Social Movements in Contemporary Portugal

This paper focuses in transformation of Portuguese society throughout the analysis of social movements. Social movements in Portugal were changing as the evolution of society. Throughout the ages, according to circumstances of each historical period protest as changing. in the early nineteenth century, the transition from the Old Regime to Liberalism sparked riots. The protests were dominated by the peasants, motivated by the introduction of liberalism and capitalism, which have transformed the traditional way of living. The late nineteenth and early twenty centuries brought the claim of the labor movement and unionism with the consequent organization of social events, such as strikes. The industrialization of the country created a great social inequality between the factory owners and workers, the latter living in precarious conditions which led to revolt. Between 1933 and 1974 the Portuguese dictatorship dominated the political system but even the social repression prevented the existence of strikes and demonstrations due to hunger. After 1974, the country resumes freedom but political and social democratization brought much dispute motivated by the opening of society to the global world. This paper describes how social movements have changed in the contemporary era in Portugal, alongside the political, economic, and social changes that have occurred in the country, and intends to verify whether these movements have also been an engine of this same transformation.