People
Alfredo Assunção
Alfredo Correia Assunção
A lieutenant in Salgueiro Maia’s column, he was assaulted on Rua do Arsenal by Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis while trying to negotiate — and responded with a salute. In the afternoon, he brought Spínola’s emissaries to the Carmo.
A lieutenant at the Cavalry Practical School in Santarém, he commanded, with Captains Salgueiro Maia and Mário Tavares de Almeida and Lieutenant Rui Santos Silva, the force of about 220 soldiers that occupied the Terreiro do Paço in the early hours of 25 April 1974.3 That morning, the second-in-command of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Ferrand de Almeida, surrendered to Salgueiro Maia and to him.5
On Rua do Arsenal, with Lieutenant Santos Silva and Sergeant Nunes, he tried to negotiate with Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis, who commanded the regime’s forces. The brigadier gave the order to fire, but no one fired; exasperated, he punched him three times. Assunção did not hit back: he saluted him and withdrew.125 The 25 April Association recalls that he stood out for staying calm, even after being assaulted.4
In the afternoon, in Largo do Carmo, Salgueiro Maia had ordered an armoured car into firing position and had begun the countdown to fire on the barracks where Marcelo Caetano was when Assunção presented him with two civilians carrying a message from General António de Spínola: Pedro Feytor Pinto and Nuno Távora. Maia let them in.12 When they came out, it was Assunção who took them to the general’s house in a Cavalry Practical School jeep.25
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They crossed paths with him
Salgueiro Maia
1944–1992
A 29-year-old captain, he commanded the Cavalry Practical School column that occupied the Terreiro do Paço, faced down the regime’s forces without firing a shot and besieged the Carmo Barracks until he obtained Marcelo Caetano’s surrender.
António de Spínola
1910–1996
A general and author of “Portugal e o Futuro” (Portugal and the Future), he received Marcelo Caetano’s surrender at the Carmo Barracks, presided over the National Salvation Junta and was President of the Republic until he resigned, on 30 September 1974. On 11 March 1975 he fled to Spain.
Junqueira dos Reis
A brigadier called in to command the forces loyal to the regime on 25 April 1974, he gave orders to open fire at the Ribeira das Naus and on Rua do Arsenal, and his own men disobeyed.
Marcelo Caetano
1906–1980
The last head of government of the Estado Novo, he took refuge in the Carmo Barracks in the early hours of 25 April 1974 and, besieged, handed power over to General Spínola. The next day he was taken to Madeira.
Fernando Sottomayor
An officer of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Ribeira das Naus on 25 April 1974 he refused Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis’s order to fire on Salgueiro Maia, and was placed under arrest for it.
João Arruda
1954–1974
A 20-year-old student from the Azores at the Lisbon Faculty of Letters, he was hit in the head by DGS gunfire at around 20:30 on 25 April 1974 and died at São José Hospital at 00:30 on 26 April.
Notes on the sources1
- The dates of birth and death of Alfredo Correia Assunção.
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Sources
- 1Operação Viragem Histórica. Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 2Movimentações do dia 25 de Abril. Associação 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 3Terreiro do Paço (Lugares de Abril). Associação 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 4Rua do Arsenal (Lugares de Abril). Associação 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 5Cronologia do 25 de Abril, por Jofre Alves (blogue Abril de Novo, 2010), na Biblioteca Digital do CD25A. Centro de Documentação 25 de Abril – Universidade de Coimbra — consulted on 2 October 2026