Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho

Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho was a Portuguese military officer who played a key role in the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the authoritarian regime of Estado Novo and initiated a democratic transition in Portugal. He also contributed to the end of the colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and other African territories under Portuguese rule. He was born in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique, in 1936, of Luso-Goan ancestry. He joined the Military Academy in Lisbon in 1955 and served in the colonial wars in Angola and Guinea-Bissau. He became disillusioned with the regime and joined the underground Movement of Armed Forces (MFA), which planned and executed the coup on 25 April 1974. He was the chief strategist and coordinator of the military operations, which were supported by the popular uprising of the people who placed red carnations in the barrels of the soldiers' guns. After the revolution, he assumed leadership roles in the first provisional governments and as the head of the military defense force COPCON. He was seen as a charismatic and radical figure of the MFA, and advocated for a socialist and participatory democracy. He ran for president in 1976 and 1980, but lost both times. He was also involved in the revolutionary process known as PREC (Ongoing Revolutionary Process), which faced opposition from the moderate and conservative sectors of the society and the military. He was arrested and demoted after the counter-coup of 25 November 1975, which restored the military discipline and hierarchy. He was released in 1978 and reinstated as a colonel. In 1984, he was arrested again and accused of being the leader of a terrorist group called FP-25, which carried out several bombings and assassinations. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but was pardoned in 1996 by President Mário Soares. He always denied his involvement in the terrorist activities, but admitted his sympathy for the group's political goals. He spent his later years in retirement, writing books and giving interviews. He died of heart failure in Lisbon on 25 July 2021, at the age of 84. He was buried with military honors at the Prazeres Cemetery. He is widely regarded as a hero of the Carnation Revolution and a symbol of the Portuguese democracy.