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Be o e he cou o public opinion: Imp ensa de
Lisboa and he 1921 p ess wo ke s’ s ike
José Nuno Ma os
To ci e his a icle: José Nuno Ma os (2023) Be o e he cou o public opinion: Imp ensa de
Lisboa and he 1921 p ess wo ke s’ s ike, Eu opean Re iew o His o y: Re ue eu opéenne
d'his oi e, 30:2, 278-292, DOI: 10.1080/13507486.2022.2107488
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13507486.2022.2107488
Published online: 09 Sep 2022.
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Be o e he cou o public opinion: Imp ensa de Lisboa and he
1921 p ess wo ke s’ s ike
José Nuno Ma os
Resea ch Fellow a Ins i u o de Ciências Sociais, Uni e sidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Po ugal
ABSTRACT
This a icle is a s udy o A Imp ensa de Lisboa, a pe iodical c ea ed by
p o essional associa ions o jou nalis s, p in e s and dis ibu o s o
Lisbon newspape s in 1921, du ing a pe iod in which hey we e on
s ike. This con lic b ough a signi ican po ion o he Po uguese
capi al’s p ess o a s ands ill, excep o a hand ul o publica ions,
namely hose c ea ed in ha same con ex . Alongside and agains
A Imp ensa de Lisboa, newspape companies published O Jo nal.
Meanwhile, A Ba alha, he o icial o gan o he Gene al Con ede a ion
o Labou , o which he unions on s ike we e a ilia ed, con inued o be
published. The aim o his esea ch is, i s ly, o analyse he ela ion
be ween he goals o he s ike and A Imp ensa de Lisboa’s co e age no
only o he con lic i sel , bu also o a se o o he opics and e en s
seen as ma e s o in e es o a wide public opinion, i.e. beyond he
in e es s o he indus ial wo king class. Secondly, i aims o iden i y
simila i ies and di e ences be ween he agenda and con en s o
A Imp ensa de Lisboa and A Ba alha, o cla i y o wha ex en he
s a egy pu sued by he o me mean keeping a dis ance om he
poin s o iew commonly oiced in he wo ke s’ p ess.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 26 Oc obe 2021
Accep ed 26 July 2022
KEYWORDS
Jou nalis s; s ike; unknown
soldie ; na ionalism; Po ugal
In oduc ion
In ea ly 1921, a s ike by jou nalis s, p in e s and newspape dis ibu o s in e up ed he
publica ion o mos newsp in media in Lisbon. The lis o demands pu o wa d by he
Fede a ion o Book and Newspape Wo ke s (Fede ação dos T abalhado es do Li o e do
Jo nal), a ilia ed wi h he Gene al Con ede a ion o Labou (CGT), o he newspape
companies included a a ie y o demands, namely wage ises.
1
Thei p oposal was
ejec ed, which led he newspape wo ke s’ assembly o sanc ion he s ike. On lea ning
o his decision, he newspape di ec o s sen a communiqué o hei p in e s announ-
cing ha p oduc ion would be suspended as soon as he s ike began and, a he same
ime, ha a collec i e newspape would come in o p in .
Besides he du a ion o he s ike, which las ed se e al mon hs, and i s in e p o es-
sional na u e, he unique cha ac e o his e en lies p ecisely in he way in which
jou nalism was placed a he se ice o he s uggle by bo h sides o he con lic .
2
The
newspape companies p oduced O Jo nal – he p oduc o a conglome a ion be ween
A Época, O Diá io de No ícias, A Pá ia, O Século and A Capi al – which was in p in
CONTACT José Nuno Ma os [email p o ec ed] Resea ch Fellow a Ins i u o de Ciências Sociais, Uni e sidade
de Lisboa, Lisbon, Po ugal
EUROPEAN REVIEW OF HISTORY: REVUE EUROPÉENNE D’HISTOIRE
2023, VOL. 30, NO. 2, 278–292
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/13507486.2022.2107488
© 2022 In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
du ing he i s wo mon hs o he s ike. A a la e s age, and un il he s ike came o an
end, hei e o s u ned o publishing O Diá io de No ícias and O Século. On he opposi e
pole o he dispu e, A Imp ensa de Lisboa (IL) eme ged unde he di ec ion o Campos
Lima (an a o ney and p ominen ana chis in ellec ual), owned by he p o essional
associa ions o p ess wo ke s, p in e s and newspape dis ibu o s. Meanwhile,
A Ba alha, he in o ma ion o gan o he Gene al Con ede a ion o Labou (CGT),
emained in publica ion.
