earning for the period

[ˈpɪərɪəd]

accounting period отчетный период accounting period период бухгалтерской отчетности accounting period расчетный период accounting period учетный период accounting period финансовый год accrual period период накопления (средств) additional maturity period пролонгированный срок долгового обязательства amortization period срок погашения долга в рассрочку average collection period средний срок взыскания долгов balancing period период сальдирования basic rental period основной срок аренды billing period расчетный период billing period расчетный срок budget period бюджетный период busy period период занятости carry-back period период покрытия убытков компании за счет прибыли за прошлое время circulation period период обращения construction period период строительства contract period срок действия контракта cooling period период охлаждения cooling-off period период обдумывания и переговоров credit period срок кредита deflationary period дефляционный период delay period период задержки delay period период запаздывания delivery period срок доставки earning period период пребывания на оплачиваемой работе election period период выборов electoral period период выборов elimination period период ликвидации exemption period период освобождения от налога extension period продленный срок financial period финансовый период fiscal period период налогообложения forbearance period период воздержания от действия forbearance period период отказа от применения принудительных мер forecasting period период прогнозирования forecasting period прогнозируемый период period время, эпоха; our own period наша эпоха, наше время; the girl of the period тип современной девушки given period данный период given period установленный срок grace period льготный период grace period льготный срок grace period период отсрочки guarantee period гарантийный срок holiday period отпускной период idle period нерабочий период idle period перерыв в работе idle period период бездействия idle period простой inactive period неэффективный период income period период получения дохода indemnity period гарантийный период indemnity period период компенсации убытков indemnity period срок возмещения вреда, ущерба, убытков inquiry period срок расследования insurance period срок страхования interest-paying period период начисления процентов intervening period наступающий период intervention period интервенционный период lean period неурожайное время legal storage period установленный законом период хранения legislative period законодательный период licensing period срок лицензирования loan period срок погашения ссуды lock-up period срок действия глобальных обязательств lock-up period бирж. срок запрета продажи maturity period период, когда наступает срок платежа mustering period период освидетельствования period время, эпоха; our own period наша эпоха, наше время; the girl of the period тип современной девушки part period неполный период pay period период платежа pay-back period срок возврата денег payback period период окупаемости капиталовложений payment period срок платежа payoff period период окупаемости payout period срок выплаты peak period период максимального товарооборота peak period период максимальной нагрузки period время, эпоха; our own period наша эпоха, наше время; the girl of the period тип современной девушки period время period круг, цикл period pl менструация period относящийся к определенному периоду (о мебели, платье и т. п.) period пауза в конце периода; точка; to put a period (to smth.) поставить точку; положить конец (чему-л.) period период, промежуток времени period мат., астр., геол. период period грам. период, большое сложное законченное предложение period период; промежуток времени; period of years определенный период времени period период period промежуток времени period pl риторическая речь period риторическая речь period срок period стадия period for lodging appeal срок обжалования апелляции period of a partnership период сотрудничества period of acquisition период приобретения period of adversity неблагоприятный период period of adversity период пассивного баланса period of assessment период оценки в целях налогообложения period of cancellation срок окончательной оплаты period of cancellation срок погашения period of comparison период сравнения period of contribution срок взноса period of cover период страхования period of crisis период кризиса period of employment период занятости period of employment период работы (на рабочем месте) period of gestation период беременности period of grace льготный срок period of high cost of living период высокого прожиточного минимума period of high interest rates период высоких ставок процента period of hire срок проката period of indemnification срок возмещения убытка period of indemnification срок компенсации period of indemnity срок возмещения убытка period of indemnity срок компенсации period of insurance период действия договора страхования period of intervention период валютной интервенции period of irremovability период несмещения с должности period of limitation срок исковой давности period of loan срок кредитования period of nonterminability период несмещения с должности period of notice срок извещения period of notice срок оповещения period of notice срок уведомления period of notice of termination of contract срок уведомления о расторжении контракта period of notification срок уведомления period of operation период эксплуатации period of operation рабочий период period of payment срок платежа period of production время производства period of prosperity период процветания period of quiet период застоя period of recession период спада period of reference срок передачи на рассмотрение period of repayment срок выплаты period of repayment срок погашения period of report отчетный период period of report период отсрочки платежа за купленные акции на Лондонской фондовой бирже period of residence срок проживания period of scarcity период дефицита period of service продолжительность работы period of slack growth период медленного роста period of storage период хранения period of taxation период налогообложения period of time период времени period of transition переходный период period of use продолжительность использования period of validity срок действия period of vigorous growth период интенсивного роста period период; промежуток времени; period of years определенный период времени period of zero growth период нулевого роста period to maturity срок платежа period to maturity срок погашения policy period период ограниченной ответственности фирмы за дефекты policy period срок действия страхового полиса policy period срок страхования post-war period послевоенный период practice period практика, период практики (в учебной программе) preceding period предшествующий период preliminary period предварительный период premium period срок уплаты страхового взноса probation period испытательный срок (период обучения или работы) probationary period испытательный срок period пауза в конце периода; точка; to put a period (to smth.) поставить точку; положить конец (чему-л.) qualifying period испытательный срок quiet period период регистрации займа в Комиссии по ценным бумагам и биржам в США recession period период спада redemption period период возвращения долга redemption period период выкупа redemption period период погашения reference period базовый период reference period отчетный период relevant period соответствующий период remaining period оставшийся срок renewal period период восстановления repayment period срок выплаты repayment period срок погашения reporting period отчетный период rollover period период очередной фиксации плавающей ставки по кредиту run-in period период обкатки run-in period период приработки rush period период наибольшей нагрузки settlement period платежный период settling period расчетный период shakedown period вчт. период освоения shipping period навигационный период slack period период затишья slack period спад в промышленности specified period установленный период steady period период стабильности subscription period период подписки tax period период налогообложения taxation period период налогообложения transition period переходный период transition: period attr. переходный; transition period переходный период; transition curve мат. переходная кривая; transition stage переходная стадия transitional period переходный период transitional period промежуточный период trial period испытательный срок trial period срок испытания trial: period attr. пробный, испытательный; trial period испытательный срок unemployment period период безработицы useful life period период нормальной эксплуатации validity period срок юридического действия waiting period время ожидания waiting period период ожидания (до наступления права на пособие и т. д.) waiting period период отсрочки ответственности страховщика waiting period срок ожидания weak period период затишья weak period спад производства winding up period ликвидационный период

   Before Romans described western Iberia or Hispania as "Lusitania," ancient Iberians inhabited the land. Phoenician and Greek trading settlements grew up in the Tagus estuary area and nearby coasts. Beginning around 202 BCE, Romans invaded what is today southern Portugal. With Rome's defeat of Carthage, Romans proceeded to conquer and rule the western region north of the Tagus, which they named Roman "Lusitania." In the fourth century CE, as Rome's rule weakened, the area experienced yet another invasion—Germanic tribes, principally the Suevi, who eventually were Christianized. During the sixth century CE, the Suevi kingdom was superseded by yet another Germanic tribe—the Christian Visigoths.

   A major turning point in Portugal's history came in 711, as Muslim armies from North Africa, consisting of both Arab and Berber elements, invaded the Iberian Peninsula from across the Straits of Gibraltar. They entered what is now Portugal in 714, and proceeded to conquer most of the country except for the far north. For the next half a millennium, Islam and Muslim presence in Portugal left a significant mark upon the politics, government, language, and culture of the country.

   Islam, Reconquest, and Portugal Created, 714-1140

   The long frontier struggle between Muslim invaders and Christian communities in the north of the Iberian peninsula was called the Reconquista (Reconquest). It was during this struggle that the first dynasty of Portuguese kings (Burgundian) emerged and the independent monarchy of Portugal was established. Christian forces moved south from what is now the extreme north of Portugal and gradually defeated Muslim forces, besieging and capturing towns under Muslim sway. In the ninth century, as Christian forces slowly made their way southward, Christian elements were dominant only in the area between Minho province and the Douro River; this region became known as "territorium Portu-calense."

