mass arrests and political trials have taken place, and the offices of the Liberal opposition were subjected to continual raids.

It seems that the Catholic Church is the only group that can oust Salazar. It ousted Peron in Argentina and Pinilla Rojas in Colombia, and could well do the same in Portugal. The opposition candidate in the presidential "election" was himself a practising Catholic and received a considerable measure of unofficial support from the clergy. Many Liberal committees in the villages were set up with the aid of the local parish priests. As in Spain it seems that the Church has in mind the establishment of a Christian Democrat Party. It is certainly significant that in recent months every Portuguese bishop has been individually summoned to the Vatican. If the Church succeeds in ousting Salazar and introducing democratic elections it will be a great victory for justice.

—T.J.K.

American Bases in Spain

The result? Last month what was described as the largest and most modern defence system outside the U.S. was nearing completion in Franco's Spain. This includes the Cadiz naval base, live airfields, and a radar "early-warning system" incorporating some of the most up-to-date equipment available. The air bases, the largest west of the Curtain, house a quarter of the U.S.'s Strategic Air Command.

The reason for all this is American dissatisfaction with the N.A.T.O. powers. There are more disagreements today than at probably any time since the E.D.C. wrangles in 1953-54. Last year's N.A.T.O. conference revealed doubts about accepting missile bases in some quarters. Fresher still in Mr. Dulles' memory must be the European pressure to start summit negotiations and the unseemly Anglo-German wrangle over support costs for the Rhine Army. And in the last few weeks there have been fears that De Gaulle might "take France out of N.A.T.O." The Americans apparently find the Franco dictatorship, which, of course, is morbidly anti-Communist, much easier to deal with than a clutch of squabbling allies or a democratic cabinet. There is also the advantage that a dictatorship can afford to be particularly ruthless about getting property-owners off land required for an airfield.

The defence system has cost S900,000,000 and since the Americans began spending this four years ago Spain has suffered from an in.ation Spain has suffered from an inflation which caused a cost of living rise of 20% last year. Opponents of the Franco regime claim that this great expenditure has revided the Caudillo's failing economy and prestige as well as any more overt aid programme could have. Of course, Spain's political smell is too bad for her to be admitted to N.A.T.O., but this makes her all the more useful to America. The Spanish-American military combine has been built up to such a strength that it would be an effective substitute should the N.A.T.O. allies fail politically or militarily.

Because other European powers will not accept American ideas on defence or foreign policy with sufficient enthusiasm, the Eisenhower Administration has taken the short cut of patronising the most reactionary state in Western Europe, and now finds itself supporting its Fascist regime against a democratic opposition.

This opposition's bitterness about American policy has been voiced by Spain's most distinguished exile, Salvador de Madariaga, in a recent letter to the "Manchester Guardian". He says: "The conflict between East and West may hypothetically and eventually have to be fought on the battlefield; it is actually and presently being fought in men's minds and hearts. The United States is losing that fight by her cold and cynical attitude as between physical and moral power, as the case of Spain typically shows".

—J.D.

Spanish Cardinal Hits Out

In a recent address to a large group of workers Cardinal [unclear: Play] Deniel, Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain, hit out at the many Spanish employers who do not pay their workers a just wage. "Employers who, although they profess to be Catholics, do not fulfil their duties of justice and charity towards their workers, do great harm to the Church," the Cardinal said. He also declared that the work of Catholic Action organisations in the labour field, which were striving for justice, has been hindered and that at times the words of the bishops have been "silenced". Referring to the social improvements advocated in the papal encyclicals, the Cardinal stated that "nevertheless, neither management, the workers, nor even the Government, welcomed them as they should have been welcomed." In a final exhortation to the workers, he pointed out that the Church preaches that culture must be made available to the working classes; and that it was a calumny to say that the Church preaches only charity to the rich and resignation to the workers.