F om he ou se , his was a b oad con lic , ex ending beyond he s ic de ence o he
ma e ial in e es s o ei he wo ke s o companies. I was, a he , a clash be ween wo
dis inc public sphe es, he bou geois and he p ole a ian, engaged in a igh o conque
public opinion. S a ing om a his o ical iewpoin , he p esen a icle examines he IL
news co e age, which did no ocus exclusi ely on he s ike, bu included o he cu en
a ai s. The goal is o unde s and o wha ex en his co e age exp esses he widening o
he chasm be ween he wo public sphe es o , on he con a y, he pu sui no only o an
agenda, bu o a se o e ms and poli ical s andpoin s seen as mo e consensual, in he
name o a speedie and mo e p agma ic esolu ion o he con lic . Besides IL, he s udy
also conside s he issues o A Ba alha published du ing he s ike, o pinpoin simila i ies
and di e ences in he wo k o daily newspape s ha , in heo y, sha ed he same goals. I
ocuses, in pa icula , on news a icles co e ing he une al ce emonies o unknown
soldie s and public shows o suppo o he wa -wounded, opics which, on he ace o i ,
had a a he enuous connec ion o he s ike s’ in e es s and sympa hies. Finally, i
analyses he way in which newspape companies and hei di ec o s a e ep esen ed in IL
and A Ba alha.
By ocusing on he ac ions o newspape wo ke s and hei ele ance o an analysis o
he de elopmen o jou nalism in Po ugal, his esea ch wo k i s wi hin he amewo k
o a his o iog aphy ha a ou s he analysis o labou ela ions and he con lic s hey
gene a e, a he han o he indi idual igu es – he ounde and/o di ec o , he in el-
lec ual and/o w i e .
3
Con lic and he p ess in he Fi s Po uguese Republic
The p ess wo ke s’ s ike e lec ed he pos -wa con ex , ma ked by an economic c isis
and poli ical pola iza ion. The ise in he p ice o essen ial oods u s, associa ed wi h
capi al ligh , specula ion and he de alua ion o wages, se he one o he escala ion o
wo ke s’ s uggles. In 1919, he Na ional Wo ke s’ Union (União Ope á ia Nacional)
ga e way o he Gene al Con ede a ion o Labou (CGT), which ga he ed a g ea e
numbe o ade unions and wo ke s. A ew mon hs ea lie , he daily newspape
A Ba alha had begun i s na ion-wide dis ibu ion. Bo h he means o ac ion, pa icula ly
he s ike, and he e olu iona y goals hey pu sued, d awing inspi a ion om he 1917
Russian Re olu ion, we e, o go e nmen s o a ious ypes and companies o a ious
sizes, he ma e ializa ion o ‘a ea which un il hen had been ague and emo e’.
4
The ex ension o he logic o ade union ac ion o he sphe e o in ellec ual wo ke s,
such as jou nalis s, was an added conce n. Despi e hei symbolic s a us, jou nalis s we e
in ac o ced o ‘ en ou hei hands and minds a he se ice o o he s’,
5
gene ally o
a a he low a e. Agains his backd op, in 1904, s ill in he pe iod o he Cons i u ional
Mona chy, he P ess Wo ke s’ P o essional Associa ion (Associação de Classe dos
EUROPEAN REVIEW OF HISTORY: REVUE EUROPÉENNE D’HISTOIRE 279
T abalhado es da Imp ensa) was c ea ed. In 1917, his same associa ion joined he Book
and Newspape Fede a ion (Fede ação do Li o e do Jo nal), whose capaci y and
ini ia i e depended la gely on he mobiliza ion o p in e s. Among he la e , he en-
dency o be in ol ed in p o essional associa i ism can be aced back a long way ( he i s
s ikes da ing back as ea ly as 1872), sp inging om an acu e awa eness o he gap
be ween hei quali ica ions and hei wages.
6
One o he main goals o he Book and
Newspape Fede a ion was, acco ding o Alexand e Viei a, a p in e who was hen
di ec o o A Ba alha, ‘ o do away wi h [. . .] he kind o wall ha un il hen had di ided
he g ea e po ion o manual wo ke s and in ellec ual wo ke s, e en hough hey joined
o ces in a common ask and aced iden ical ha dships’.