   In the 11th century, the advance of the Reconquest quickened as local Christian armies were reinforced by crusading knights from what is now France and England. Christian forces took Montemor (1034), at the Mondego River; Lamego (1058); Viseu (1058); and Coimbra (1064). In 1095, the king of Castile and Léon granted the country of "Portu-cale," what became northern Portugal, to a Burgundian count who had emigrated from France. This was the foundation of Portugal. In 1139, a descendant of this count, Afonso Henriques, proclaimed himself "King of Portugal." He was Portugal's first monarch, the "Founder," and the first of the Burgundian dynasty, which ruled until 1385.

   The emergence of Portugal in the 12th century as a separate monarchy in Iberia occurred before the Christian Reconquest of the peninsula. In the 1140s, the pope in Rome recognized Afonso Henriques as king of Portugal. In 1147, after a long, bloody siege, Muslim-occupied Lisbon fell to Afonso Henriques's army. Lisbon was the greatest prize of the 500-year war. Assisting this effort were English crusaders on their way to the Holy Land; the first bishop of Lisbon was an Englishman. When the Portuguese captured Faro and Silves in the Algarve province in 1248-50, the Reconquest of the extreme western portion of the Iberian peninsula was complete—significantly, more than two centuries before the Spanish crown completed the Reconquest of the eastern portion by capturing Granada in 1492.

   Consolidation and Independence of Burgundian Portugal, 1140-1385

   Two main themes of Portugal's early existence as a monarchy are the consolidation of control over the realm and the defeat of a Castil-ian threat from the east to its independence. At the end of this period came the birth of a new royal dynasty (Aviz), which prepared to carry the Christian Reconquest beyond continental Portugal across the straits of Gibraltar to North Africa. There was a variety of motives behind these developments. Portugal's independent existence was imperiled by threats from neighboring Iberian kingdoms to the north and east. Politics were dominated not only by efforts against the Muslims in

   Portugal (until 1250) and in nearby southern Spain (until 1492), but also by internecine warfare among the kingdoms of Castile, Léon, Aragon, and Portugal. A final comeback of Muslim forces was defeated at the battle of Salado (1340) by allied Castilian and Portuguese forces. In the emerging Kingdom of Portugal, the monarch gradually gained power over and neutralized the nobility and the Church.

   The historic and commonplace Portuguese saying "From Spain, neither a good wind nor a good marriage" was literally played out in diplomacy and war in the late 14th-century struggles for mastery in the peninsula. Larger, more populous Castile was pitted against smaller Portugal. Castile's Juan I intended to force a union between Castile and Portugal during this era of confusion and conflict. In late 1383, Portugal's King Fernando, the last king of the Burgundian dynasty, suddenly died prematurely at age 38, and the Master of Aviz, Portugal's most powerful nobleman, took up the cause of independence and resistance against Castile's invasion. The Master of Aviz, who became King João I of Portugal, was able to obtain foreign assistance. With the aid of English archers, Joao's armies defeated the Castilians in the crucial battle of Aljubarrota, on 14 August 1385, a victory that assured the independence of the Portuguese monarchy from its Castilian nemesis for several centuries.

   Aviz Dynasty and Portugal's First Overseas Empire, 1385-1580

   The results of the victory at Aljubarrota, much celebrated in Portugal's art and monuments, and the rise of the Aviz dynasty also helped to establish a new merchant class in Lisbon and Oporto, Portugal's second city. This group supported King João I's program of carrying the Reconquest to North Africa, since it was interested in expanding Portugal's foreign commerce and tapping into Muslim trade routes and resources in Africa. With the Reconquest against the Muslims completed in Portugal and the threat from Castile thwarted for the moment, the Aviz dynasty launched an era of overseas conquest, exploration, and trade. These efforts dominated Portugal's 15th and 16th centuries.

   The overseas empire and age of Discoveries began with Portugal's bold conquest in 1415 of the Moroccan city of Ceuta. One royal member of the 1415 expedition was young, 21-year-old Prince Henry, later known in history as "Prince Henry the Navigator." His part in the capture of Ceuta won Henry his knighthood and began Portugal's "Marvelous Century," during which the small kingdom was counted as a European and world power of consequence. Henry was the son of King João I and his English queen, Philippa of Lancaster, but he did not inherit the throne. Instead, he spent most of his life and his fortune, and that of the wealthy military Order of Christ, on various imperial ventures and on voyages of exploration down the African coast and into the Atlantic. While mythology has surrounded Henry's controversial role in the Discoveries, and this role has been exaggerated, there is no doubt that he played a vital part in the initiation of Portugal's first overseas empire and in encouraging exploration. He was naturally curious, had a sense of mission for Portugal, and was a strong leader. He also had wealth to expend; at least a third of the African voyages of the time were under his sponsorship. If Prince Henry himself knew little science, significant scientific advances in navigation were made in his day.

   What were Portugal's motives for this new imperial effort? The well-worn historical cliche of "God, Glory, and Gold" can only partly explain the motivation of a small kingdom with few natural resources and barely 1 million people, which was greatly outnumbered by the other powers it confronted. Among Portuguese objectives were the desire to exploit known North African trade routes and resources (gold, wheat, leather, weaponry, and other goods that were scarce in Iberia); the need to outflank the Muslim world in the Mediterranean by sailing around Africa, attacking Muslims en route; and the wish to ally with Christian kingdoms beyond Africa. This enterprise also involved a strategy of breaking the Venetian spice monopoly by trading directly with the East by means of discovering and exploiting a sea route around Africa to Asia. Besides the commercial motives, Portugal nurtured a strong crusading sense of Christian mission, and various classes in the kingdom saw an opportunity for fame and gain.

   By the time of Prince Henry's death in 1460, Portugal had gained control of the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeiras, begun to colonize the Cape Verde Islands, failed to conquer the Canary Islands from Castile, captured various cities on Morocco's coast, and explored as far as Senegal, West Africa, down the African coast. By 1488, Bar-tolomeu Dias had rounded the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and thereby discovered the way to the Indian Ocean.

   Portugal's largely coastal African empire and later its fragile Asian empire brought unexpected wealth but were purchased at a high price. Costs included wars of conquest and defense against rival powers, manning the far-flung navel and trade fleets and scattered castle-fortresses, and staffing its small but fierce armies, all of which entailed a loss of skills and population to maintain a scattered empire. Always short of capital, the monarchy became indebted to bankers. There were many defeats beginning in the 16th century at the hands of the larger imperial European monarchies (Spain, France, England, and Holland) and many attacks on Portugal and its strung-out empire. Typically, there was also the conflict that arose when a tenuously held world empire that rarely if ever paid its way demanded finance and manpower Portugal itself lacked.

   The first 80 years of the glorious imperial era, the golden age of Portugal's imperial power and world influence, was an African phase. During 1415-88, Portuguese navigators and explorers in small ships, some of them caravelas (caravels), explored the treacherous, disease-ridden coasts of Africa from Morocco to South Africa beyond the Cape of Good Hope. By the 1470s, the Portuguese had reached the Gulf of Guinea and, in the early 1480s, what is now Angola. Bartolomeu Dias's extraordinary voyage of 1487-88 to South Africa's coast and the edge of the Indian Ocean convinced Portugal that the best route to Asia's spices and Christians lay south, around the tip of southern Africa. Between 1488 and 1495, there was a hiatus caused in part by domestic conflict in Portugal, discussion of resources available for further conquests beyond Africa in Asia, and serious questions as to Portugal's capacity to reach beyond Africa. In 1495, King Manuel and his council decided to strike for Asia, whatever the consequences. In 1497-99, Vasco da Gama, under royal orders, made the epic two-year voyage that discovered the sea route to western India (Asia), outflanked Islam and Venice, and began Portugal's Asian empire. Within 50 years, Portugal had discovered and begun the exploitation of its largest colony, Brazil, and set up forts and trading posts from the Middle East (Aden and Ormuz), India (Calicut, Goa, etc.), Malacca, and Indonesia to Macau in China.

