Echoes of competing colonial exploitation projects in the Portuguese National Assembly (1961-1974)

Abstract

This article analyses the debates concerning colonial issues that took place in the Portuguese National Assembly during the so-called “Estado Novo” and more specifically during the colonial war years (1961-1974). The study argues that in spite of the ban on the subject imposed by the dictatorial regime (the war was not to be discussed), echoes of the colonial elite’s claims can be found in the National Assembly. The agenda behind those claims shows not so much the interdependency of metropolitan and colonial bourgeoisies, but their competing ambitions, reflected in each group’s different projects for a neocolonial future. Debates about issues such as land ownership, increased colonial production, availability of capital, increased literacy rate among the indigenous populations and training of technical cadres revealed a new exploitation paradigm, more favorable to the colonial elites.