DailyRadical

The 18th January 1934 - the aborted general strike - was the "final stand" of independent class-oriented, anarchist-inspired syndicalism in Portugal.

The government decree that sparked off the 18th January general strike implied that all the independent unions (those that were not government creations) would lose their recognition as workers' associations, becoming in practice legally extinct, as they were forbidden to bargain and to represent the workers of their respective professional branch.

The causes of the failures are the theme of some discussions and polemics, with some anarchists accusing the communist party of a plot to act in a separate way and give signals that alerted the political police, causing some worker leaders such as Mário Castelhano and many others to be framed on the eve of the scheduled day for the strike.

Whatever the reasons for the failure, the fact is that this general strike would not have had the strength to overthrow a consolidated regime, as the military and other repressive forces were all on the side of the government and many (bourgeois) political opposition figures were in prison, exile, or under strict surveillance.

To read more go HERE