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Women of the resistance

Clarisse Guerra

At around 14:30 on 25 April 1974 she read, on Rádio Clube Português, the MFA communiqué announcing the objectives taken and the siege of Marcelo Caetano in the Carmo Barracks — a communiqué “now read by a woman”.

Revolutionannouncer of the MFA’s 14:30 communiqué (25 April 1974)
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Biography

In the early hours of 25 April 1974, Rádio Clube Português became the voice of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA): at 04:26, Joaquim Furtado read the first communiqué there.2 At around 14:30, the station broadcast another, read by Clarisse Guerra, a programme and continuity announcer at Rádio Clube.4 It reported the objectives already taken and the siege of Marcelo Caetano and members of the government in the Carmo Barracks.13 The recording, held by the RTP Archive, describes it as a communiqué on the control of the political and military situation.5

While the communiqué was on the radio, Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, from the Command Post, was pressing Salgueiro Maia to force Caetano’s surrender. The Commemorative Commission for the 50th Anniversary of 25 April stresses that this communiqué was “now read by a woman”.2

Notes on the sources1
  • Clarisse Guerra’s dates of birth and death and the rest of her career: Rogério Santos (Catholic University) confirms that she was a programme and continuity announcer at Rádio Clube Português and cites an interview with her in the RTP Archive (AHD 14915, 1993), which has not been listened to.

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Sources5
  1. 1Movimentações do dia 25 de Abril. Associação 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
  2. 2Operação Viragem Histórica. Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
  3. 3Cronologia 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
  4. 4Rogério Santos, História da rádio em Portugal: dos pioneiros à rádio nova (1924-1974). Universidade Católica Portuguesa (repositório) — consulted on 4 October 2026«Clarisse Guerra, locutora de programas e de continuidade em Rádio Clube Português, leu um comunicado do Movimento das Forças Armadas em 25 de abril de 1974» (entrevista no Arquivo da RTP, AHD 14915, 1993).
  5. 5Comunicado do M.F.A. (25 de abril de 1974). RTP Arquivos — consulted on 4 October 2026Comunicado do MFA «sobre o domínio da situação política e militar», lido pela locutora Clarisse Guerra aos microfones do Rádio Clube Português.

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