   By the 1550s, parts of its largely coastal, maritime trading post empire from Morocco to the Moluccas were under siege from various hostile forces, including Muslims, Christians, and Hindi. Although Moroccan forces expelled the Portuguese from the major coastal cities by 1550, the rival European monarchies of Castile (Spain), England, France, and later Holland began to seize portions of her undermanned, outgunned maritime empire.

   In 1580, Phillip II of Spain, whose mother was a Portuguese princess and who had a strong claim to the Portuguese throne, invaded Portugal, claimed the throne, and assumed control over the realm and, by extension, its African, Asian, and American empires. Phillip II filled the power vacuum that appeared in Portugal following the loss of most of Portugal's army and its young, headstrong King Sebastião in a disastrous war in Morocco. Sebastiao's death in battle (1578) and the lack of a natural heir to succeed him, as well as the weak leadership of the cardinal who briefly assumed control in Lisbon, led to a crisis that Spain's strong monarch exploited. As a result, Portugal lost its independence to Spain for a period of 60 years.

   Portugal under Spanish Rule, 1580-1640

   Despite the disastrous nature of Portugal's experience under Spanish rule, "The Babylonian Captivity" gave birth to modern Portuguese nationalism, its second overseas empire, and its modern alliance system with England. Although Spain allowed Portugal's weakened empire some autonomy, Spanish rule in Portugal became increasingly burdensome and unacceptable. Spain's ambitious imperial efforts in Europe and overseas had an impact on the Portuguese as Spain made greater and greater demands on its smaller neighbor for manpower and money. Portugal's culture underwent a controversial Castilianization, while its empire became hostage to Spain's fortunes. New rival powers England, France, and Holland attacked and took parts of Spain's empire and at the same time attacked Portugal's empire, as well as the mother country.

   Portugal's empire bore the consequences of being attacked by Spain's bitter enemies in what was a form of world war. Portuguese losses were heavy. By 1640, Portugal had lost most of its Moroccan cities as well as Ceylon, the Moluccas, and sections of India. With this, Portugal's Asian empire was gravely weakened. Only Goa, Damão, Diu, Bombay, Timor, and Macau remained and, in Brazil, Dutch forces occupied the northeast.

   On 1 December 1640, long commemorated as a national holiday, Portuguese rebels led by the duke of Braganza overthrew Spanish domination and took advantage of Spanish weakness following a more serious rebellion in Catalonia. Portugal regained independence from Spain, but at a price: dependence on foreign assistance to maintain its independence in the form of the renewal of the alliance with England.

   Restoration and Second Empire, 1640-1822

   Foreign affairs and empire dominated the restoration era and aftermath, and Portugal again briefly enjoyed greater European power and prestige. The Anglo-Portuguese Alliance was renewed and strengthened in treaties of 1642, 1654, and 1661, and Portugal's independence from Spain was underwritten by English pledges and armed assistance. In a Luso-Spanish treaty of 1668, Spain recognized Portugal's independence. Portugal's alliance with England was a marriage of convenience and necessity between two monarchies with important religious, cultural, and social differences. In return for legal, diplomatic, and trade privileges, as well as the use during war and peace of Portugal's great Lisbon harbor and colonial ports for England's navy, England pledged to protect Portugal and its scattered empire from any attack. The previously cited 17th-century alliance treaties were renewed later in the Treaty of Windsor, signed in London in 1899. On at least 10 different occasions after 1640, and during the next two centuries, England was central in helping prevent or repel foreign invasions of its ally, Portugal.

   Portugal's second empire (1640-1822) was largely Brazil-oriented. Portuguese colonization, exploitation of wealth, and emigration focused on Portuguese America, and imperial revenues came chiefly from Brazil. Between 1670 and 1740, Portugal's royalty and nobility grew wealthier on funds derived from Brazilian gold, diamonds, sugar, tobacco, and other crops, an enterprise supported by the Atlantic slave trade and the supply of African slave labor from West Africa and Angola. Visitors today can see where much of that wealth was invested: Portugal's rich legacy of monumental architecture. Meanwhile, the African slave trade took a toll in Angola and West Africa.

   In continental Portugal, absolutist monarchy dominated politics and government, and there was a struggle for position and power between the monarchy and other institutions, such as the Church and nobility. King José I's chief minister, usually known in history as the marquis of Pombal (ruled 1750-77), sharply suppressed the nobility and the

   Church (including the Inquisition, now a weak institution) and expelled the Jesuits. Pombal also made an effort to reduce economic dependence on England, Portugal's oldest ally. But his successes did not last much beyond his disputed time in office.

   Beginning in the late 18th century, the European-wide impact of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon placed Portugal in a vulnerable position. With the monarchy ineffectively led by an insane queen (Maria I) and her indecisive regent son (João VI), Portugal again became the focus of foreign ambition and aggression. With England unable to provide decisive assistance in time, France—with Spain's consent—invaded Portugal in 1807. As Napoleon's army under General Junot entered Lisbon meeting no resistance, Portugal's royal family fled on a British fleet to Brazil, where it remained in exile until 1821. In the meantime, Portugal's overseas empire was again under threat. There was a power vacuum as the monarch was absent, foreign armies were present, and new political notions of liberalism and constitutional monarchy were exciting various groups of citizens.

   Again England came to the rescue, this time in the form of the armies of the duke of Wellington. Three successive French invasions of Portugal were defeated and expelled, and Wellington succeeded in carrying the war against Napoleon across the Portuguese frontier into Spain. The presence of the English army, the new French-born liberal ideas, and the political vacuum combined to create revolutionary conditions. The French invasions and the peninsular wars, where Portuguese armed forces played a key role, marked the beginning of a new era in politics.

   Liberalism and Constitutional Monarchy, 1822-1910

   During 1807-22, foreign invasions, war, and civil strife over conflicting political ideas gravely damaged Portugal's commerce, economy, and novice industry. The next terrible blow was the loss of Brazil in 1822, the jewel in the imperial crown. Portugal's very independence seemed to be at risk. In vain, Portugal sought to resist Brazilian independence by force, but in 1825 it formally acknowledged Brazilian independence by treaty.

   Portugal's slow recovery from the destructive French invasions and the "war of independence" was complicated by civil strife over the form of constitutional monarchy that best suited Portugal. After struggles over these issues between 1820 and 1834, Portugal settled somewhat uncertainly into a moderate constitutional monarchy whose constitution (Charter of 1826) lent it strong political powers to exert a moderating influence between the executive and legislative branches of the government. It also featured a new upper middle class based on land ownership and commerce; a Catholic Church that, although still important, lived with reduced privileges and property; a largely African (third) empire to which Lisbon and Oporto devoted increasing spiritual and material resources, starting with the liberal imperial plans of 1836 and 1851, and continuing with the work of institutions like the Lisbon Society of Geography (established 1875); and a mass of rural peasants whose bonds to the land weakened after 1850 and who began to immigrate in increasing numbers to Brazil and North America.

   Chronic military intervention in national politics began in 19th-century Portugal. Such intervention, usually commencing with coups or pronunciamentos (military revolts), was a shortcut to the spoils of political office and could reflect popular discontent as well as the power of personalities. An early example of this was the 1817 golpe (coup) attempt of General Gomes Freire against British military rule in Portugal before the return of King João VI from Brazil. Except for a more stable period from 1851 to 1880, military intervention in politics, or the threat thereof, became a feature of the constitutional monarchy's political life, and it continued into the First Republic and the subsequent Estado Novo.

   Beginning with the Regeneration period (1851-80), Portugal experienced greater political stability and economic progress. Military intervention in politics virtually ceased; industrialization and construction of railroads, roads, and bridges proceeded; two political parties (Regenerators and Historicals) worked out a system of rotation in power; and leading intellectuals sparked a cultural revival in several fields. In 19th-century literature, there was a new golden age led by such figures as Alexandre Herculano (historian), Eça de Queirós (novelist), Almeida Garrett (playwright and essayist), Antero de Quental (poet), and Joaquim Oliveira Martins (historian and social scientist). In its third overseas empire, Portugal attempted to replace the slave trade and slavery with legitimate economic activities; to reform the administration; and to expand Portuguese holdings beyond coastal footholds deep into the African hinterlands in West, West Central, and East Africa. After 1841, to some extent, and especially after 1870, colonial affairs, combined with intense nationalism, pressures for economic profit in Africa, sentiment for national revival, and the drift of European affairs would make or break Lisbon governments.

