Retreat by Lisbon's ghost

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CHICE TAIN TANK - IRA! MARI MARTIAL LAW IRA END The headless monster of the Portuguese ruling class received a nasty fright last week when its efforts to seize land from peasants. in the south and hand it back to the farm owners met with armed resistance.

Several. physical confrontations between peasants and IN state authorities was enough to force the near-phantom government of former fascist official Nobre da Costa to retreat.

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London demostration against martial It announced suddenly that no further attempts would be made for now to implement the so-called "Land Reform" Act.

This Act was passed behalf of the landed proprietors by the Socialist Party government of Mario Soares, which left office four months ago.

It empowers the state to seize back land which was tiberated by its tillers in 1974 and 1975 Last week's dramatic retreat will be a sharp reminder to the Portuguese capitalists and their imperialist backers that they remain without a government.

The Nobre da Costa regime has been in office for nearly three months without any mandate from anyone except one man-military President Eanes.

In fact the government has been explicitly rejected by a parliamentary majority.

While Eanes looks for a new government formula the government remains in office thanks only to the support of the leaders of the Socialist and Communist parties.

Soares and CP leader Alvaro Cunhal have remained shamefully silent as the gains of 1974 and 1975 have been further cut away.

The CP has finally been forced by opinion in its rank and file to call on the Socialists to form a coalition of the parliamentary workers' parties.

But they do this only now they are safe in the knowledge that the Socialist leaders will reject the call.

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