7
Despi e he small media ma ke , ailo ed o he as es o an u ban eli e and mos ly
aken o e by newspape s linked wi h speci ic poli ical ac ions, some publica ions we e
al eady d awing close o a mo e news-based b and o jou nalism.
8
G adually, his began
o assimila e ea u es and c i e ia om o eign publica ions: conce n wi h sales numbe s,
ad e ising e enue, co e age o less di isi e opics (spo s, human in e es s o ies,
sensa ional e en s) o poli ical analysis mo e ocused on pe sonali ies o adminis a i e
ac s.
9
Howe e , apa om he dubious no ion ha he co e age o such ma e s was
s ipped o ideological bias, he jou nalism p ac ised by O Século o Diá io de No ícias did
no app oach all subjec s in he same manne . T ade union ac ions and ini ia i es we e
gene ally epo ed wi h a deg ee o hos ili y, which goes some way owa ds explaining he
eme gence o a wo ke s’ p ess.
10
A Ba alha is a guably he publica ion ha bes embodied
his poin o iew, wi h a daily ci cula ion somewhe e be ween 20,000 and 25,000,
suppo ed by a solid unding and dis ibu ion ne wo k.
11
Calling i sel he mou hpiece o he wo ke s’ o ganiza ion, he p ojec in ol ed he
c ea ion o a newspape ha could balance a pa isan slan wi h a mo e s ic ly news-
gi ing oca ion. I s ou look was he pola opposi e o con en ional jou nalis ic discou se,
echoing he s yle and one o he adical p ess, ‘by pu ing eelings in o wo ds, by
exp essing g ie ances, by p oposing poli ical s a egies and economic solu ions, by
b inging hope’.
12
The e y exis ence o his ype o p ess had a poli ical signi icance, as i exp essed he
wo ke s’ capaci y o sel -o ganiza ion and au onomy, o going public o p i a e
in es men . In his sense, i alls wi hin he kind o coun e -publicsphe e
13
cons uc ed
in pa allel wi h, and agains , he hegemony o a bou geois public sphe e. Ju gen
Habe mas’ idealized po ai o he public sphe e, acco ding o c i iques by au ho s
such as Nancy F ase o Oska Neg and Alexande Kluge, d aws a space o discussion
which, despi e he sel -p oclaimed uni e sali y o i s hemes and publics, a o ds
limi ed access o subal e n social g oups. The la e , hen, end up mobilizing o he
sphe es ‘o wi hd awal and eg oupmen ’,
14
h ough which hey c ea e he possibili y o
a discou se on hei own e ms. Ye , acco ding o Neg and Kluge, he de elopmen o
a p ole a ian public sphe e equi es, in i s ini ial s ages, he c ea ion o a ‘medium o
in e cou se ha ela es he pa icula in e es s o he p oduc i e sec o and socie y as
a whole o one ano he ’,
15
ha is, i equi es i no o emain closed in on i sel and o
be able o gain g ound a he expense o he wiligh o he bou geois public sphe e. A
i s sigh , he s ike by jou nalis s, p in e s and newspape dis ibu o s seemed o
ollow his s a egy, in o he wo ds, ha o ans o ming, in he wo ds o Luís
T indade, ‘a con lic wi hin newspape s in o a con lic be ween newspape s’.
16
Ye , as
280 J. N. MATOS
he same au ho poin s ou , he escala ion o he con lic did no ansla e in o
a adicaliza ion o he discou se bu , on he con a y, in o a posi ion o poli ical
neu ali y.
Mode a ion and mildness in he con lic
The ci cums ances ha esul ed in he ounda ion o IL would lead i o de o e a la ge
po ion o i s con en o he jus i ica ion o i s own exis ence. In i s inaugu al issue, he
newspape desc ibes i sel as a publica ion ha
will no de end he pe y in e es s o any capi alis , o be ied o any bank o inancial g oup,
bu simply aim o do an hones wo k, o p o ide he public wi h us wo hy in o ma ion
and o lend a oice o i s aspi a ions, wi h no o he conce n han o se e he gene al
in e es .
17
The con e gence o he in e es s o a ious p o essional sec o s is also unde lined,
namely he wo kings and easibili y o such an e o :
The way he newspape is p oduced, he pa en dedica ion o all i s collabo a o s and, abo e
all, he o de , o ganisa ion and wo k me hods, wi h no need o he command, supe ision,
o su eillance o an employe , will se e as a clea demons a ion o he alue o he
spon aneous acco d among wo ke s o he accomplishmen o a collec i e wo k.
