Rio Maior, 1975
An English-narrated audiovisual account of the events of 13 July and 25 November 1975 in Rio Maior.
“Statement by the People of Rio Maior”
Two days after 13 July, Santarém's civil governor and senior military officers travelled to Rio Maior to meet the Mayor and the farmers' representative. The people of the municipality drafted a statement in response to what they saw as a campaign of defamation by the nationalised press.
Rio Maior, 15 July 1975
“THE PEOPLE OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF RIO MAIOR, subjected to humiliating and insidious labels on radio, television and in the press for the legitimate position they adopted on matters of local interest, claim the right to have the truth of their struggle and feelings respected. They reject the charge that this is a ‘haven for secret police’ or a ‘backyard for local bosses’, and will not allow their thoughts or opinions to be unjustly described as reactionary. [...]
They therefore demand that their non-partisan actions be understood solely as an affirmation of independence and an urgent desire to see the seeds of confusion and division disappear from this free land and this country.
Beyond this formal and sincere rejection, let due recognition be given to the Armed and Militarised Forces, which sought to ensure that the events in Rio Maior possessed the clarity of honourable acts required by the dignity of the Portuguese people and the good of Portugal.”
English translation of an extract reproduced in O Caso Rio Maior, Meira Burguete (1978)
Four days later, RTP broadcast a prime-time statement acknowledging the farmers' account. On 13 August, one month after 13 July, the Socialist Party held a rally in Rio Maior in support of the farmers; CDS and PPD/PSD also visited. Hundreds of messages of solidarity arrived from across Portugal.
Poems from 1980
Five years after the events, two local poets preserved the memory of 13 July in verse. The poems appear below in English translation.
For You, Free Farmer...
The sun rises beyond the hills
Life giving life to a new day
Your feet follow the paths of the earth
And joyfully you earn your bread
Honourable is your life, farmer
Without you the golden wheat would not grow
It is the fruit of work and sweat
Of the hoe you wield each day
Shout it aloud: freedom
With all the strength within your breast
Here, in this stronghold of loyalty
Here, my friend, is Rio Maior
Santiago Pinto — July 1980
Hail 13 July!
Had it not been for Rio Maior, what then?
Our sorry fate would have been sealed
Closer and closer came the day
Of a new dictatorship in Portugal
With this noble, steadfast gesture
The homeland withstood the blow
And would not let the ignoble
Take command of the nation
Another 13 July will pass
A date that troubled many
Every Portuguese should remember
The day that saved us from further dispossession
Heitor Couto — July 1980
Further reading
Documents and publications recording the events of 1975 and the memory of 13 July, available to consult and download (in Portuguese).
Historical report · 2026
13 July and 25 November 1975 in Rio Maior
Chronology, protagonists and legacy, with testimonies by Joaquim Nazaré Gomes. Explore the thematic summary or download the original document.
Commemorative book · 2025
"50 Years of 13 July in Rio Maior"
Published by the Rio Maior farmers' association (APA) for the fiftieth anniversary of Free Farmer's Day. The main source for this site: testimonies, photographs, speeches and tributes.
Download the PDF →
Magazine · July 2010
Visão História no. 9 - "1975: The Hot Summer"
An issue of Visão História devoted to the Hot Summer of 1975 - "when Portugal stood on the brink of civil war": the divisions, the military coups, popular power. Scan of the cover and contents page.
Download the PDF →
Other references
"O Caso Rio Maior" by Meira Burguete (1978), the reference work on the events, quoted throughout the commemorative book.