People
Norton de Matos
José Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos
- Born
- 23 March 1867, Ponte de Lima
- Died
- 2 January 1955, Ponte de Lima
A general of the First Republic, in 1949 he was the united opposition’s candidate for President of the Republic: he held rallies at A Voz do Operário and withdrew on the eve of the election. Like many in the opposition, he advocated a colonialist policy, which he set out in 1953 in “África Nossa” (Our Africa).
He was born in Ponte de Lima on 23 March 1867. A general and politician of the First Republic, he was governor-general of Angola and Minister for the Colonies, and from 1930 to 1935 grand master of the Grande Oriente Lusitano Unido (United Lusitanian Grand Orient).2
In July 1948 he came forward as a candidate in the presidential election of 13 February 1949, against Marshal Óscar Carmona. The programme called for the abolition of the political police and of censorship, an amnesty for political prisoners and freedom for political parties. But if the line was progressive at home, on the colonial front the position was “quite different”.1 The platform brought together republicans, Freemasons, socialists, communists and Catholics, among others. The campaign began in January 1949, with the candidate’s house under surveillance and supporters being arrested.1
In Lisbon, the campaign held rallies at A Voz do Operário. A photograph of 28 January 1949 shows him there with Isabel Aboim Inglez;4 others, from February, show Maria Lamas and Cesina Bermudes.1
The regime refused his minimum demands, such as freedom of propaganda and the scrutiny of the vote count, and Norton de Matos withdrew on the eve of the election.213 Like many republicans and opponents of the Estado Novo (“New State”), he advocated a colonialist policy. In 1953, in the book África Nossa (Our Africa), he wrote that Portugal had to “populate those lands, intensely and rapidly, with white Portuguese families” and to go on “assimilating the coloured inhabitants we find there”.2 He died in Ponte de Lima on 2 January 1955.2
From the archives
In other archives
These can only be viewed on each archive’s own website.
- Casa Comum – Fundação Mário Soares e Maria Barroso · Photograph · 28 January 1949Candidatura de Norton de Matos às eleições presidenciais, comício de Lisboa (Voz do Operário)A photograph of a rally for Norton de Matos’s candidacy at A Voz do Operário, from Manuel Mendes’s papers. Among those present, Casa Comum identifies Isabel Aboim Inglez, Norton de Matos, Carvalhão Duarte, Câmara Reys and Mário de Azevedo Gomes.Open in the archive
- Casa Comum – Fundação Mário Soares e Maria Barroso · Photograph · 10 February 1949Candidatura de Norton de Matos às eleições presidenciais, comício de Lisboa (Voz do Operário)A photograph of another rally for Norton de Matos’s candidacy at A Voz do Operário, also from Manuel Mendes’s papers. Among those present are Maria Lamas, Manuel João da Palma Carlos and Cesina Bermudes.Open in the archive
On the walks
Places
In the timeline
Dec 1943
The Movement of National Anti-Fascist Unity (MUNAF) is founded28 Jul 1946
The MUD Juvenil is formally constituted28 Jan 1949
Meeting of the Women’s Committee of Norton de Matos’s campaign28 Jan 1949
Norton de Matos rally at the Voz do Operário10 Feb 1949
Norton de Matos campaign rally at the Voz do Operário, with Maria Lamas and Cesina Bermudes12 Feb 1949
Norton de Matos withdraws from the presidential election14 Oct 1949
Arrest of Cesina Bermudes, a leader of the National Democratic Women’s Movement
They crossed paths with him
Cesina Bermudes
1908–2001
An obstetrician and pioneer of “painless childbirth” in Portugal. She campaigned for Norton de Matos in 1949, on the Central Committee of the National Democratic Women’s Movement, and for that she was imprisoned in Caxias and barred from teaching at the Faculty of Medicine.
Maria Lamas
1893–1983
A journalist and writer, she edited “Modas e Bordados” (Fashions and Embroidery), chaired the National Council of Portuguese Women until the regime closed it down in 1947, and responded with “As Mulheres do Meu País” (The Women of My Country). She was arrested several times and lived in exile in Paris.
Isabel Aboim Inglez
1902–1963
A teacher and feminist, the first woman on the Central Committee of the MUD, whom José Gomes Ferreira called “the Indomitable” (a Indomável). The regime closed her school, barred her from teaching and arrested her several times.
Manuela Porto
1908–1950
An actress, translator and reciter of poetry, she was vice-president of the National Council of Portuguese Women and, in 1947, spoke about Virginia Woolf at the Exhibition of Books Written by Women. Troubled by the exhibition, the regime closed the Council down that same year.
Mário Soares
1924–2017
General secretary of the PS, he returned from exile on 28 April 1974 and was greeted by a crowd at Santa Apolónia. In 1975 he took on the PCP in the República affair and at the Fonte Luminosa rally; in 1976 he headed the First Constitutional Government.
Angelina Vidal
1847–1917
A teacher, journalist and republican speaker, editor of “A Voz do Operário”, she defended women workers and equality between men and women. The monarchy denied her a widow’s pension; she died almost destitute in 1917, a day after it was granted.
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Notes on the sources1
- The day he withdrew: 12 February 1949, according to Wikipedia, or “three days before the election”, that is, 10 February, according to the Aljube Museum.
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Sources
- 1Eleições de 1949. Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade (EGEAC) — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 2José Norton de Matos. Wikipédia — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 3Eleições presidenciais portuguesas de 1949. Wikipédia — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 4Candidatura de Norton de Matos [...] comício de Lisboa (Voz do Operário) – fotografia (cota 04654.000.038). Casa Comum – Fundação Mário Soares e Maria Barroso — consulted on 2 October 2026