18
This kind o s a emen , whe e he newspape pleads i s own cause, can be ound no only
in he edi o ials, bu also in a sec ion i led ‘Ou Mo emen ’. The e, IL esponded o
accusa ions by he p ess companies’ dailies, bu also desc ibed he ini ia i es, o ms o
suppo , assemblies and nego ia ion p ocesses by he ‘Execu i e Commi ee o Wage
Rises’. Howe e , he wo daily edi ions o IL would come o add ess o he issues,
de eloping an agenda beyond he in e es s o he p o essional co po a ions in ol ed,
i s aim being ‘ o u n A Imp ensa de Lisboa in o a ue o gan o public opinion’.
19
In an
a icle e lec ing di ec ly on his concep , he newspape de ined i as ‘ he agg ega e
collec ion o conscien ious e dic s, di e ging in de ail [. . .] bu coming oge he in
a i uous and noble syn hesis’.
20
Wi h his in iew, he newspape commi ed i sel o
pushing he p ess wo ke s’ s uggle o he backg ound ‘whene e o he in e es s o
a mo e gene al na u e call upon ou jou nalis s’ pen o pu sue i s guiding and mobilizing
mission’.
21
The his o ical ambigui y o he concep o public opinion is mani es in hese
discou ses: while, on he one hand, i is compa ed o a o m o ‘cou ’ o ‘ ibunal’,
22
whose ulings mus be espec ed and complied wi h, on he o he , he ole o jou nalism
in gene al, and o IL in pa icula , was seen as a o m o guidance and mobiliza ion o ha
e y au ho i y.
The claim o a p i ileged ela ionship wi h his syn hesis could be in e p e ed as
a ac ical elemen gea ed owa ds he success o he s ike. Fi s ly, in bo h i s con en
and i s o m, i was an a ack on he newspape companies, since IL was one publica ion
among o he s in a ela i ely small ma ke , b inging abou no only he suspension o
newspape p oduc ion, bu an added elemen o he compe i ion. Secondly, i esponded
o he newspape companies’ accusa ions o IL’s ed censo ship and i s alleged subjuga-
ion o he Bolshe ik agenda o he CGT.
23
EUROPEAN REVIEW OF HISTORY: REVUE EUROPÉENNE D’HISTOIRE 281

E en hough IL and A Ba alha had ob ious sha ed goals, hese accusa ions led o he
e o o c ea ing some dis ance be ween hem, pa ly he esul o he a ied poli ical
composi ion o he s ike s, who anged ‘ om he adi ionalis mona chis o he
libe a ian ex emis ’.
24
The di e ences be ween he wo jou nalis ic p ojec s we e duly
emphasized om he ou se . While he o gan o he CGT was classi ied as ‘essen ially
a comba newspape ’, IL ‘aimed o p e en he damage he public would su e om
a lack o in o ma ion and [ o be] an o gan whe e he ques ions ha in e es no only he
wo ke s, bu he whole popula ion, we e discussed’.
25
I any doub s emained, he co e age o he con lic would b ing wha e e di isions
he e we e o he o e. In a ex penned by Ca los Ra es,
26
A Ba alha unde lined he
poli ical signi icance o he social composi ion o he s ike:
In he igh waged be ween he manual p ole a ia and he capi alis o ces, he in e media e
classes – doc o s, enginee s, w i e s, jou nalis s, accoun an s, mili a y o ice s, e c. – will be
o ced o choose be ween being c ushed by he p ole a ia and iumphing, shoulde o
shoulde wi h he p ole a ia . Jou nalis s ha e op ed o an alliance, a pa h clea ed by he
manage s o he companies hemsel es and which spa ed hem om being c ushed in he
o midable ba le which is abou o be ough .
27
The alliance be ween p in e s, dis ibu o s and jou nalis s was seen by IL in an al oge he
di e en ligh . Faced wi h O Jo nal’s allega ions conce ning he jou nalis s’ adhe ence o
he mo emen , IL saw hei pa icipa ion as a mode a ing, a he han dis up i e, ac o .
Is i no widely known ha he lack o educa ion o a po ion o he wo king classes is wha ,
o a g ea ex en , does no allow hem o es ain hemsel es, wi h g ea e poise o less
commo ion? The in luence o in ellec uals, in ac , can only ha e he e ec o gi ing me hod
and awa eness o a mo emen ha will only p o e oublesome i i is un uly and alls wholly
in he hands o in lamed and iolen agi a o s.
