AEMI

38 AEMI JOURNAL 2015
Opponents residing in French territory
were designated The France Group
and tried different ways to politically
persuade the society they were a part of.
Within them, there were various movements
worth mentioning, as the Armed
Revolutionary Action (ARA/ Acção Revolucionária
Armada) and the Moonlight
Brigade/ Unity and Revolutionary Action
League (Brigada LUAR/ Liga de Unidade
e Acção Revolucionária).
The majority of Portuguese intellectuals
exiled in France fought against the
regime in various ways. In addition to
the contacts established and the meetings
organized locally, they published
texts in Portuguese, works and articles
referring to that specific context. The
militancy assumed through the international
media was seeking not only to report
what was happening in the country
but also to sensitize residents and Governments
of the country they were in.
Many of the messages were translated
into cultural actions and the songs of
Zeca Afonso 7 , José Mário Branco or Sérgio
Godinho should not be forgotten.
As musicians and in order to reach larger
audiences, they combined popular melodies
with revolutionary messages and
political commitment. Poetry and theatre
were also means to reach the Portuguese
workers in France, as a means of
politicization.
The Portuguese exiled in Switzerland
found in Geneva a set of conditions favorable
to their settlement. The political
asylum given to them, the scholarships
granted, the temporary jobs that allowed,
not only to pay expenses essential
to survival but also to study and follow
academic and professionals careers
would give them unique opportunities
for solidarity to emerge and to provide
an organized struggle. António Barreto,
Medeiros Ferreira, Eurico Figueiredo,
Carlos Castro e Almeida, Maria Emília
Brederode Santos, Ana Benavente are
some of the names who continued to be
prominent in the post April 25th era.
They maintained their political intervention
in a country that as they recog-
Table 7
Goals
Framewok
The Geneva Group
An Adventure Experienced Together
“In Portugal, we were smothered“, António Barreto
Motivations Stay Return
Democratisation, Decolonisation, Development
Acquisition of academic education and politics
Reflection and group discussions (Cafe Landolt and Cafe
Commerce)
Mutual aid (legalization, political asylum, scholarships)
“Utopic Homeland” – Built and revisited