Dates of operation 1980–1987 | Active region(s) Portugal | |
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Leader(s) Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Motives Proletarian revolution in Portugal Ideology Communism
Marxism-Leninism Notable attacks Rocket attack on the Royal British Club in Lisbon (with the Irish Republican Army), Attack with mortar shells at NATO facilities in Oeiras | ||
Forças Populares 25 de Abril (English: Popular Forces 25 April) (FP 25 de Abril or FP-25) was a far-left armed organization operating in Portugal between 1980 and 1987. Some of its members had previously been active in the "Brigadas Revolucionárias" (English: Revolutionary Brigades), an armed group with links to the Partido Revolucionário do Proletariado (English: Revolutionary Party of the Proletariat). A total of 18 people were killed by the FP-25 as a result of armed attacks, bombings and confrontations with the police during bank robberies and escape attempts. During a 25 November 1984 attempt, they fired four mortar rounds at the U.S. Embassy, hitting two cars. On January 27, 1985 6 NATO ships including the USS Richard E. Byrd were attacked. Success for the group began in February 1985, which involved detonating eight incendiary bombs under cars belonging to West Germany Air Force personnel assigned to a Portuguese airbase outside Beja. The explosions injured one person and caused considerable damage.
Judgment for these crimes was never fully carried out due to legal prescription and granted amnesties. The main figure of the FP-25 was Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, a leading figure of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) which was responsible for the Carnation Revolution military coup on April 25, 1974. Saraiva de Carvalho served several years in prison before being released during an amnesty.
Ideology
The FP25 brought together the most radical sectors of the Portuguese radical left, who were growing discontent with the development of pariliamentary democracy and capitalism in post-Carnation Revolution Portugal. In the organizations "Manifesto ao Povo Trabalhador" or "Manifesto to the Workers" released in April 1980, the organization outlined it's opposition to amendments to the Portuguese Constitution, specifically the abandonment of socialism, and agrarian land reforms.