28
A e all, as ano he edi o ial acknowledges, ‘Jesus o Galilee himsel , e en hough he saw
himsel as God, was ne e ashamed o ha ing been bo n in a ca pen e ’s home, o o
ha ing li ed among ishe men and humble people’.
29
The s ike i sel is desc ibed as a o m o iolence o be used only as a las eso . The
ag eemen s eached wi h O Tempo and O Jo nal do Comé cio e das Colónias, which
con empla ed a 50% sala y inc ease o all ca ego ies, exp essed an openness o nego ia-
ion and dialogue, a cou se ha had been ejec ed by he newspape companies. The
s ike, so i was a gued, did no sp ing om a desi e, bu a he om an ex e nal
imposi ion: ‘by pushing hose who wish o wo k in o hem [s ikes], a e y se ious
c ime is commi ed, one which, soone o la e , will weigh hea ily on hei conscience’.
30
Gi en his econcilia o y mission, he p oposal o s age solida i y s ikes was ejec ed,
and he s ike s would only accep dona ions. This s ance, so i was s a ed hen, aimed o
p e en he p o es s om sp eading, gi en ha ‘such an a i ude on ou pa would be
cause o o he classes and he g ea e pa o he epublican popula ion o become
unse led’.
31
The meanings o he unknown soldie
The conce n wi h he e dic o public opinion led, concu en ly, o a ca e ul selec ion o
hemes and he o ganiza ion o public campaigns, a common p ac ice among newspape
282 J. N. MATOS
wi h a mo e explici poli ical oca ion.
32
In his p ocess, he dis ance be ween he
posi ioning and wo ld iews o IL and A Ba alha would become inc easingly ob ious.
As in mos o he bellige en coun ies, he Po uguese soldie s who died in he Fi s
Wo ld Wa we e he objec o a policy o consec a ion and memo y, which in ol ed he
c ea ion o wha Geo ge L. Mosse calls he ‘My h o Wa Expe ience’. By ‘d awing he
s ing om dea h in wa and emphasizing he meaning ulness o he igh ing and
sac i ice’, i s aim was o make an ‘inhe en ly unpala able pas accep able, impo an no
jus o he pu pose o consolida ion bu abo e all o he jus i ica ion o he na ion in
whose name he wa had been ough ’.
33
This kind o li u gy was hus pa o a b oade
Republican ci ic cul which, in heo y, aimed o g ab hold o he powe o symbolic
media ion in he hands o he Chu ch.
34
The need o coun e he po ai o IL d awn by O Jo nal led he o me o p oclaim i s
adhe ence o his cul . As ea ly as 16 Ma ch 1921, days be o e he bodies o wo
(unknown) soldie s om he Eu opean and A ican comba on s we e o be
b ough asho e, IL announced he a i al o one o he allen, claiming ha he belonged
o
ha Race o he oes ha ha e sp ead he name o Po ugal a and wide, and i is he Tagus,
he e y same Tagus ha saw he depa u e o he ca a els, and ha was hen a wi ness o he
sun’s p aye s upon he es less wa e s ha whispe ed he ales o ou ad en u es, ha same
Tagus now welcomes in o he wa es’ we a ms he unknown body o his Po uguese who, in
F ance’s age-old soil, ell o he g ound as he shou ed he name o his Homeland!
35
Besides being p omo ed o a symbol o he Po uguese na ion and included in he long
lineage o i s he oes, namely hose who depa ed in he ca a els and s a ed he p ocess o
o ma ion o he colonial empi e, he Unknown Soldie would be in es ed wi h o he
meanings by IL. As an emp y o loa ing signi ie , s ipped o i s indi idual li e s o y, he
unknown soldie was mean o acqui e a much b oade esonance o se o e e ences.
Howe e , acco ding o Laclau, he connec ion be ween a signi ie and a signi ied is ne e
ully concluded, and he la e may be con es ed by o he chains o equi alence, wi h
dis inc signi ica ion p ojec s.
36
The con ex o he unknown soldie ’s dea h made i
easie o a ach him o ideals o jus ice and eedom, o he ‘image o ou people, who
ha e so o en ough in anonymi y o he de ence o humani a ian ideas and o he
aspi a ion o an e e mo e pe ec and p og essi e social and poli ical s age’.
