FCT Mobility – Resistances in the Diaspora

This project explores resistances in the diaspora among Portuguese oppositionists in Brazil, focusing on the period between the “Humberto Delgado Case” (1958) and the April Revolution (1974–1976). It seeks new understandings of exile/emigration trajectories, contact and solidarity networks, and the internationalization of the fight against the dictatorship of Salazar and Caetano.
Thematically, it analyses the dialogues between Marxism and Christianity, the configurations of Liberation Theology in Brazil and their impacts in Portugal (notably on social Catholicism), as well as the role of the “Catholics of the revolution” and the contribution of Brazilian Catholic movements, congregations, and institutes to the regime’s international isolation. The research maps militancy itineraries, examines transnational networks, and gathers documentation on international movements of political intervention.
Based in São Paulo, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Vera Lúcia Vieira (PUC-SP), the project will consult unique archival collections and conduct oral history interviews with key witnesses. Outcomes include new datasets, scholarly publications, network cartographies, and memory narratives on state violence and human rights, advancing our understanding of Portugal’s democratization process and the historiography of the April Revolution.
The objectives of the project can be summarised as follows:
• Generate scientific data from Brazilian archives and collections relevant to Portugal’s contemporary history.
• Publish peer-reviewed works grounded in primary sources and oral history.
• Study resistance pathways of Portuguese exiles/emigrants in Brazil during the Estado Novo.
• Map itineraries and networks of Catholic movement leaders with resistance memories.
• Collect documentation on Catholic-sector influences in preparing the Revolution and on the “Catholics of the revolution.”
• Understand forms of political intervention by exiles/emigrants in Portugal under the dictatorship.
• Identify transnational factors, instruments, and vectors in the gestation of revolutionary processes.
• Profile political trajectories of returnees from the Catholic vanguard who intervened directly (1974–1976).
• Analyse solidarity networks and modes of cooperation/integration in Brazil.
• Contribute to memory narratives on state violence and the struggle for democracy.
• Engage with international networks for memory rescue, human rights reporting, and democracy advocacy.