   Beginning with the political crisis that arose out of the "English Ultimatum" affair of January 1890, the monarchy became discredtted and identified with the poorly functioning government, political parties splintered, and republicanism found more supporters. Portugal participated in the "Scramble for Africa," expanding its African holdings, but failed to annex territory connecting Angola and Mozambique. A growing foreign debt and state bankruptcy as of the early 1890s damaged the constitutional monarchy's reputation, despite the efforts of King Carlos in diplomacy, the renewal of the alliance in the Windsor Treaty of 1899, and the successful if bloody colonial wars in the empire (1880-97). Republicanism proclaimed that Portugal's weak economy and poor society were due to two historic institutions: the monarchy and the Catholic Church. A republic, its stalwarts claimed, would bring greater individual liberty; efficient, if more decentralized government; and a stronger colonial program while stripping the Church of its role in both society and education.

   As the monarchy lost support and republicans became more aggressive, violence increased in politics. King Carlos I and his heir Luís were murdered in Lisbon by anarchist-republicans on 1 February 1908. Following a military and civil insurrection and fighting between monarchist and republican forces, on 5 October 1910, King Manuel II fled Portugal and a republic was proclaimed.

   First Parliamentary Republic, 1910-26

   Portugal's first attempt at republican government was the most unstable, turbulent parliamentary republic in the history of 20th-century Western Europe. During a little under 16 years of the republic, there were 45 governments, a number of legislatures that did not complete normal terms, military coups, and only one president who completed his four-year term in office. Portuguese society was poorly prepared for this political experiment. Among the deadly legacies of the monarchy were a huge public debt; a largely rural, apolitical, and illiterate peasant population; conflict over the causes of the country's misfortunes; and lack of experience with a pluralist, democratic system.

   The republic had some talented leadership but lacked popular, institutional, and economic support. The 1911 republican constitution established only a limited democracy, as only a small portion of the adult male citizenry was eligible to vote. In a country where the majority was Catholic, the republic passed harshly anticlerical laws, and its institutions and supporters persecuted both the Church and its adherents. During its brief disjointed life, the First Republic drafted important reform plans in economic, social, and educational affairs; actively promoted development in the empire; and pursued a liberal, generous foreign policy. Following British requests for Portugal's assistance in World War I, Portugal entered the war on the Allied side in March 1916 and sent armies to Flanders and Portuguese Africa. Portugal's intervention in that conflict, however, was too costly in many respects, and the ultimate failure of the republic in part may be ascribed to Portugal's World War I activities.

   Unfortunately for the republic, its time coincided with new threats to Portugal's African possessions: World War I, social and political demands from various classes that could not be reconciled, excessive military intervention in politics, and, in particular, the worst economic and financial crisis Portugal had experienced since the 16th and 17th centuries. After the original Portuguese Republican Party (PRP, also known as the "Democrats") splintered into three warring groups in 1912, no true multiparty system emerged. The Democrats, except for only one or two elections, held an iron monopoly of electoral power, and political corruption became a major issue. As extreme right-wing dictatorships elsewhere in Europe began to take power in Italy (1922), neighboring Spain (1923), and Greece (1925), what scant popular support remained for the republic collapsed. Backed by a right-wing coalition of landowners from Alentejo, clergy, Coimbra University faculty and students, Catholic organizations, and big business, career military officers led by General Gomes da Costa executed a coup on 28 May 1926, turned out the last republican government, and established a military government.

   The Estado Novo (New State), 1926-74

   During the military phase (1926-32) of the Estado Novo, professional military officers, largely from the army, governed and administered Portugal and held key cabinet posts, but soon discovered that the military possessed no magic formula that could readily solve the problems inherited from the First Republic. Especially during the years 1926-31, the military dictatorship, even with its political repression of republican activities and institutions (military censorship of the press, political police action, and closure of the republic's rowdy parliament), was characterized by similar weaknesses: personalism and factionalism; military coups and political instability, including civil strife and loss of life; state debt and bankruptcy; and a weak economy. "Barracks parliamentarism" was not an acceptable alternative even to the "Nightmare Republic."

   Led by General Óscar Carmona, who had replaced and sent into exile General Gomes da Costa, the military dictatorship turned to a civilian expert in finance and economics to break the budget impasse and bring coherence to the disorganized system. Appointed minister of finance on 27 April 1928, the Coimbra University Law School professor of economics Antônio de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970) first reformed finance, helped balance the budget, and then turned to other concerns as he garnered extraordinary governing powers. In 1930, he was appointed interim head of another key ministry (Colonies) and within a few years had become, in effect, a civilian dictator who, with the military hierarchy's support, provided the government with coherence, a program, and a set of policies.

   For nearly 40 years after he was appointed the first civilian prime minister in 1932, Salazar's personality dominated the government. Unlike extreme right-wing dictators elsewhere in Europe, Salazar was directly appointed by the army but was never endorsed by a popular political party, street militia, or voter base. The scholarly, reclusive former Coimbra University professor built up what became known after 1932 as the Estado Novo ("New State"), which at the time of its overthrow by another military coup in 1974, was the longest surviving authoritarian regime in Western Europe. The system of Salazar and the largely academic and technocratic ruling group he gathered in his cabinets was based on the central bureaucracy of the state, which was supported by the president of the republic—always a senior career military officer, General Óscar Carmona (1928-51), General Craveiro Lopes (1951-58), and Admiral Américo Tómaz (1958-74)—and the complicity of various institutions. These included a rubber-stamp legislature called the National Assembly (1935-74) and a political police known under various names: PVDE (1932-45), PIDE (1945-69),

   and DGS (1969-74). Other defenders of the Estado Novo security were paramilitary organizations such as the National Republican Guard (GNR); the Portuguese Legion (PL); and the Portuguese Youth [Movement]. In addition to censorship of the media, theater, and books, there was political repression and a deliberate policy of depoliticization. All political parties except for the approved movement of regime loyalists, the União Nacional or (National Union), were banned.

   The most vigorous and more popular period of the New State was 1932-44, when the basic structures were established. Never monolithic or entirely the work of one person (Salazar), the New State was constructed with the assistance of several dozen top associates who were mainly academics from law schools, some technocrats with specialized skills, and a handful of trusted career military officers. The 1933 Constitution declared Portugal to be a "unitary, corporative Republic," and pressures to restore the monarchy were resisted. Although some of the regime's followers were fascists and pseudofascists, many more were conservative Catholics, integralists, nationalists, and monarchists of different varieties, and even some reactionary republicans. If the New State was authoritarian, it was not totalitarian and, unlike fascism in Benito Mussolini's Italy or Adolf Hitler's Germany, it usually employed the minimum of violence necessary to defeat what remained a largely fractious, incoherent opposition.

   With the tumultuous Second Republic and the subsequent civil war in nearby Spain, the regime felt threatened and reinforced its defenses. During what Salazar rightly perceived as a time of foreign policy crisis for Portugal (1936-45), he assumed control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From there, he pursued four basic foreign policy objectives: supporting the Nationalist rebels of General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and concluding defense treaties with a triumphant Franco; ensuring that General Franco in an exhausted Spain did not enter World War II on the Axis side; maintaining Portuguese neutrality in World War II with a post-1942 tilt toward the Allies, including granting Britain and the United States use of bases in the Azores Islands; and preserving and protecting Portugal's Atlantic Islands and its extensive, if poor, overseas empire in Africa and Asia.

   During the middle years of the New State (1944-58), many key Salazar associates in government either died or resigned, and there was greater social unrest in the form of unprecedented strikes and clandestine Communist activities, intensified opposition, and new threatening international pressures on Portugal's overseas empire. During the earlier phase of the Cold War (1947-60), Portugal became a steadfast, if weak, member of the US-dominated North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance and, in 1955, with American support, Portugal joined the United Nations (UN). Colonial affairs remained a central concern of the regime. As of 1939, Portugal was the third largest colonial power in the world and possessed territories in tropical Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, and São Tomé and Príncipe Islands) and the remnants of its 16th-century empire in Asia (Goa, Damão, Diu, East Timor, and Macau). Beginning in the early 1950s, following the independence of India in 1947, Portugal resisted Indian pressures to decolonize Portuguese India and used police forces to discourage internal opposition in its Asian and African colonies.

