Francisco Rolão Preto
Encyclopedia
Francisco de Barcelos Rolão Preto, GCIH (February 5/February 12, 1893, Gavião
—December 18, 1977, Hospital do Desterro, Lisbon
) was a Portuguese
politician, journalist, and leader of the Movimento Nacional-Sindicalista
(MNS).
paramilitary groups, was an organisation advocating sydicalism
and unionism
, as opposed to the corporativist
state championed by the fascists
, especially Benito Mussolini
's brand of Italian fascism
. MNS was also built on previous allegiances to Integralismo Lusitano
, but it was not inspired by the Action Française
as alleged by their adversaries.
He advocated especially the personalism
of Emmanuel Mounier
and some of the aspects of unionism
. His unionist platform was based on left
ist ideas of social justice
, such as "a minimum
family wage
", "paid holidays", "working class
education", and a world in which workers are "guaranteed the right to happiness".
studies, Rolão Preto left for Galicia in Spain
, where he joined the monarchist
army officer
, Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro, in his 1911-1912 failed attempts to topple the Portuguese First Republic
. He then left for Belgium
and worked for the integralist magazine, Alma Portuguesa, while completing secondary studies at the Liceu português in Louvain
and then attending the Université Catholique
there.
Rolão Preto had to flee Belgium when World War I
began, and he took refuge in France
; he finished his studies at the University of Toulouse
, where he earned a degree in law
before returning to Portugal. He replaced the jailed Hipólito Raposo as editor of the journal, A Monarquia. A member of the Junta Central de Integralismo Lusitano from 1922 onward, he began a close collaboration with the President of Portugal, Gomes da Costa
, even before the 28th May 1926 coup d'état
which established the Ditadura Nacional
, and edited the 12 points the coup leaders published in Braga
.
(conservatives
, initially members of the Partido Republicano Nacionalista), with whom he created the Liga Nacional 28 de maio, self-proclaimed defender of the "national revolution". Rolão Preto gained notoriety as an advocate of national syndicalism
and as editor of the Diário Académico Nacionalista da Tarde, first published in 1932, which soon changed its name to the Diário Nacional-Sindicalista da Tarde. He founded the Blue Shirts, which used the Order of Christ Cross
, displayed the Roman salute
, and became very popular in universities and among the youngest officers of the Portuguese Army
.
He was briefly detained and then exiled, and his MNS was banned (together with the MNS journal, Revolução), after Antonio Salazar, often denounced by left-wingers around the world as a fascist himself, came to power and established the Estado Novo régime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Preto ended up opposing the dictatorship of Salazar and Marcelo Caetano
as being too mild. The order for a ban on the party stated that the Blue Shirts had taken inspiration in "foreign models". A part of his movement decided to join Salazar's União Nacional
in 1934.
Rolão Preto resided, for a while, in Valencia de Alcántara
, near the border with Castelo de Vide, and then in Madrid
, as a guest in the house of José Antonio Primo de Rivera
, with whom he collaborated in formulating a program for the Falange
. He returned to Portugal in February 1935, and was detained after instigating a September rebellion
with the crew of the Bartolomeu Dias and the garrison
in the Lisbon
-area Penha de França
. Again exiled, he fought in the Spanish Civil War
on Francisco Franco
's side.
, Rolão Preto joined the left-wing forum Movement of Democratic Unity
, and he published a volume entitled A Traição Burguesa ("The Bourgeois Betrayal"). He also backed more liberal
candidates for the Presidency, such as Quintão Meireles, Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes, and, ultimately, Salazar's arch-enemy Humberto Delgado
. He also attempted to unite the monarchist movement behind Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles
's Movimento Popular Monárquico.
He wrote critiques of Mussolini's ideas, immediately after his definitions of fascist doctrine at the beginning of the 1930s. Preto was one of the leaders of the People's Monarchist Party in the period between the Carnation Revolution
(1974) and his death (1977).
, Alpedrinha), and had two children:
Gavião, Portugal
Gavião is a Portuguese municipality in the District of Portalegre, in the historical region of Alentejo with a total area of 294.6 km² and a total population of 4,453 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes....
—December 18, 1977, Hospital do Desterro, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
) was a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
politician, journalist, and leader of the Movimento Nacional-Sindicalista
National Syndicalists (Portugal)
The National Syndicalists were a political movement that briefly flourished in Portugal in the 1930s, and an influence on the Spanish Falange....
(MNS).
The national syndicalists
The national syndicalists, also called the "Blue Shirts" (camisas azuis), following the tradition of uniformed right-wingFar right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
paramilitary groups, was an organisation advocating sydicalism
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
and unionism
Unionism
-Trades:*Community Unionism, describes the various ways in which trade unions can work with communities and community organizations*Craft unionism, an approach to union organizing in the United States and elsewhere that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the...
