Chapter 419: The Second Portuguese Civil War

The sudden outbreak of civil unrest in Portugal was something the various European nations had not expected, and what surprised these nations even more was that the internal strife in Portugal quickly involved two major powers.

At the end of June 1904, after the Iberian Party denounced the Republican Party for its inaction and for internal struggles causing a long-term decline in Portugal's economy, the Republican Party quickly launched a counterattack against the Iberian Party.

The leader of the Republican Party, who is also the current President of Portugal, Cristino Santos, publicly expressed his opposition to the Iberian Party, stating that the data listed by the Iberian Party was nonsense and that their actions in inciting the public to resist the Portuguese Republican government were the true cause of the civil unrest.

The Iberian Party are the sinners of Portugal; on the surface, they want to unite Portugal and Spain, but in reality, they have become the lackeys of the Spanish, and their true goal is to have Portugal annexed by Spain.

It must be admitted that the Republican Party's strategy was wise. They knew they could not refute the data provided by the Iberian Party because this data was true; the economic and industrial situation in Portugal over the past few years had indeed been in constant decline.

But if they admitted that the data provided by the Iberian Party was true, it would be equivalent to confirming their own crimes. After all, it has been the Republican Party ruling Portugal these past few years, and it is the Republican Party that has caused Portugal to fall into a long-term decline.

Since they could not refute the Iberian Party in this regard, they could only use a diversionary tactic in other areas, shifting the public's focus away from the fact that the Portuguese economy and industry under Republican rule were in constant decline, and placing it on a concern shared by many Portuguese citizens: whether a union between Portugal and Spain would lead to a situation of being annexed by Spain.

This point indeed struck at the Achilles' heel of the Iberian Party, and this is precisely the weakest point of Pan-Iberianist ideology.

A union of two countries can indeed create a more powerful nation, but if the strengths of the two countries being united are not on the same level, whether it is a union or an annexation is not so easy to distinguish.

The Iberian Party knew that this was a question they could not clarify, because they could not represent the attitude of the Spanish side.

It was also impossible for the Spanish government to jump out and guarantee to the Portuguese that if Portugal and Spain united, it would be absolutely impossible for Spain to annex Portugal.

If the Spanish government were to jump out on its own initiative, it would instead feel like "there is no silver buried here." Regardless of the Spanish government's attitude, they could only silently observe the quarrel breaking out in Portugal at this time.

In order to destroy the Republican Party's ruling position in Portugal, the Iberian Party dealt the Republican Party a heavy blow: they listed in detail the achievements of all Republican presidents in Portugal over the past 12 years and compared them with the deposed former King Carlos I.

In the propaganda of the Republican Party's media outlets, the Portuguese public viewed the deposed King Carlos I as a muddle-headed and incompetent monarch, believing that it was his incompetence that led to the collapse of the Portuguese economy, ultimately triggering the republican uprising that overthrew the kingdom's government.

But when the actions of so many presidents were compared with the actions of the deposed King Carlos I, the public was surprised to find that their conduct seemed no different.

The income of the public had not changed at all with the arrival of the Republican government; they still had a great mountain pressing down on their heads, only this mountain had changed its name.

Previously, it was the nobility and the church exploiting the commoners; now it had become the bureaucrats of the Republican Party exploiting the commoners. Large landowners and the church had not completely disappeared in Portugal either, and their exploitation of the commoners had not stopped at all.

Seen in this light, the Republican presidents seemed no different from the previous king. Except for the fact that they had changed their names, they were equally incompetent and unable to stop Portugal's continued decline.

This comparison did not cause any actual damage to the Republican Party, but it made the Portuguese public understand a fact: the Republican government they had longed for could not change Portugal, and the Republican Party was definitely not the savior of Portugal.

Since the Republican Party could not save Portugal, was there any need to let the Republican Party continue to hold onto Portugal's political power? The public's trust in the ruling party was shaken, which also gave hope to other opposition parties, including the Iberian Party.

During the previous war of public opinion between the Republican Party and the Iberian Party, other opposition parties did not help either the Republican Party or the Iberian Party.

But when they keenly sensed that the Republican Party had lost the support of the public, these opposition parties, large and small, quickly jumped out, constantly publishing their own ideas in the news to attract the support of those citizens who held the same views.

The Iberian Party was naturally among them. Although they had support from Spain, to gain power in Portugal, they still needed the necessary popular base.

Only by gaining a popular base could the Iberian Party, like the original Republican Party, find a suitable opportunity to seize power in Portugal through an armed uprising.

These opposition parties saw the crisis of the Republican Party, and the Republican Party could naturally perceive its own dire situation.

The Republican Party itself was a party that seized power through an armed uprising, so they certainly knew how fatal the loss of public support was to them.

To prevent these opposition parties from imitating their own path to power, the Republican Party quickly mobilized Portugal's military forces and decided to deal the most brutal blow to the culprit behind this situation: the Iberian Party.

On July 3, 1904, a Republican member of parliament in Portugal submitted a proposal to the parliament. This proposal detailed the suspicion that the Iberian Party was inciting civil unrest in Portugal and colluding with foreign anti-Republican forces, and it demanded that the parliament declare the Iberian Party illegal and arrest the senior members of the Iberian Party.

This proposal caused an uproar within the parliament, as opposition parties of all sizes also controlled a portion of the seats in the Portuguese parliament.

But it was clear that as the ruling party of Portugal, the Republican Party held the largest number of seats and possessed a huge advantage, which was also the reason they were able to control the Portuguese presidential seat.

These opposition parties understood the principle that "when the lips are gone, the teeth are cold," but they could not veto the proposal put forward by the Republican member.

Soon, the proposal was passed with 114 votes in favor, 46 against, and 12 abstentions. The current President of Portugal, Cristino Santos, also publicly announced the results of the parliamentary vote a few hours later and signed a presidential decree declaring the Iberian Party illegal and deciding to arrest all senior members of the Iberian Party.

The Republican Party's behavior of flipping the table when they could not win made many opposition parties feel contempt, and it also made them worry about their own situation.

It was clear that the Republican Party was the sole dominant force in parliament. If the Republican Party did not like them, they could similarly vote to declare their parties illegal and then arrest them, the senior members of the opposition parties.

This was fatal for these opposition parties; it meant that their lives were held in the hands of the Republican Party and could be cut off at any moment.

Some small opposition parties chose to compromise; even if they were dissatisfied, they had no ability to oppose. These small opposition parties only held a few parliamentary seats, and the number of Portuguese citizens supporting them was not enough to launch a large-scale armed uprising.

Since they could not oppose the Republican Party through either civil or military means, it was better to accept their fate and pray that the Republican Party would not deal with them cruelly.