Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: RevoluÃÂçÃÂão dos Cravos or 25 de Abril) was a bloodless left-leaning revolution started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from a fascist dictatorship to a liberal democracy in the end of a two-year process."Bloodless" must be qualified however: the governmental forces killed four people before surrendering. However, this revolution is peculiar in that the revolutionaries did not use direct violence to achieve their goals.
April 25 is one of the major holidays in Portugal, usually a day of celebration and joy, though some right-wing sectors of population still regard the developments after the coup d'ÃÂétat as pernicious for the country. On the other side, some of the military leaders think that the leftist inspiration of the uprising has been later abandoned.
Carnation is the symbol of this revolution, since soldiers put these flowers in their guns, in what came to symbolise the absence of violence for changing the regime in Portugal - a regime that had been one of the longest dictatorships of the 20th century.
The signal to start the revolution was the airing of the song GrÃÂándola, vila morena.
The revolution was closely watched from Spain where democrats and totalitarians were planning for the succession of Francisco Franco (who would die in 1975).