37
Fo ha
eason, and seemingly e oking he con lic wi h he newspape companies, he unknown
soldie s ‘shall es mo e peace ully in hei g a es, blessing hose who a e s ill wo king
and igh ing o a g ea e Po ugal, ee om opp esso s and scheme s’.
38
A he same
ime, he po ai o he unknown soldie as a popula igu e se ed as an an ido e o
a emp s a app op ia ion o he signi ie by o he in e es s. Anonymi y, acco ding o IL,
opened up he possibili y o him being de ined as
someone who dese es, no only o his he oism, bu also o his eelings and ideas, ou
deepes sympa hy. Tha is why each one o us an asises his unknown he o as an un olding
o ou sel es, endowed wi h ou own eelings, ideas, aspi a ions. He hus belongs no only o
ou ace, bu o ou close ci cle, as ou equal, a com ade, e en a iend.
39
Thus, and aiming c i ically a he Ca holic ce emony ha p esided o e he deposi ion
o he dead in he monas e y o San a Ma ia Vi ó ia, in Ba alha (Lei ia), a sign o he
Po uguese Republic d awing close o i s Ca holic sec o s,
40
he newspape a gues ha
EUROPEAN REVIEW OF HISTORY: REVUE EUROPÉENNE D’HISTOIRE 283
he ‘unknown soldie canno [. . .] be aken o e by an exclusi e ac ion, whe he eligious
o poli ical, wan ing o make him hei own’.
41
Despi e he claims o he unknown soldie ’s polysemic na u e, which spilled beyond he
mili a y sphe e, hese commemo a ions did no ail o e oke he soldie ’s sac i ice o he
homeland. Con a y o wha had been, and s ill was a he ime, he p edominan posi ion
wi hin he ade union mo emen , IL de ended Po ugal’s pa icipa ion in he Fi s Wo ld
Wa , a guing ha ‘ he newspape wo ke s on s ike who de ended he coun y’s en y in o
he wa we e nei he misguided no w ong, and did no ha m hei coun y wi h hei
p opaganda’.
42
An ini ia i e ha accompanied he une al p ocession o he unknown
soldie s h ough he s ee s o Lisbon on 9 Ap il was epo ed in a de oga o y way,
desc ibed sco n ully as he h owing o ‘coun less pieces o pape p o es ing agains he
wa and agains demons a ions in honou o he Unknown Soldie ’.
43
A ew days a e he
deposi ion o he wo soldie s’ mo al emains, IL claimed o ha e p o en ‘ ha i s key
conce n is none o he han se ing he in e es s o he public, in o ming hem and adding
i s oice o he aspi a ions o he gene al mass o he popula ion’, doing no hing else bu
‘ e lec [ing] he gene al opinion among Republicans’.
44
Finally, he publica ion o ganized a campaign o solida i y wi h he wa -wounded. I is
impo an o no e ha , con a y o wha happened in o he coun ies, such as Ge many
o I aly, he na ionalism o he Po uguese ex-comba an s did no gain a eac iona y
quali y, conduci e o ascism, emaining close o epublican ideals and alues.
45
Towa ds
he end o Ap il 1921, he Minis y o Wa o de ed he suspension o he A oios Wa -
Wounded Re-educa ion Ins i u e (Ins i u o de Reeducação dos Mu ilados de Gue a de
A oios, in Lisbon), de o ed o he mo o ehabili a ion and ca ee guidance o e e ans,
a decision ha implied he discha ge o he cen e’s esiden s. In a plea o he membe s o
pa liamen , he newspape ecalled ha
[ ]he glo ious elics o Po ugal, his he oic coun y o unpa alleled adi ions, wi h a his o y
whe e he pa h o he ca a els is indelibly ca ed on seas ne e be o e sailed [. . .], all his
p ocession o pomp and lau els, o he oic ac s and epic ea s, o honou and ci ili y, is now
being ampled unde oo , c umpled, sha e ed, as i a muddy sponge was wiped, in
e alia ion, o e all i s pages, each o i s lines, each o i s le e s.
46
In his con ex , IL o ganized a bene i eci al, a ended by he hen Head o Go e nmen ,
Be na dino Machado, and which included a play, piano and cello solos, as well as a poe y
eci al.
47
Bo h he discou se a ound he unknown soldie and he o ganiza ion o cha i y soi ees
o he wa -wounded we e un amilia e i o y o he edi o ial s a o A Ba alha.