, as opposed to the corporativist
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
state championed by the fascists
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
, especially Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
's brand of Italian fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
. MNS was also built on previous allegiances to Integralismo Lusitano
Integralismo Lusitano
Integralismo Lusitano was a Portuguese integralist political movement, founded in Coimbra in 1914, that advocated traditionalism but not conservatism. It was against parliamentarism; instead, it favored decentralization, national syndicalism, the Roman Catholic Church, and the monarchy...
, but it was not inspired by the Action Française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
as alleged by their adversaries.
He advocated especially the personalism
Personalism
Personalism is a philosophical school of thought searching to describe the uniqueness of a human person in the world of nature, specifically in relation to animals...
of Emmanuel Mounier
Emmanuel Mounier
Emmanuel Mounier was a French philosopher.Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French Personalist movement, and founder and director of Esprit, the magazine which was the organ of the movement. Mounier, who was the child of peasants, was a brilliant scholar at the Sorbonne...
and some of the aspects of unionism
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
. His unionist platform was based on left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
ist ideas of social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, such as "a minimum
Minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
family wage
Family wage
A family wage is a wage that is sufficient to raise a family on. This contrasts with a living wage, which is generally taken to mean a wage sufficient for a single individual to live on, but not necessarily sufficient to also support a family...
", "paid holidays", "working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
education", and a world in which workers are "guaranteed the right to happiness".
Early life
Cutting short his lyceumLyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
studies, Rolão Preto left for Galicia in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he joined the monarchist
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
army officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
, Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro, in his 1911-1912 failed attempts to topple the Portuguese First Republic
Portuguese First Republic
The Portuguese First Republic spans a complex 16 year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the period of constitutional monarchy marked by the 5 October 1910 revolution and the 28 May coup d'état of 1926...
. He then left for Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and worked for the integralist magazine, Alma Portuguesa, while completing secondary studies at the Liceu português in Louvain
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
and then attending the Université Catholique
Université catholique de Louvain
The Université catholique de Louvain, sometimes known, especially in Belgium, as UCL, is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It is located in Louvain-la-Neuve and in Brussels...
there.
Rolão Preto had to flee Belgium when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
began, and he took refuge in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; he finished his studies at the University of Toulouse
University of Toulouse
The Université de Toulouse is a consortium of French universities, grandes écoles and other institutions of higher education and research, named after one of the earliest universities established in Europe in 1229, and including the successor universities to that earlier university...
, where he earned a degree in law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
before returning to Portugal. He replaced the jailed Hipólito Raposo as editor of the journal, A Monarquia. A member of the Junta Central de Integralismo Lusitano from 1922 onward, he began a close collaboration with the President of Portugal, Gomes da Costa
Gomes da Costa
Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, GOTE, GCA, commonly known as Manuel Gomes da Costa , or just Gomes da Costa , son of Carlos Dias da Costa Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, GOTE, GCA, commonly known as Manuel Gomes da Costa , or just Gomes da Costa (Lisbon, January 14, 1863 – Lisbon,...
, even before the 28th May 1926 coup d'état
28th May 1926 coup d'état
The 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of Estado Novo , National Revolution , was a military action that put an end to the unstable Portuguese First Republic and initiated the Ditadura Nacional , later, renamed the Estado Novo, an authoritarian...
which established the Ditadura Nacional
Ditadura Nacional
The Ditadura Nacional was the name of the Portuguese regime initiated by the election of President Óscar Carmona in 1928 that lasted until the adoption of the new constitution in 1933, when the régime changed its name to Estado Novo...
, and edited the 12 points the coup leaders published in Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
.
Against the Salazar régime
In 1930, he approached David Neto and other sidonistaSidónio Pais
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais was a Portuguese politician and diplomat, the fourth President in 1918. He was known as the President-King.-Family:...
(conservatives
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
, initially members of the Partido Republicano Nacionalista), with whom he created the Liga Nacional 28 de maio, self-proclaimed defender of the "national revolution". Rolão Preto gained notoriety as an advocate of national syndicalism
National syndicalism
National syndicalism is a nationalist variant of syndicalism.- Founding of national syndicalism in France :National syndicalism was founded in France by the fusion of Maurrassian integral nationalism with Sorelian syndicalism. Interest in Sorelian thought arose in the French political right,...
and as editor of the Diário Académico Nacionalista da Tarde, first published in 1932, which soon changed its name to the Diário Nacional-Sindicalista da Tarde. He founded the Blue Shirts, which used the Order of Christ Cross
Order of Christ Cross
The Order of Christ Cross, or simply the Christ Cross, is the emblem of the historical Portuguese Order of Christ...
