Before the court of public opinion: Imprensa de Lisboa and the 1921 press workers’ strike

Full Te ms & Condi ions o access and use can be ound a h ps://www. and online.com/ac ion/jou nalIn o ma ion?jou nalCode=ce h20 Eu opean Re iew o His o y: Re ue eu opéenne d'his oi e ISSN: (P in ) (Online) Jou nal homepage: www. and online.com/jou nals/ce h20 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. Submi you a icle o his jou nal A icle iews: 83 View ela ed a icles View C ossma k da a 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 EUROPEAN REVIEW OF HISTORY: REVUE EUROPÉENNE D’HISTOIRE 285 Chalaby, J. The In en ion o Jou nalism. Hampshi e: Palg a e Macmillan, 2002. Co eia, S. “Celeb a ing Vic o y on a Day o De ea : Commemo a ing he Fi s Wo ld Wa in Po ugal, 1918–1933.” Eu opean Re iew o His o y 1, no. 24 (2017): 108–130. doi:10.1080/ 13507486.2016.1191440. Co eia, S. En e a Mo e e o Mi o: Polí icas da Memó ia da I Gue a Mundial (1918–1933). Lisbon: Temas & Deba es, 2015. Cu an, J., and J. Sea on. Powe wi hou Responsibili y: The P ess and B oadcas ing in B i ain. London: Rou ledge, 1999. F ase , N. “Re hinking he Public Sphe e: A Con ibu ion o he C i ique o Ac ually Exis ing Democ acy.” Social Tex , nos 25–26 (1990): 56–80. doi:10.2307/466240. Gil oy, P. The e Ain´ No Black in he Union Jack: The Cul u al Poli ics o Race and Na ion. London: Rou ledge, 2010. Ha d , H., and B. B ennen. Newswo ke s: Towa d a His o y o he Rank and File. Minneapolis: Uni e si y o Minneso a P ess, 1995. Laclau, E. “Why Do Emp y Signi ie s Ma e o Poli ics?” In Emancipa ion(s), edi ed by E. Laclau, 36–46. London: Ve so, 2007. Ma os, P. F. The Colou s o he Empi e: Racialized Rep esen a ions du ing Po uguese Colonialism. New Yo k: Be ghahn Books, 2013. Ma os, J. N. “Censu a Ve melha: as emp esas de jo nais pe an e a g e e da imp ensa de 1921.” Le His ó ia, no. 73 (2018): 193–215. doi:10.4000/le his o ia.4289. Medei os, F. A sociedade e a economia po uguesas nas o igens do salaza ismo. Lisbon: A Reg a do Jogo, 1978. Mosse, G. L. Fallen Soldie s: Reshaping he Memo y o he Wo ld Wa s. New Yo k: Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 1991. Neg , O., and A. Kluge. Public Sphe e o Expe ience: Analysis o he Bou geois and P ole a ian Public Sphe e. London: Ve so, 2016. Sa dica, J. M. “Imp ensa. Tí ulos.” In Dicioná io de His ó ia da I República e do Republicanismo, Vol. II, edi ed by M. F. Rollo, 344–357. Lisbon: Assembleia da República, 2013. Telo, A. J. O Sidonismo e o Mo imen o Ope á io Po uguês. Lisbon: José Fo una o, 1977. Tenga inha, J. His ó ia da Imp ensa Pe iódica Po uguesa. Lisbon: Caminho, 1989. T a e so, E. O passado, modos de usa . Lisbon: edições unipop, 2012. T indade, L. Na a i es in Mo ion: Jou nalism and Mode nis E en s in 1920s. New Yo k: Be ghahn Books, 2016. Va ela, P., and J. Pe ei a. “As o igens do mo imen o neg o em Po ugal (1911-1933): uma ge ação pan-a icanis a e an i acis a.” Re is a de His ó ia (USP), no. 179 (2020): 1–36. doi:10.11606/. 2316-9141. h.2020.159242. Viei a, A. Em ol a da minha p o issão: subsídios pa a a his ó ia do mo imen o ope á io no Po ugal con inen al. Lisbon: edição de au o , 1950. 292 J. N. MATOS