‘No, I didn’t mind leaving and abandoning everything. Fleeing meant a chance at a better future’.  Fernando Lameirinhas (1944) was born in the Portuguese city of Porto and at the age of fifteen, fled to Belgium and the Netherlands with his mother and brothers. His father had left the year before; his ‘leftist sympathies’ had put him at risk. Lameirinhas became a successful musician, but he never forgot his past. ‘For fifty years I’ve been writing songs about my escape from Portugal.’

Portugal under Salazar

He was called the ‘bookkeeper’: the reign of António de Oliveira Salazar was one of the longest in Europe. From 1932 to 1968 he was the prime minister of the so-called Estado Novo, the New State. His ideology was catholic and nationalist with fascist overtones, although he denied this. Censorship and a robust secret service suppressed the opposition, especially the communists. After his death, the country remained authoritarian, until in 1974 the army sided with the opposition, heralding the Carnation Revolution. The first free and fair elections in fifty years were held in 1975.