Characters / MTNO Portugal

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Portuguese Republic

Official Name: Portuguese Republic

Ruling Party: Acção Nacional Popular - Amoristas^note National People's Action - Amorists

Ideology: Civilian Dictatorship^note Despotism

The years following the Second World War were turbulent for Portugal. For its neutrality it was rewarded with the loss of its colonial empire at the hands of Germanic aggression, and its short-lived Union with the Spanish proved to be unfruitful. Just as it seemed like the Salazarist regime would fall apart, Marcello Caetano took power and reinvigorated it, beating both reactionary and liberal forces working against him and successfully establishing the Estado Social. Four decades after, Portugal has continued to reap the rewards of Marcelismo - even as perverse forces lurk in the dark and wait for the chance to destroy the Estado Social.

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General Tropes

• Allohistorical Allusion: Like in our timeline, Marcello Caetano took power in Portugal (succeeding Teotónio Pereira instead of Salazar) and tried to move the regime away from Salazarism to ensure its survival. Only in this timeline, Caetano was successful, and Portugal is still governed by a right-wing (pseudo) Salazarist regime in MTNO.
  • The Estado Social, which MTNO Portugal is built upon, was a real concept and proposed plan of Caetano to rebrand the Estado Novo along developmentalist and liberal-conservative lines, abandoning the Corporatism and rigid social-political hierarchy of the Estado Novo. The real-life Acção Nacional Popular party, which still governs Portugal in MTNO, was meant to be the backbone to Caetano's plan.
• Bread and Circuses: The Estado Social has made social and political stability integral to the dictatorship's survival, and Portuguese leaders prioritize increasing economic growth and providing stable living conditions to distract its citizens from the rampant authoritarianism in government.
• Broken Pedestal: Portugal's misfortunes following the Second World War and the success and institutionalization of Marcelismo has helped to erode the cult of personality surrounding Salazar, who has something of a negative image even amongst conservatives.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Although Portugal is still a dictatorship, it has good living standards and isn't as totalitarian when compared to its neighbor, Spain.
• People's Republic of Tyranny: Portugal has the same structure and aesthetics of a parliamentary democracy, but it is actually a one-party dictatorship where Prime Ministers are able to exercise total control through decrees and are able to stay in power until their deaths.
• Realpolitik: Despite the fact Germany took Portugal's colonies by force and set it to a downward spiral, the Portuguese would eventually reconcile with the Germans during the 1980s and join the Europäische Zollverein, realizing that it would be far more beneficial to align with the Germans than to remain neutral.
• Repressive, but Efficient: Portugal only made token political reforms to do away with the unpopular aspects of the Salazarist regime, remaining a dictatorial and repressive country. Caetano's economic liberalization and Portugal's later entry into the European Customs Union brought the Portuguese economy into a boom, leaving most citizens content with their current living standards and allowing the regime to easily crush any form of dissent.
• La Résistance: The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) is the last major anti-fascist group active in Portugal proper, coordinating underground resistance against the regime with its armed wing, the Ação Revolucionária Armada.
• Secret Police: The Direção-Geral de Segurança^note General Directorate of Security (DGS) is Portugal's secret police, and is synonymous with political repression.
• Succession Crisis: After Prime Minister Amorim is assassinated by the PCP, the ANP will be left shocked and divided without Amorim's figure, leading to the party being equally split between Neosalazaristas, Marcelistas and Amoristas who will go on to fight for the Premiership.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The CIA works with the underground PCP to destabilize the Marcelista regime, despite the fact neither of the two have the same long-term political goals.
• This Is Gonna Suck: When Die Turbulenzen hits the Zollverein nations, Portugal's economy crashes and enters into a recession for the first time in decades. Average citizens and politicians alike see that their prosperous streak has come to an abprut end, and the upcoming years will not be easy for them.
• Unluckily Lucky: The loss of Portugal's colonies was a disaster to the Salazarist regime, which had its legitimacy tainted by their own failures. The next decade would not be kind to Portugal neither, as the Triumvirate fell apart and their political union with Spain was unceremoniously dissolved. However, this streak of bad luck turned out to be a blessing for the Portuguese regime, as it did not have to waste its resources trying to suffocate anti-colonial rebellions and was able to focus on its internal problems after the Iberian Divorce, leading to the Marcelista reforms that would bring Portugal to prosperity and ultimately keep the dictatorship alive in the long run.
• Vestigial Empire: Portugal's status as a colonial empire is long gone in MTNO, as the country lost all of its colonies to the Germans, which was deemed a national tragedy.