   The later years of the New State (1958-68) witnessed the aging of the increasingly isolated but feared Salazar and new threats both at home and overseas. Although the regime easily overcame the brief oppositionist threat from rival presidential candidate General Humberto Delgado in the spring of 1958, new developments in the African and Asian empires imperiled the authoritarian system. In February 1961, oppositionists hijacked the Portuguese ocean liner Santa Maria and, in following weeks, African insurgents in northern Angola, although they failed to expel the Portuguese, gained worldwide media attention, discredited the New State, and began the 13-year colonial war. After thwarting a dissident military coup against his continued leadership, Salazar and his ruling group mobilized military repression in Angola and attempted to develop the African colonies at a faster pace in order to ensure Portuguese control. Meanwhile, the other European colonial powers (Britain, France, Belgium, and Spain) rapidly granted political independence to their African territories.

   At the time of Salazar's removal from power in September 1968, following a stroke, Portugal's efforts to maintain control over its colonies appeared to be successful. President Americo Tomás appointed Dr. Marcello Caetano as Salazar's successor as prime minister. While maintaining the New State's basic structures, and continuing the regime's essential colonial policy, Caetano attempted wider reforms in colonial administration and some devolution of power from Lisbon, as well as more freedom of expression in Lisbon. Still, a great deal of the budget was devoted to supporting the wars against the insurgencies in Africa. Meanwhile in Asia, Portuguese India had fallen when the Indian army invaded in December 1961. The loss of Goa was a psychological blow to the leadership of the New State, and of the Asian empire only East Timor and Macau remained.

   The Caetano years (1968-74) were but a hiatus between the waning Salazar era and a new regime. There was greater political freedom and rapid economic growth (5-6 percent annually to late 1973), but Caetano's government was unable to reform the old system thoroughly and refused to consider new methods either at home or in the empire. In the end, regime change came from junior officers of the professional military who organized the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) against the Caetano government. It was this group of several hundred officers, mainly in the army and navy, which engineered a largely bloodless coup in Lisbon on 25 April 1974. Their unexpected action brought down the 48-year-old New State and made possible the eventual establishment and consolidation of democratic governance in Portugal, as well as a reorientation of the country away from the Atlantic toward Europe.

   Revolution of Carnations, 1974-76

   Following successful military operations of the Armed Forces Movement against the Caetano government, Portugal experienced what became known as the "Revolution of Carnations." It so happened that during the rainy week of the military golpe, Lisbon flower shops were featuring carnations, and the revolutionaries and their supporters adopted the red carnation as the common symbol of the event, as well as of the new freedom from dictatorship. The MFA, whose leaders at first were mostly little-known majors and captains, proclaimed a three-fold program of change for the new Portugal: democracy; decolonization of the overseas empire, after ending the colonial wars; and developing a backward economy in the spirit of opportunity and equality. During the first 24 months after the coup, there was civil strife, some anarchy, and a power struggle. With the passing of the Estado Novo, public euphoria burst forth as the new provisional military government proclaimed the freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, and abolished censorship, the political police, the Portuguese Legion, Portuguese Youth, and other New State organizations, including the National Union. Scores of political parties were born and joined the senior political party, the Portuguese Community Party (PCP), and the Socialist Party (PS), founded shortly before the coup.

   Portugal's Revolution of Carnations went through several phases. There was an attempt to take control by radical leftists, including the PCP and its allies. This was thwarted by moderate officers in the army, as well as by the efforts of two political parties: the PS and the Social Democrats (PPD, later PSD). The first phase was from April to September 1974. Provisional president General Antonio Spínola, whose 1974 book Portugal and the Future had helped prepare public opinion for the coup, met irresistible leftist pressures. After Spinola's efforts to avoid rapid decolonization of the African empire failed, he resigned in September 1974. During the second phase, from September 1974 to March 1975, radical military officers gained control, but a coup attempt by General Spínola and his supporters in Lisbon in March 1975 failed and Spínola fled to Spain.

   In the third phase of the Revolution, March-November 1975, a strong leftist reaction followed. Farm workers occupied and "nationalized" 1.1 million hectares of farmland in the Alentejo province, and radical military officers in the provisional government ordered the nationalization of Portuguese banks (foreign banks were exempted), utilities, and major industries, or about 60 percent of the economic system. There were power struggles among various political parties — a total of 50 emerged—and in the streets there was civil strife among labor, military, and law enforcement groups. A constituent assembly, elected on 25 April 1975, in Portugal's first free elections since 1926, drafted a democratic constitution. The Council of the Revolution (CR), briefly a revolutionary military watchdog committee, was entrenched as part of the government under the constitution, until a later revision. During the chaotic year of 1975, about 30 persons were killed in political frays while unstable provisional governments came and went. On 25 November 1975, moderate military forces led by Colonel Ramalho Eanes, who later was twice elected president of the republic (1976 and 1981), defeated radical, leftist military groups' revolutionary conspiracies.

   In the meantime, Portugal's scattered overseas empire experienced a precipitous and unprepared decolonization. One by one, the former colonies were granted and accepted independence—Guinea-Bissau (September 1974), Cape Verde Islands (July 1975), and Mozambique (July 1975). Portugal offered to turn over Macau to the People's Republic of China, but the offer was refused then and later negotiations led to the establishment of a formal decolonization or hand-over date of 1999. But in two former colonies, the process of decolonization had tragic results.

   In Angola, decolonization negotiations were greatly complicated by the fact that there were three rival nationalist movements in a struggle for power. The January 1975 Alvor Agreement signed by Portugal and these three parties was not effectively implemented. A bloody civil war broke out in Angola in the spring of 1975 and, when Portuguese armed forces withdrew and declared that Angola was independent on 11 November 1975, the bloodshed only increased. Meanwhile, most of the white Portuguese settlers from Angola and Mozambique fled during the course of 1975. Together with African refugees, more than 600,000 of these retornados ("returned ones") went by ship and air to Portugal and thousands more to Namibia, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, and the United States.

   The second major decolonization disaster was in Portugal's colony of East Timor in the Indonesian archipelago. Portugal's capacity to supervise and control a peaceful transition to independence in this isolated, neglected colony was limited by the strength of giant Indonesia, distance from Lisbon, and Portugal's revolutionary disorder and inability to defend Timor. In early December 1975, before Portugal granted formal independence and as one party, FRETILIN, unilaterally declared East Timor's independence, Indonesia's armed forces invaded, conquered, and annexed East Timor. Indonesian occupation encountered East Timorese resistance, and a heavy loss of life followed. The East Timor question remained a contentious international issue in the UN, as well as in Lisbon and Jakarta, for more than 20 years following Indonesia's invasion and annexation of the former colony of Portugal. Major changes occurred, beginning in 1998, after Indonesia underwent a political revolution and allowed a referendum in East Timor to decide that territory's political future in August 1999. Most East Timorese chose independence, but Indonesian forces resisted that verdict until

   UN intervention in September 1999. Following UN rule for several years, East Timor attained full independence on 20 May 2002.

   Consolidation of Democracy, 1976-2000

   After several free elections and record voter turnouts between 25 April 1975 and June 1976, civil war was averted and Portugal's second democratic republic began to stabilize. The MFA was dissolved, the military were returned to the barracks, and increasingly elected civilians took over the government of the country. The 1976 Constitution was revised several times beginning in 1982 and 1989, in order to reempha-size the principle of free enterprise in the economy while much of the large, nationalized sector was privatized. In June 1976, General Ram-alho Eanes was elected the first constitutional president of the republic (five-year term), and he appointed socialist leader Dr. Mário Soares as prime minister of the first constitutional government.

