It took the armed uprising of the Angolan people, in 1961, to start the revolution among the Portuguese anti-fascist forces. Since then the militants have refused to take any further "democratic" action (written protests, running for "election", etc.) against the regime. Now sabotage, kidnappings, strikes and demonstrations are everyday actions in our underground struggle. This is not enough, but it is as far as the bureaucratic leadership of the F.P.L.N. (Frente Patriotica de libertacao Nacional - Patriotic Front for National Liberation) will go. The F.P.L.N. is formed by all the Portuguese progressive and revolutionary forces, among these the Portuguese Communist Party, which does everything it can to oppose revolutionary tactics, This has driven some forces to form other organisations. The most important is L.U.A.R, (the word means "moonlight" in Portuguese!) formed by people interested in fighting without any political plan, This childish attitude, provoked by the endless monologue of the bureaucracy, is the cause of L.U.A.R.'s unpopularity among the masses in spite of its few military successes, Another breakaway organisation is the Y.A.P., a "maoist" group, which is completely isolated because of its dogmatism,
There is no doubt: the F.P.L.N. is the only organisation rooted in the masses and it will be the one to lead the Portuguese revolution! The problem is, not to form a new front, but a new leadership. We have to uproot any form of bureaucracy from the F.P.L.N. and form a revolutionary leadership. This process has already started, but needs to be completed as soon as possible,
HOW TO OVERTHROW THE REGIME?
Many marxists have already given a clear reply: we can destroy the fascists and imperialist apparatus only with GUERILLA WARFARE. But where are the jungles and the sierras (mountains) in Portugal? Where can the guerillas hide themselves? The colonialist army is totally engaged in fighting our comrades in Africa, but the police could easily spot and destroy any guerilla in the Portuguese countryside.
Anyway, we can fight an URBAN and SUBURBAN type of guerilla warfare. This tactic is not new and has already been proved successful in Europe. Portugal is "protected" from the inside by the German Federal Republic army, and from the outside by Franco's and N.A.T.O.'s armies, These could easily be employed against the guerillas in the deserted countryside, but never in the densely populated areas, If this were to happen it would mean an attack on the masses which could bring about their large-scale revolt.
We have just learnt two important facts from the French events:
1) that the revolution can erupt in Europe - and if it can erupt it can succeed, once the vanguard is united and militant.
2) that the largest number of foreign students and workers to be expelled by the French regime were Portuguese!
This is a clear sign of internationalism and militancy, When the revolution will be fought in Portugal it will be fought all over Europe, All the revolutionaries of Europe will be called upon to fight their own battles in their own countries!