tudent showed his ceuntry 1

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let them inside.

‘The military leadership .acquiesced by appointing the figurehead director so the workers could publish legale

‘ ly, although they had prepa— -.red to operate without him.

Only three journalists and one photographer remained on the paper. The workers' co- mmission hired about 15 new 'writers, mostly inekperienced. The Socialists immediately left the government, provok— ing a grave split in Portug- al's military leadership.

{Anti-communist officers soon

gained control and success- fully demanded the formation- of'a new government last September - dominated by the SoCialist Party.

"Owners Organize

Socialist Paper‘

Meanwhile,'Republica's owners quickly organized a new paper called "A Luta" (The Struggle), with finan— cial help from western Eur; 'opean social democratic part: ies. The parties were alarm— ed by events in Portugal as‘ related by the international press and their PS informants. The director of A Luta was one Raul Rego. '

Many distributing agents boycotted the workers~contro— lled Republica, especially outside Lisbon.

"The only way we could keep up circulation was by arranging direct distribution in factories through workers' commissions and through res- idents commissions," a Repu— blica journalist said.

With many fluctuations, the workers managed to main— tain a circulation of about

)30,000, similar to Rego's figure, she said.

‘And when Lisbon's state— owned newspapers were proh— ibited from publishing after November 25, until the gove—r rnment purged leftists from their staffs, Republica — 7 privately owned — sold 90,000 copies as the only paper on the streets critical of Por— tugal's authorities. When the state papers returned, Republica reSumed its 30,000 'circulation.

The workers also inheri— ted a debt of about $200.000, and the Socialistrdominated government refused the work— ers permission to borrow mo— ney from the nationalized ba— nks. Furthermore, their

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The

Swedish newsprint supplier refused further credits, de— manding payment of past de— bts. After negotiations, the company agreed to only a fragile arrangement.

After November 25 COPCON - and other regiments which

had intervened on the side

"of workers and poor people -

were dissolved.‘ "We know that if we tried to bring out the paper with—

out a director they'd stop H

it, one Republica worker said. "Now they've got the guns."

"It's very depressing that after all this long fight we are reduCed to a question of legalism," another said.

Fearing unemployment, and sensing the weakness of a badly-demoralized popular mo- vement, a majority of Republ—

, ica workers voted December 29

to ask back the old publish- ers, subject to guarantees against firings and infringe— ment on the workers' editor— ial statute. &

But Rego refuses to even meet the workers, preferring to play a waiting game with rules entirely stacked on his side. ‘

'Go'vernment Refuses

To Help REPUBLICA

"The government says it will help, but they know we are losing 200,000 escudos (about $4000) a day by not publishing. The publishers know if they wait long enough the workers willleave and look for other jobs. They can come back and start a new staff," another worker said. '

:The dispirited workers are

cadre, January 27, 1976, page 7

"Workers? REPUBLICA Fails When ~v Portugal-Takes swing To. Right

workers and poor poeple's struggles since last spring. It is unlikely Portugal's communications czars will assist the workers of Repu- blica much in their current position of weakness. As one Republica printer said, the events of November 25 "put us in Portugal right back where we started."

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split, with the older printers

along with mailers_and cler-' ical staff, voting to appro— ach the owners. /The younger printers were opposed.

At last_report Communic— ations Minister Almedia Santos, himself a Socialist leader, was trying to actr as a mediator. But the WC. rkers aren't optimistic.

‘ Santos, himself, has been organizing a massive purge of anti—government journal— ists from state—owned news— papers, radio and television stations since November 24. On December 28 the Catholic Church was handed back con— trol of its propaganda voi- ce, Radio Renescensa, which had been occupied by its wo— rkers and used to promote-

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