   From 1976 to 1985, Portugal's new system featured a weak economy and finances, labor unrest, and administrative and political instability. The difficult consolidation of democratic governance was eased in part by the strong currency and gold reserves inherited from the Estado Novo, but Lisbon seemed unable to cope with high unemployment, new debt, the complex impact of the refugees from Africa, world recession, and the agitation of political parties. Four major parties emerged from the maelstrom of 1974-75, except for the Communist Party, all newly founded. They were, from left to right, the Communists (PCP); the Socialists (PS), who managed to dominate governments and the legislature but not win a majority in the Assembly of the Republic; the Social Democrats (PSD); and the Christian Democrats (CDS). During this period, the annual growth rate was low (l-2 percent), and the nationalized sector of the economy stagnated.

   Enhanced economic growth, greater political stability, and more effective central government as of 1985, and especially 1987, were due to several developments. In 1977, Portugal applied for membership in the European Economic Community (EEC), now the European Union (EU) since 1993. In January 1986, with Spain, Portugal was granted membership, and economic and financial progress in the intervening years has been significantly influenced by the comparatively large investment, loans, technology, advice, and other assistance from the EEC. Low unemployment, high annual growth rates (5 percent), and moderate inflation have also been induced by the new political and administrative stability in Lisbon. Led by Prime Minister Cavaco Silva, an economist who was trained abroad, the PSD's strong organization, management, and electoral support since 1985 have assisted in encouraging economic recovery and development. In 1985, the PSD turned the PS out of office and won the general election, although they did not have an absolute majority of assembly seats. In 1986, Mário Soares was elected president of the republic, the first civilian to hold that office since the First Republic. In the elections of 1987 and 1991, however, the PSD was returned to power with clear majorities of over 50 percent of the vote.

   Although the PSD received 50.4 percent of the vote in the 1991 parliamentary elections and held a 42-seat majority in the Assembly of the Republic, the party began to lose public support following media revelations regarding corruption and complaints about Prime Minister Cavaco Silva's perceived arrogant leadership style. President Mário Soares voiced criticism of the PSD's seemingly untouchable majority and described a "tyranny of the majority." Economic growth slowed down. In the parliamentary elections of 1995 and the presidential election of 1996, the PSD's dominance ended for the time being. Prime Minister Antônio Guterres came to office when the PS won the October 1995 elections, and in the subsequent presidential contest, in January 1996, socialist Jorge Sampaio, the former mayor of Lisbon, was elected president of the republic, thus defeating Cavaco Silva's bid. Young and popular, Guterres moved the PS toward the center of the political spectrum. Under Guterres, the PS won the October 1999 parliamentary elections. The PS defeated the PSD but did not manage to win a clear, working majority of seats, and this made the PS dependent upon alliances with smaller parties, including the PCP.

   In the local elections in December 2001, the PSD's criticism of PS's heavy public spending allowed the PSD to take control of the key cities of Lisbon, Oporto, and Coimbra. Guterres resigned, and parliamentary elections were brought forward from 2004 to March 2002. The PSD won a narrow victory with 40 percent of the votes, and Jose Durão Barroso became prime minister. Having failed to win a majority of the seats in parliament forced the PSD to govern in coalition with the right-wing Popular Party (PP) led by Paulo Portas. Durão Barroso set about reducing government spending by cutting the budgets of local authorities, freezing civil service hiring, and reviving the economy by accelerating privatization of state-owned enterprises. These measures provoked a 24-hour strike by public-sector workers. Durão Barroso reacted with vows to press ahead with budget-cutting measures and imposed a wage freeze on all employees earning more than €1,000, which affected more than one-half of Portugal's work force.

   In June 2004, Durão Barroso was invited by Romano Prodi to succeed him as president of the European Commission. Durão Barroso accepted and resigned the prime ministership in July. Pedro Santana Lopes, the leader of the PSD, became prime minister. Already unpopular at the time of Durão Barroso's resignation, the PSD-led government became increasingly unpopular under Santana Lopes. A month-long delay in the start of the school year and confusion over his plan to cut taxes and raise public-sector salaries, eroded confidence even more. By November, Santana Lopes's government was so unpopular that President Jorge Sampaio was obliged to dissolve parliament and hold new elections, two years ahead of schedule.

   Parliamentary elections were held on 20 February 2005. The PS, which had promised the electorate disciplined and transparent governance, educational reform, the alleviation of poverty, and a boost in employment, won 45 percent of the vote and the majority of the seats in parliament. The leader of the PS, José Sôcrates became prime minister on 12 March 2005. In the regularly scheduled presidential elections held on 6 January 2006, the former leader of the PSD and prime minister, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, won a narrow victory and became president on 9 March 2006. With a mass protest, public teachers' strike, and street demonstrations in March 2008, Portugal's media, educational, and social systems experienced more severe pressures. With the spreading global recession beginning in September 2008, Portugal's economic and financial systems became more troubled.

    Contemporary Portugal

   Owing to its geographic location on the southwestern most edge of continental Europe, Portugal has been historically in but not of Europe. Almost from the beginning of its existence in the 12th century as an independent monarchy, Portugal turned its back on Europe and oriented itself toward the Atlantic Ocean. After carving out a Christian kingdom on the western portion of the Iberian peninsula, Portuguese kings gradually built and maintained a vast seaborne global empire that became central to the way Portugal understood its individuality as a nation-state. While the creation of this empire allows Portugal to claim an unusual number of "firsts" or distinctions in world and Western history, it also retarded Portugal's economic, social, and political development. It can be reasonably argued that the Revolution of 25 April 1974 was the most decisive event in Portugal's long history because it finally ended Portugal's oceanic mission and view of itself as an imperial power. After the 1974 Revolution, Portugal turned away from its global mission and vigorously reoriented itself toward Europe. Contemporary Portugal is now both in and of Europe.

   The turn toward Europe began immediately after 25 April 1974. Portugal granted independence to its African colonies in 1975. It was admitted to the European Council and took the first steps toward accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1976. On 28 March 1977, the Portuguese government officially applied for EEC membership. Because of Portugal's economic and social backwardness, which would require vast sums of EEC money to overcome, negotiations for membership were long and difficult. Finally, a treaty of accession was signed on 12 June 1985. Portugal officially joined the EEC (the European Union [EU] since 1993) on 1 January 1986. Since becoming a full-fledged member of the EU, Portugal has been steadily overcoming the economic and social underdevelopment caused by its imperial past and is becoming more like the rest of Europe.

   Membership in the EU has speeded up the structural transformation of Portugal's economy, which actually began during the Estado Novo. Investments made by the Estado Novo in Portugal's economy began to shift employment out of the agricultural sector, which, in 1950, accounted for 50 percent of Portugal's economically active population. Today, only 10 percent of the economically active population is employed in the agricultural sector (the highest among EU member states); 30 percent in the industrial sector (also the highest among EU member states); and 60 percent in the service sector (the lowest among EU member states). The economically active population numbers about 5,000,000 employed, 56 percent of whom are women. Women workers are the majority of the workforce in the agricultural and service sectors (the highest among the EU member states). The expansion of the service sector has been primarily in health care and education. Portugal has had the lowest unemployment rates among EU member states, with the overall rate never being more than 10 percent of the active population. Since joining the EU, the number of employers increased from 2.6 percent to 5.8 percent of the active population; self-employed from 16 to 19 percent; and employees from 65 to 70 percent. Twenty-six percent of the employers are women. Unemployment tends to hit younger workers in industry and transportation, women employed in domestic service, workers on short-term contracts, and poorly educated workers. Salaried workers earn only 63 percent of the EU average, and hourly workers only one-third to one-half of that earned by their EU counterparts. Despite having had the second highest growth of gross national product (GNP) per inhabitant (after Ireland) among EU member states, the above data suggest that while much has been accomplished in terms of modernizing the Portuguese economy, much remains to be done to bring Portugal's economy up to the level of the "average" EU member state.

