An attempt at military insubordination dominated the front page of Diário de Notícias. “Several officers who had rebelled in the 5th Infantry Regiment in Caldas da Rainha and who had taken the direction of Lisbon surrendered without resistance”, read the headline of DN, 50 years ago.
The day before, Lisbon had dawned surrounded by GNR troops and soldiers guarding the city’s main entrances. Strangely, for the people who knew nothing about what was going on in the Armed Forces, many foreign journalists were already in the Portuguese capital. “The country woke up yesterday to the wave of the most inconsistent and alarming rumors”, could be read on the first page. “A part of the population of the capital was surprised, early in the morning, by a certain movement of troops and GNR personnel who, in harmony with the devices taken, occupied strategic points at the gates of Lisbon”. Even with Marcello Caetano in the chair of power, it was about something “unusual” and “serious”.
The secretary of state for information published a statement on the front page of the newspaper. “In the early hours of Friday to Saturday, some officers on duty in Infantry Regiment nº 5, stationed in Caldas da Rainha, led by others who had joined them, became insubordinate, arresting the commander, the 2nd commander and three majors, then carrying out a self-transport company left, which took the direction of Lisbon”, can be read in the statement. “To intercept the march of the column coming from Caldas, forces from Artillery 1, Cavalry 7 and the GNR were immediately placed at the entrance to Lisbon”
Upon arrival in the capital, the movement surrendered. “(…) realizing that there was no support in the city, the rebel column reversed course and returned to the Caldas da Rainha barracks (…)”.
DN continues in its account of the events at the time: “That something was in the air is attested, beyond the wave of scattered rumors from north to south of the country, the presence in Lisbon of numerous foreign Press and Television elements, eager to to record what would disrupt the normal rhythm of our collective life”. The Government highlighted: “Order reigns throughout the country”.