Prime Ministers

Diogo Pacheco de Amorim

Role: Prime Minister

Party: Acção Nacional Popular - Amoristas^note National People's Action - Amorists

Ideology: Civilian Dictatorship^note Despotism

Diogo Pacheco de Amorim is a lot of things; philosopher, conservative ideologue, and the dictator of Portugal. Taking control of the country after the brief interregnum that followed Prime Minister Baltasar Rebelo de Sousa's death, Amorim is the face of a new generation of conservative politicians known as Amoristas, who support a more assertive implementation of liberal economics akin to neoclassicalism and a hardline conservative stance on social issues, contrasted with the more liberal attitudes of the last Prime Minister. While riding high on Portugal's successes, Amorim's rule will soon come to an abprut stop.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Amorim's reactionary and minarchist policies are unpopular with the Portuguese populace, who have begun to miss the moderate liberalism of Baltasar Rebelo.
• Bilingual Bonus: His faction name can also be interpreted as "Love-ists" to Portuguese speakers, especially without his name to provide context.
• Conspicuously Public Assassination: Amorim will be assassinated earlier on in MTNO at the midst of a public speech, where PCP terrorists will detonate a bomb that will leave him and several bystanders seriously injured.
• Egocentric Team Naming: His political faction within the ANP is named after him, while his supporters are proud to call themselves "Amoristas".
• Evil Reactionary: Amorim is the most socially conservative Prime Minister since Salazar, and his rule has seen a minor revival of Salazarist-era reactionary social norms.
• Internal Reformist: He has focused on diminishing what's left of state influence over the economy to provide constant economic growth and even greater incentives to the private sector.
• The Philosopher King: Subverted. Amorim is a conservative philosopher, yet his rule has been quite dogmatic; and he has introduced policies that have not resonated with Portuguese people, leading to his rising unpopularity.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Amorim has introduced misogynistic laws to do away with the loosened restrictions of the Marcelistas and return to Salazar-Era patriarchical structures.
• The Wrongful Heir to the Throne: He hasn't governed in quite the same manner as his far more populate predecessor, leading most into thinking that Amorim isn't as competent of a ruler as he seemed when he took power.

President

José Eduardo Sanches Osório

Role: President

Party: Acção Nacional Popular - Independentes^note National People's Action - Independents

Ideology: Civilian Dictatorship^note Despotism

A military man and President of Portugal since 1994, Sanches Osório has little care for party politics, having worked for his country with the same diligence that has allowed him to hold the post for two decades.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: In the Marcelista path, Osório's dynamic with the Prime Minister is similar to that of Américo Tomás and Marcello Caetano, with Osório being opposed to any form of political liberalization just like Tomás.
• Evil Reactionary: Osório becomes the main force against the Marcelista liberalizations should the Prime Minister try to bring democracy to Portugal.
• My Country, Right or Wrong: He is a patriot first and foremost, and his loyalty lies in Portugal rather than the ANP or the Prime Minister.
• Neutral No Longer: When the Marcelista Prime Minister tries to liberalize Portugal's political system, Osório will be alarmed by what he views as a perversion of national principles and work with reactionary forces within the ANP to obstruct the reforms as much as possible.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: With the exception of the Marcelista path, Osório works with every other Prime Minister regardless of their agenda and tries to stay out of party politics, being a surprisingly conciliatory figure when contrasted to other ANP politicians.
• War Hero: Osório fought in the South African War as a volunteer under the Iberian Union, being distinguished for his actions during the allied advance into German-occupied Angola.