   Membership in the EU has also speeded up changes in Portuguese society. Over the last 30 years, coastalization and urbanization have intensified. Fully 50 percent of Portuguese live in the coastal urban conurbations of Lisbon, Oporto, Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu, Évora, and Faro. The Portuguese population is one of the oldest among EU member states (17.3 percent are 65 years of age or older) thanks to a considerable increase in life expectancy at birth (77.87 years for the total population, 74.6 years for men, 81.36 years for women) and one of the lowest birthrates (10.59 births/1,000) in Europe. Family size averages 2.8 persons per household, with the strict nuclear family (one or two generations) in which both parents work being typical. Common law marriages, cohabitating couples, and single-parent households are more and more common. The divorce rate has also increased. "Youth Culture" has developed. The young have their own meeting places, leisure-time activities, and nightlife (bars, clubs, and discos).

   All Portuguese citizens, whether they have contributed or not, have a right to an old-age pension, invalidity benefits, widowed persons' pension, as well as payments for disabilities, children, unemployment, and large families. There is a national minimum wage (€385 per month), which is low by EU standards. The rapid aging of Portugal's population has changed the ratio of contributors to pensioners to 1.7, the lowest in the EU. This has created deficits in Portugal's social security fund.

   The adult literacy rate is about 92 percent. Illiteracy is still found among the elderly. Although universal compulsory education up to grade 9 was achieved in 1980, only 21.2 percent of the population aged 25-64 had undergone secondary education, compared to an EU average of 65.7 percent. Portugal's higher education system currently consists of 14 state universities and 14 private universities, 15 state polytechnic institutions, one Catholic university, and one military academy. All in all, Portugal spends a greater percentage of its state budget on education than most EU member states. Despite this high level of expenditure, the troubled Portuguese education system does not perform well. Early leaving and repetition rates are among the highest among EU member states.

   After the Revolution of 25 April 1974, Portugal created a National Health Service, which today consists of 221 hospitals and 512 medical centers employing 33,751 doctors and 41,799 nurses. Like its education system, Portugal's medical system is inefficient. There are long waiting lists for appointments with specialists and for surgical procedures.

   Structural changes in Portugal's economy and society mean that social life in Portugal is not too different from that in other EU member states. A mass consumption society has been created. Televisions, telephones, refrigerators, cars, music equipment, mobile phones, and personal computers are commonplace. Sixty percent of Portuguese households possess at least one automobile, and 65 percent of Portuguese own their own home. Portuguese citizens are more aware of their legal rights than ever before. This has resulted in a trebling of the number of legal proceeding since 1960 and an eight-fold increase in the number of lawyers. In general, Portuguese society has become more permissive and secular; the Catholic Church and the armed forces are much less influential than in the past. Portugal's population is also much more culturally, religiously, and ethnically diverse, a consequence of the coming to Portugal of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mainly from former African colonies.

   Portuguese are becoming more cosmopolitan and sophisticated through the impact of world media, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. A prime case in point came in the summer and early fall of 1999, with the extraordinary events in East Timor and the massive Portuguese popular responses. An internationally monitored referendum in East Timor, Portugal's former colony in the Indonesian archipelago and under Indonesian occupation from late 1975 to summer 1999, resulted in a vote of 78.5 percent for rejecting integration with Indonesia and for independence. When Indonesian prointegration gangs, aided by the Indonesian military, responded to the referendum with widespread brutality and threatened to reverse the verdict of the referendum, there was a spontaneous popular outpouring of protest in the cities and towns of Portugal. An avalanche of Portuguese e-mail fell on leaders and groups in the UN and in certain countries around the world as Portugal's diplomats, perhaps to compensate for the weak initial response to Indonesian armed aggression in 1975, called for the protection of East Timor as an independent state and for UN intervention to thwart Indonesian action. Using global communications networks, the Portuguese were able to mobilize UN and world public opinion against Indonesian actions and aided the eventual independence of East Timor on 20 May 2002.

   From the Revolution of 25 April 1974 until the 1990s, Portugal had a large number of political parties, one of the largest Communist parties in western Europe, frequent elections, and endemic cabinet instability. Since the 1990s, the number of political parties has been dramatically reduced and cabinet stability increased. Gradually, the Portuguese electorate has concentrated around two larger parties, the right-of-center Social Democrats (PSD) and the left-of-center Socialist (PS). In the 1980s, these two parties together garnered 65 percent of the vote and 70 percent of the seats in parliament. In 2005, these percentages had risen to 74 percent and 85 percent, respectively. In effect, Portugal is currently a two-party dominant system in which the two largest parties — PS and PSD—alternate in and out of power, not unlike the rotation of the two main political parties (the Regenerators and the Historicals) during the last decades (1850s to 1880s) of the liberal constitutional monarchy. As Portugal's democracy has consolidated, turnout rates for the eligible electorate have declined. In the 1970s, turnout was 85 percent. In Portugal's most recent parliamentary election (2005), turnout had fallen to 65 percent of the eligible electorate.

   Portugal has benefited greatly from membership in the EU, and whatever doubts remain about the price paid for membership, no Portuguese government in the near future can afford to sever this connection. The vast majority of Portuguese citizens see membership in the EU as a "good thing" and strongly believe that Portugal has benefited from membership. Only the Communist Party opposed membership because it reduces national sovereignty, serves the interests of capitalists not workers, and suffers from a democratic deficit. Despite the high level of support for the EU, Portuguese voters are increasingly not voting in elections for the European Parliament, however. Turnout for European Parliament elections fell from 40 percent of the eligible electorate in the 1999 elections to 38 percent in the 2004 elections.

   In sum, Portugal's turn toward Europe has done much to overcome its backwardness. However, despite the economic, social, and political progress made since 1986, Portugal has a long way to go before it can claim to be on a par with the level found even in Spain, much less the rest of western Europe. As Portugal struggles to move from underde-velopment, especially in the rural areas away from the coast, it must keep in mind the perils of too rapid modern development, which could damage two of its most precious assets: its scenery and environment. The growth and future prosperity of the economy will depend on the degree to which the government and the private sector will remain stewards of clean air, soil, water, and other finite resources on which the tourism industry depends and on which Portugal's world image as a unique place to visit rests. Currently, Portugal is investing heavily in renewable energy from solar, wind, and wave power in order to account for about 50 percent of its electricity needs by 2010. Portugal opened the world's largest solar power plant and the world's first commercial wave power farm in 2006.

   An American documentary film on Portugal produced in the 1970s described this little country as having "a Past in Search of a Future." In the years after the Revolution of 25 April 1974, it could be said that Portugal is now living in "a Present in Search of a Future." Increasingly, that future lies in Europe as an active and productive member of the EU.

1 power (mando, competencia).

estar en/hacerse con el poder to be in/to seize power

poder adquisitivo purchasing power

poder calorífico calorific value

poder de convicción persuasive powers

tener poder de convocatoria to be a crowd-puller

el poder ejecutivo/legislativo/judicial the executive/legislature/judiciary (personas)

poderes fácticos the church, military and press

poderes públicos public authorities

El poder corrompe a los indecisos Power corrupts the undecided.

2 power, authorization.

dar poderes a alguien para que haga algo to authorize somebody to do something

por poderes by proxy

poder notarial power of attorney

3 faculty.

4 proxy, letter of delegation, power of attorney, letter of attorney.

Ella se casó usando un poder She married using a proxy.

1 can, to be able to.

no puedo decírtelo I can't tell you, I'm unable to tell you

2 can, may (tener permiso).

no puedo salir por la noche I'm not allowed to o I can't go out at night

¿puedo fumar aquí? may I smoke here?

¿se puede? may I come in?

3 can (ser capaz moralmente).

no podemos portarnos así con él we can't treat him like that

4 may, can (tener posibilidad, ser posible).

puede estallar la guerra war could o may break out

podías haber ido en tren you could have gone by train

¡podría habernos invitado! she could o might have invited us! (expresa enfado)

puede que llueva it may o might rain

¿vendrás mañana? — puede will you come tomorrow? — I may do

puede ser perhaps, maybe

5 to be stronger than.

tú eres más alto, pero yo te puedo you may be taller than me, but I could still beat you up

6 to can, to may, to be able to, to be apt to.

Ella puede correr She is able to run.

7 to might, to stand to.

Ella podría surgir She might rise above.

8 to be capable.

