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Commemoration and Propaganda in Salazar's Portugal: The Mundo Português Exposition of 1940

Iberian Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University

José Carlos Pina Almeida

Manchester European Research Institute (MERI) at Manchester Metropolitan University

Salazar's Portugal is often represented as a colourless, pale imitation of the fascist dictatorships in other parts of Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. Yet, in its consolidation phase, the regime embraced the concept of the `festival state', and commemorative events and expositions became key ingredients in the attempt to forge a new, highly selective cultural identity for the Portuguese people. The centerpiece of these efforts was the Mundo Português Exposition of 1940, when the symbols of a new hybrid identity grafted the discourse of Empire onto the traditional conservatism of the New State (Estado Novo). This major cultural event served a triple function for the regime's propagandists: in their quest for regime legitimacy, for propagating Salazar's nationalist version of the nation's history, and in shaping the national consciousness of the Portuguese people in order to eliminate the `anti-national'.

Key Words: commemoration • empire • exposition • Portugal • propaganda

Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 44, No. 3, 381-399 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0022009409104115


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