Abstract

This paper discusses the importance of Corporatism in the definition of the political system of the Portuguese authoritarian regime in the period between 1933 and 1974. The analysis follows a dual approach: on the one hand, it focuses on the corporate model that was established by the Constitution of 1933 and how this addressed the issues of sovereignty and political organisation (particularly the relationship between the executive and legislative branches). On the other hand, it examines whether there were changes to the solutions prescribed by the constitutional principles of 1933 during this regime, in the period up until 1974. The aim of this paper is to assess the relationships that existed between the corporate and the political organisation through gaining an understanding these in terms of laws and institutions (government and political chambers) during the time of the dictatorships of Salazar and Caetano; and finally to consider whether these were coincidental or independent from each other.