Armed Forces Movement

But the alternative, the endless bloody colonial wars, was a price they were no longer willing to pay.

The growing discontent within the military found a formal name in 1973, the Movimento das Forças Armadas, or the MFA.

This organization was not a typical revolutionary cell with a clear, charismatic leader.

Instead, it was a decentralized network of junior and mid-level officers, many of them captains, who shared a common frustration with the colonial wars and the regime they were fighting for.

It was a revolution that proved that sometimes the quietest actions and the most determined minds can do more to change the world than all the noise and violence of a traditional war.

The quiet exile of the old leaders and the jubilant release of the prisoners were two sides of the same coin: a peaceful end and a hopeful beginning.

In the immediate aftermath of the Carnation Revolution, the Movimento das Forças Armadas, MFA, found itself in an extraordinary position.

The captains and majors who had quietly plotted in secret were now the heroes of the nation.