ER
Eduardo Ricou
Producer
TV SERIES
Antes da PIDE
DocumentaryCrimeDramaWar & Politics
On 28 May 1926, a military coup led by Gomes da Costa established a dictatorship in Portugal that lasted 48 years. The same year saw the creation of the country's first political police, the forerunner of the infamous PIDE. Although renamed several times, the institution maintained the same headquarters, leadership, and mission: protecting the authoritarian regime through surveillance and repression. Before PIDE explores the origins of Portugal's political police between 1926 and 1945, examining its role in consolidating the Military Dictatorship and the Estado Novo. The series investigates the rise of key figures such as Agostinho Lourenço, the suppression of opposition movements, and the development of the repressive apparatus that shaped modern Portuguese history.
Top cast
FW
Frederico Wiborg
Producer
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Episodes
9 Episodes
011. O Arquiteto da PIDE
The first episode follows the life of Agostinho Lourenço, director of the Portuguese International Police (1931), first head of the PVDE (1933), and later the PIDE (1945). Known as Salazar's "black angel," he led Portugal's intelligence and political repression apparatus for 25 years, relying on surveillance, informants, and torture. Despite his influence, he remains largely unknown to the Portuguese public. The episode traces the search for his personal archive and examines the origins of his political power, from his military training at Tancos Military Camp and service in World War I to the evolution of Portugal's political police. It also explores the historical causes of the military coup of 28 May 1926, which established the dictatorship.
022. A Polícia de Informações: A Primeira da Ditadura
This episode examines the events following the establishment of Portugal's Military Dictatorship in 1926 and the creation of its first political police force, the Polícia de Informações de Lisboa. It presents newly uncovered documents and traces the career of its first director, Brás Vieira. The episode also tells the story of the dictatorship's first political deportees, exiled to Timor-Leste, including Manuel Viegas Carrascalão, whose family would become central to Timorese history. It further explores the police response to the failed republican uprisings in Porto and Lisbon in February 1927, and the persecution of future regime figures such as António Ferro and Henrique Galvão after the failed "Golpe dos Fifis".
033. Salazar Contra as Polícias
Could Oliveira Salazar himself have been a target of the political police? This episode explores the internal power struggle that followed the 1928 election of Óscar Carmona. Concerned by ongoing conspiracies, the government invited French intelligence officer George Guyomard to assess Portugal's security forces. His report concluded that the country had a dictatorship but no true dictator, with power divided among military factions. As Salazar rose to power, a fierce struggle emerged between his supporters and those loyal to Vicente de Freitas. Newly uncovered documents reveal that Salazar himself came under political police surveillance. The episode also examines the use of paid informants to suppress military resistance and the largest student strike of the dictatorship.
044. O Fim da Polícia de Informações
Within four years, Portugal's first political police evolved from a small military force into a feared instrument of repression. Backed by the GNR and PSP, it arrested, tortured, and deported thousands without trial, creating the climate of fear later maintained by the PVDE and PIDE. Amid the economic crisis of the Great Depression, the regime violently crushed revolts, including the 1931 uprising in Madeira. Political prisoners were deported to camps in Cape Verde and Timor-Leste, including the first camp near Tarrafal on São Nicolau Island. The episode also examines the unexpected dissolution of the Political Information Police in July 1931 and asks why the dictatorship dismantled such a vital instrument of repression.
055. Safanões a Tempo
Following the dissolution of the Political Information Police in 1931, Portugal's Military Dictatorship reorganized the Polícia Internacional Portuguesa under the leadership of Agostinho Lourenço. With no political police in place, the regime was caught off guard by the violent uprising of 26 August 1931, led by Utra Machado and aviator Sarmento de Beires. The revolt prompted the creation of a new secret police, resulting in overlapping security forces until 1932. As Oliveira Salazar consolidated power, political policing became central to the emerging Estado Novo. The episode concludes with the creation of the PVDE and the question of who would command the regime's most powerful instrument of repression.
066. Nesta Casa o Coração Fica à Porta!
The episode opens with an investigation into a mysterious 1931 photograph showing Agostinho Lourenço beside prominent Freemason Ramon Nonato La Féria, raising questions about whether the future head of Portugal's political police had Masonic ties. It explores the apparent contradiction between this possibility and his leadership of the PVDE, which persecuted Freemasons after 1935. The episode follows the creation of the PVDE in 1933, as Oliveira Salazar merged rival security forces to strengthen the new Estado Novo. It also recounts the PVDE's first nationwide crackdown on political opponents and examines why celebrated aviator Sarmento de Beires became one of the regime's most wanted enemies.
077. Os Caça-Comunistas
November 1933 marked a turning point for the Estado Novo and its new political police, the PVDE. As Oliveira Salazar consolidated power under the new constitution and António Ferro promoted the regime, the PVDE launched mass arrests of political opponents. The episode examines the alliance between anarcho-syndicalists and communists leading to the revolutionary strike of 18 January 1934, the last major attempt to overthrow Salazar's government. It also explores how the Portuguese Communist Party built its clandestine network and how the political police infiltrated it. Finally, it investigates why inspectors Fernando Gouveia and José Gonçalves became infamous as the regime's feared "communist hunters."
088. O Triunfo da PVDE
After Oliveira Salazar introduced the National Labour Statute in 1933, independent trade unions and strikes were outlawed under the new corporatist system. In response, anarcho-syndicalists and communists united in a revolutionary general strike on 18 January 1934, aiming to overthrow the regime. The uprising briefly succeeded in Marinha Grande before being crushed by the PVDE. Nearly 700 people were arrested, and the episode investigates evidence of torture, including the death of communist activist Mário Vieira Tomé in custody and the mutilation of anarchist Jaime Rebelo. It also explores the rise of fascist leader Rolão Preto, whose movement unexpectedly challenged Salazar from the far right.
099. Ídolos e Vilões, Intrigas e Escândalos. A PVDE Antes da PIDE
The final episode follows António Roquete, Portugal's first football star, who abandoned the sport to become an agent of the PVDE. Under Agostinho Lourenço, the PVDE dismantled Freemasonry, crushed the National Syndicalist movement of Rolão Preto, suppressed the anarchist movement, and arrested the leadership of the Portuguese Communist Party, including Bento Gonçalves. The victory of Spain's Popular Front in 1936 and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War reignited hopes for resistance. As Portuguese political police focused on events across the border, a small group of opponents planned the most serious assassination attempt against Oliveira Salazar, threatening the future of the dictatorship.