Portugal Today
- Program
- Portugal Today
- Producing Organization
- National Educational Television and Radio Center
- Der Bayerische Rundfunk
- Contributing Organization
- Library of Congress (Washington, District of Columbia)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/512-f18sb3xs4z
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- Description
- Episode Description
- Half-hour program prodiced on videotape.
- Episode Description
- An old proverb about the four provinces that comprise the small European country of Portugal goes: Coimbra studies Braga pays Porto is working And Lisbon has a good time. In looking at the everyday life of the people of Portugal, this documentary focuses on the emerging middle class in the metropolitan city of Lisbon; the poorer regions in the northeast and the rural sections where farmers live meagerly; the restless college campuses where students have demonstrated in protest of government bans on student assembly imposed by Dr. Antonio de Oliverra Salazar, Portugals ruler for the past thirty years; the effects of a neutrality between the Salazar regime and the Catholic Church; and on Salazar himself. Highlighting PORTUGAL TODAY are separate interviews with a college boy who was among one of 1,500 students arrested in a recent protest against the government ban; another representative opposed to the dictatorship; and a young Catholic priest who speaks about the Church-State relationship. For the most part, PORTUGAL TODAY points out that much of the country has remained unchanged. The rise of the middle class in the city of Lisbon is exemplified by Miguel de Arajo, 32, a single magazine editor who earns about $200 a month; and pretty Elena Pereira, a surgical nurse at a military hospital in Lisbon, who, like many others in the city, views life in a blas and sophisticated manner. And while the middle class enjoys the luxuries of their standard of living, PORTUGAL TODAY shows a contrasting picture of fishermen who derive a sparse income in coastal fishing often living off a few handfuls of sardines a day; and farmers who toil by hand, planting rice and cutting corn in the same way as their ancestors before them. PORTUGAL TODAY notes that while young officials of the Cultural Ministry are fighting for agrarian reforms such as land redistribution, essentially the ancient methods of agricultural still prevail. Unrest in Portugal boiled to the surface in a recent student protest at Lisbon University. Describing the purpose of the outburst, a student who arrested and later released says, The government simply does not want us to gather in groups We are not allowed to form an assembly. This would be too democratic they think. All we are really trying to do is form a student government just as other universities have. Contrary to government fears that the student demonstrations are inspired by Communists, he adds, We have firmly decided to keep politics out of our present crisis. We are dealing with student problems, not with politics, and the only thing that interests us is to get the majority of the students to participate in solving these problems. Still another spokesman, who is opposed to the government, says, I dont think everyone will agree that wherever there is opposition, it is made up only of Communists. There is no reason why it shouldnt consist of both Communists and Democratic groups. I believe the Democratic opposition has more followers The fact that I have to turn my back to the camera proves this point. Open opposition is out of the question If I were a Communist I would be quite happy about the present state of affairs. The Democrats dont know how to organize effectively. Our living conditions are desperate and everyone knows that the Communists take advantage of such a situation. PORTUGAL TODAY also takes a look at the man who has the strong hold of rule upon the people. Dr. Salzaar governs his country from a leather chair. He uses no desk. His work habits reflect his college years as a student and teacher. Behind the shy, gentle manner, the programs narrator notes, he maintains order with secret police. Now 73 years old, Dr. Salazar has yet to name a successor. Portugals foreign policies are viewed as being as isolationist as the dictator himself. And in his dealings with the dictator permits no interference with is political decisions not even from the dominant Catholic Church. Although there is a long standing treaty between the two, many priests do not advocate the neutrality. A young Catholic priest, who discusses the miseries and the de-christianizing of the population, says, I can see little hope for the future. Public opinion, especially among the workers, has turned against the Church Many people who are against the government are also against the church they are anti-clerical And we in Portugal are facing a time of martyrdom and persecution. We young priests are very concerned with the future of our Church. We live in a state of disorder. They have betrayed the evangelical tradition and they are upsetting the divine order. PORTUGAL TODAY: a production of Beyerische Rundfunk, adapted for broadcast in the United States by National Educational Television. (Description adapted from documents in the NET Microfiche)
- Broadcast Date
- 1964-11-09
- Asset type
- Program
- Genres
- Documentary
- Media type
- Moving Image
- Credits
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Narrator: Fleming, James
Producing Organization: National Educational Television and Radio Center
Producing Organization: Der Bayerische Rundfunk
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
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Library of Congress
Identifier: 2048550-1 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 2 inch videotape: Quad
Generation: Master
Color: B&W
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Library of Congress
Identifier: 2048550-2 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: 1 inch videotape: SMPTE Type C
Generation: Master
Color: B&W
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Library of Congress
Identifier: 2048550-3 (MAVIS Item ID)
Format: U-matic
Generation: Copy: Access
Color: B&W
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2048550-4 (MAVIS Item ID)
Generation: Master
-
Library of Congress
Identifier: 2048550-5 (MAVIS Item ID)
Generation: Copy: Access
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Portugal Today,” 1964-11-09, Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed July 4, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-f18sb3xs4z.
- MLA: “Portugal Today.” 1964-11-09. Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. July 4, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-f18sb3xs4z>.
- APA: Portugal Today. Boston, MA: Library of Congress, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-512-f18sb3xs4z