Re olu iona y syndicalism, mos ly o he ana chis pe suasion, was one o he main
o ces opposed o he sending o he Po uguese Expedi iona y Co ps o Flande s and
Mozambique in 1916. In ac , his e en was esponsible o an added adicaliza ion o he
ade union mo emen . In addi ion o he an i-wa p opaganda in newspape s, pamph-
le s o plays, he e we e se e al s ikes in a mamen ac o ies, as well as a son i es in
mili a y es ablishmen s.
48
Al hough his s ance was no consensual wi hin he ana chis camp in Po ugal,
a e sed by in e na ional schisms, A Ba alha assumed, om i s e y beginning (when
he wa was al eady o e ), a c i ical s ance on he pa icipa ion o Po uguese oops in
he in e na ional con lic , as well as all i s ela ed ce emonies. The necessa y
284 J. N. MATOS
desac aliza ion o he unknown soldie mean , i s and o emos , an analysis o he
symbol’s mode o p oduc ion. This soldie is, so he newspape claims
wha e e he d eame wishes i o be. A imes he symbol is a beau i ul o m ha o ces
minds o unde s and and eel an incon es able u h; a o he imes, i is an ignoble
specula ion p esen ed by cha la ans. The bou geoisie has ans o med he Unknown
Soldie in o a symbol. [. . .] The bou geoisie now celeb a es an indi idual who ough , in
he G ea Wa , o p i a e p ope y, he so e eign y o he capi alis cas e, p ejudice, he
cu ailing o popula libe ies, economic inequali y, he exploi a ion o he poo by he
ich.
49
A Ba alha wan ed o in es i wi h an al oge he dis inc symbolism, u ning i in o
a signi ie o he ‘mul i ude o ic ims he wa has spawned in i s disgus ing womb’.
50
These ema ks, in u n, did no escape he a en ion o O Século. D awing a di ec link
wi h he p ess wo ke s’ s ike, he daily newspape le elled ha sh c i icism a he pieces
published in A Ba alha,
whe e con emp o na ional sen imen and ep oach o pa icipa ion in he wa [. . .] could
no be mo e gla ing and abominable. I is wi h hese enemies o he Fa he land ha he
newspape s ike s a e siding wi h; hese a e he people who speak in hei name and,
as onishingly, seem o exp ess he eelings o au ho i ies whose mission canno be any hing
bu an absolu e e usal o such doc ines and such c ea u es.
51
Naming he o he
IL’s alignmen wi h wha hey deemed o be he causes and alues o public opinion
would ma e ialize in he denuncia ion o hose who, by din o hei ac ions, posed
a h ea . Thei c i icism was aimed, i s ly, a he newspape wo ke s who e used o join
he mo emen , nicknamed ‘cana ies’ (as ‘yellow’ was a e m commonly used o e e o
scabs). These pejo a i e e ms o en appea ed in a humo ous sec ion (‘A Ri ’), signed by
Esculápio, a epo e om O Século:
Oh go geous bi d all yellow/ You li le scound el/ So blond and mellow/ The colou o
quince ba k, so d oll/You a e cu e as a la k [. . .].
Bu as a e so da k/ Has made you my o men o /My one and only wish/Is o ha e you wi h
ice on a dish.
52
Besides ea ning he epi he o ai o s, he quali y o hei w i ing was also called in o
ques ion. Labelled as a ‘cabbage lea ’, he edi ion o O Jo nal was he ou pu o ‘jou nalis s
who ha e ne e been able o pu a news s o y oge he , who gi e hemsel es his
pompous i le o make some hing o hemsel es’.
53
Thei p e e en ial a ge s, howe e ,
we e he di ec o s o newspape companies. In addi ion o poin ing ou he p e alence o
mona chis and/o conse a i e endencies among hem,
54
and denouncing he wo king
condi ions imposed by managemen s who ‘see jou nalis s as no hing o he han labou
o ce’,
55
IL pu special emphasis on he h ea o he o ma ion o a p ess monopoly. This
ope a ion, so he publica ion a gued, in ol ed he wo mos impo an dailies in Lisbon,
O Século and O Diá io de No ícias, and he milling company Companhia Indus ial de
Po ugal e Colónias (also known as Moagem). In a ious pieces in he segmen ‘A inal de
quem é O Século?’ (‘Who uly owns O Século?’), con ac s be ween he managemen o
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