, displayed the Roman salute
Roman salute
The Roman salute is a gesture in which the arm is held out forward straight, with palm down, and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held out parallel to the ground. The former is a well known symbol of fascism that is commonly perceived to be...
, and became very popular in universities and among the youngest officers of the Portuguese Army
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army is the ground branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in co-operation with other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the defence of Portugal...
.
He was briefly detained and then exiled, and his MNS was banned (together with the MNS journal, Revolução), after Antonio Salazar, often denounced by left-wingers around the world as a fascist himself, came to power and established the Estado Novo régime. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Preto ended up opposing the dictatorship of Salazar and Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , 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....
as being too mild. The order for a ban on the party stated that the Blue Shirts had taken inspiration in "foreign models". A part of his movement decided to join Salazar's União Nacional
National Union (Portugal)
The National Union was the only legal political party in Portugal for most of the period of the Estado Novo, a right-wing dictatorship dominated by António de Oliveira Salazar....
in 1934.
Rolão Preto resided, for a while, in Valencia de Alcántara
Valencia de Alcántara
Valencia de Alcántara is a Spanish town near the Portuguese border . It is located in Cáceres province.Nuestra Señora de Rocamador is the most important church...
, near the border with Castelo de Vide, and then in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, as a guest in the house of José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera
José Antonio Primo de Rivera y Sáenz de Heredia, 1st Duke of Primo de Rivera, 3rd Marquis of Estella , was a Spanish lawyer, nobleman, politician, and founder of the Falange Española...
, with whom he collaborated in formulating a program for the Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
. He returned to Portugal in February 1935, and was detained after instigating a September rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
with the crew of the Bartolomeu Dias and the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
in the Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
-area Penha de França
Penha de França
Penha de França is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Lisbon. It was created on April 13, 1918. In 1959 its area was reduced in order to create the parishes of Alto do Pina and São João.-Main sites:...
. Again exiled, he fought in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
on Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's side.
Later years
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Rolão Preto joined the left-wing forum Movement of Democratic Unity
Movement of Democratic Unity
The Movement of Democratic Unity was a quasi-legal platform of Portuguese democratic organizations that opposed the dictatorial regime of António Oliveira Salazar and was founded in October 1945....
, and he published a volume entitled A Traição Burguesa ("The Bourgeois Betrayal"). He also backed more liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
candidates for the Presidency, such as Quintão Meireles, Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes, and, ultimately, Salazar's arch-enemy Humberto Delgado
Humberto Delgado
Humberto da Silva Delgado, GCL was a General of the Portuguese Air Force and politician.Delgado was born in Brogueira, Torres Novas. He was the son of Joaquim Delgado and wife Maria do Ó Pereira and had three younger sisters, Deolinda, Aida and Lídia....
. He also attempted to unite the monarchist movement behind Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles
Gonçalo Ribeiro Telles
Gonçalo Pereira Ribeiro Telles is a Portuguese politician and landscape architect.He was a founder of the People's Monarchist Party in 1974, and led it until 1994, when he left the party...
's Movimento Popular Monárquico.
He wrote critiques of Mussolini's ideas, immediately after his definitions of fascist doctrine at the beginning of the 1930s. Preto was one of the leaders of the People's Monarchist Party in the period between the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
(1974) and his death (1977).
Marriage and children
He married Amália de Brito Boavida Godinho (b. FundãoFundão
Fundão is a city in Fundao Municipality in Portugal, located in the Castelo Branco District. Fundão is an old city with 8,369 inhabitants, situated at the point where the slope of the Gardunha range meets the Cova da Beira plains, 500 metres above sea level. The municipality has a total area of...
, Alpedrinha), and had two children:
- Francisco Godinho Rolão Preto (b. FundãoFundãoFundão is a city in Fundao Municipality in Portugal, located in the Castelo Branco District. Fundão is an old city with 8,369 inhabitants, situated at the point where the slope of the Gardunha range meets the Cova da Beira plains, 500 metres above sea level. The municipality has a total area of...
, Soalheira), married to Maria Isabel Correia da Silva Mendes; and - Maria Teresa Godinho Rolão Preto (b. FundãoFundãoFundão is a city in Fundao Municipality in Portugal, located in the Castelo Branco District. Fundão is an old city with 8,369 inhabitants, situated at the point where the slope of the Gardunha range meets the Cova da Beira plains, 500 metres above sea level. The municipality has a total area of...
, Soalheira), married to Eduardo Teixeira Gomes.