Estado Novo

   The name of the Portuguese regime from 1930 until the Revolution of 25 April 1974. The term "New State" may have been influenced by an earlier regime's name for itself, República Nova or "New Republic," led by President Sidónio Pais (1917-18) during in the First Republic (1910-26). The name Estado Novo appears for the first time in 1930, during the military phase; it caught on with supporters of the regime and became official. The Estado Novo was a version of the extremely nationalistic regimes that came to power in Europe after World War I. The Portuguese version was strongly influenced by conservative Catholic social doctrines, which held that society was organically hierarchical and church and state were closely allied. The relationship of the individual to society and the state was mediated through his or her membership in natural "orders," such as the family. The conservative Catholicism of the Estado Novo emphasized discipline, obedience, dedication, and sacrifice. It was opposed to the liberal doctrines of the French Revolution (individualism, separation of church and state, democracy), as well as to the socialist doctrines of the Russian Revolution (collectivism, atheism, etc).

   See also Corporativism; Salazar, Antônio de Oliveira; Salazarism; Twenty-eighth of May.