* * *

Present Indicative

puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden.

Past Indicative

pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron.

Future Indicative

podré, podrás, podrá, podremos, podréis, podrán.

Conditional

podría, podrías, podría, podríamos, podríais, podrían.

Present Subjunctive

pueda, puedas, pueda, podamos, podáis, puedan.

Imperfect Subjunctive

pudiera, pudieras, pudiera, pudiéramos, pudierais, pudieran;

pudiese, pudieses, pudiese, pudiésemos, pudieseis, pudiesen.

Future Subjunctive

pudiere, pudieres, pudiere, pudiéremos, pudiereis, pudieren.

Imperative

puede (tú), pueda (él/Vd.), podamos (nos.), poded (vos.), puedan (ellos/Vds.).

* * *

1) can

2) to be able

3) may

1) power

2) control

3) possession

4) strength, force

* * *

1. VERBO AUXILIAR

1) (=tener la posibilidad o capacidad de)

2) (=tener permiso para)

3) [en peticiones]

4) [indicando eventualidad]

5) [indicando obligación moral]

6) [en cálculos, aproximaciones]

7) [en sugerencias]

8) [en reproches]

2. VERBO INTRANSITIVO

1) (=tener la posibilidad o capacidad)

2) (=tener permiso)

3) (=tener dominio, influencia)

4) [en locuciones]

5) CAm, Méx * (=molestar) [con irritación] to annoy; [con disgusto] to upset

4. SUSTANTIVO MASCULINO

1) (=capacidad, facultad) power

2) (=autoridad, influencia) power

3) (Pol)

4) (=fuerza, eficacia)

5) (=potestad)

6) (Jur)

7) (=posesión) possession

8) (Fís, Mec) power

9) LAm (=persona) drug pusher

* * *

verbo auxiliar

1) ( tener la capacidad o posibilidad de)

2) ( expresando idea de permiso)

3) ( expresando derecho moral)

4)

a) (en quejas, reproches)

b) ( en sugerencias)

c) ( solicitando un favor)

5) ( con el verbo principal sobreentendido)

6) (en locs)

7) (fam) (+ me, te, le etc)

a) ( ganar)

b) (Méx) ( doler)

8) (con idea de eventualidad, posibilidad)

9) (en 3^a pers)

1)

a) (control, influencia) power

b) (Pol)

2) ( posesión)

3)

a) (derecho, atribución)

b) (Der) ( documento) letter of authorization; ( hecho ante notario) power of attorney

4)

a) (capacidad, facultad) power

b) (de motor, aparato) power

•

- poder absoluto

- poder adquisitivo

- poder ejecutivo

- poderes fácticos

- poderes públicos

- poder judicial

- poder legislativo

* * *

verbo auxiliar

1) ( tener la capacidad o posibilidad de)

2) ( expresando idea de permiso)

3) ( expresando derecho moral)

4)

a) (en quejas, reproches)

b) ( en sugerencias)

c) ( solicitando un favor)

5) ( con el verbo principal sobreentendido)

6) (en locs)

7) (fam) (+ me, te, le etc)

a) ( ganar)

b) (Méx) ( doler)

8) (con idea de eventualidad, posibilidad)

9) (en 3^a pers)

1)

a) (control, influencia) power

b) (Pol)

2) ( posesión)

3)

a) (derecho, atribución)

b) (Der) ( documento) letter of authorization; ( hecho ante notario) power of attorney

4)

a) (capacidad, facultad) power

b) (de motor, aparato) power

•

- poder absoluto

- poder adquisitivo

- poder ejecutivo

- poderes fácticos

- poderes públicos

- poder judicial

- poder legislativo

* * *

poder¹

¹ = force, strength, power, leverage, authority, clout, might, muscle power, power of attorney, sway.

poder²

² = be able to, be capable of, can, have + the opportunity, may, qualify for, manage to.

* * *

poder¹ [ E21 ]

A tener la capacidad de

B expresando idea de permiso

C expresando un derecho moral

1 en quejas, reproches

2 en sugerencias

3 solicitando un favor

1 poder con algo/alguien

2 el dinero lo puede todo

B en locuciones

1 vencer, ganar

2 doler

A con idea de eventualidad

B en tercera persona

(tener la capacidad o posibilidad de): ven en cuanto puedas come as soon as you can

no puedo pagar tanto I can't pay that much

¿cómo que no puedes? what do you mean, you can't do it ( o you can't come etc)?

no podía dejar de reír I couldn't stop laughing

no va a poder venir he won't be able to come

¿cuándo podrá darme una respuesta definitiva? when will you be able to o when can you give me a firm answer?

no pude convencerla I couldn't persuade her

no pudo asistir a la reunión he was unable to o he couldn't attend the meeting

¿pudiste hacerlo sola? did you manage to do it o were you able to do it on your own?

hicimos todo lo que pudimos por ayudarlos we did everything in our power o everything we could to help them

no se puede valer por sí mismo he can't manage by himself

no habría podido hacerlo sin tu ayuda I wouldn't have been able to do it o I couldn't have done it without your help

no debe (de) haber podido encontrarlo she obviously couldn't find it o can't have found it

¡este niño no se puede estar quieto ni un minuto! this child just won't o can't keep still for a minute!

con aquel ruido no se podía trabajar it was impossible to work o you couldn't work with that noise going on

¿sabes que se han prometido? — ¡no te (lo) puedo creer! do you know they're engaged? — you're joking! o I don't believe it!

(expresando idea de permiso): ¿puedo servirme otro? can o may I have another one?

ya pueden volver la hoja you may turn the page over now

¿me puedo ir? — ¡no señor! can o may I go? — no, you cannot o may not!

¿sales a jugar? — no puedo, estoy castigada are you coming out to play? — I can't, I'm being kept in

¿puedo pasar? may I come in?

¿le puedo hacer una sugerencia? may I make a suggestion?

¿podría irme un poco más temprano hoy? could I leave a little earlier today?

por mí, puedes hacer lo que quieras as far as I'm concerned, you can do whatever you like

no puede comer sal he isn't allowed to eat salt

¿quién te lo dijo, si se puede saber? who told you, may I ask?

¿se puede? — ¡adelante! may I? — come in

aquí no se puede fumar smoking is not allowed here, you can't smoke here

(expresando un derecho moral): no podemos hacerle eso we can't do that to her

después de lo que has trabajado, bien puedes tomarte un descanso you're entitled to o you deserve a rest after all the work you've done

es lo menos que puedes hacer it's the least you can do

(en quejas, reproches): ¿cómo pudiste hacer una cosa así? how could you do such a thing?

¿cómo puedes ser tan ingrato? how can you be so ungrateful?

podías or podrías haberme avisado you could o might have warned me!

(en sugerencias): podrías or podías pedírselo tú, a ti siempre te hace caso why don't you ask him? he always listens to you

ya te puedes ir haciendo a la idea you'd better start getting used to the idea

(solicitando un favor): ¿puedes bajar un momento? can you come down for a moment?

¿podrías hacerme un favor? could you do me a favor?

¿no puedes irte a jugar a otra parte? can't you go and play somewhere else?

Sentido II (con el verbo principal sobreentendido)

1 poder CON algo/algn:

¿tú puedes con todo eso? can you manage all that?

no puedo con esta maleta I can't manage this suitcase

yo no puedo solo con la casa, los niños y la tienda I can't do the housework, look after the children and run the store all on my own, I can't cope with the house, the children and the store all on my own

no pudo con el alemán y lo dejó he couldn't get o come to grips with German and he gave up

¡con este niño no hay quien pueda! this child is just impossible!

podérsela ( Chi fam); to cope, manage

no se la puede con el trabajo he can't cope with the job o manage the job

el dinero lo puede todo money talks, you can do anything if you have money

B ( en locuciones):

a más no poder: comió a más no poder he ate until he was fit to burst

gana dinero a más no poder she's making pots of money ( colloq), she's making money hand over fist

es feo a más no poder he's as ugly as they come

corrimos a más no poder we ran for all we were worth o as fast as we could

no poder más: estoy que no puedo más (de cansancio) I'm exhausted

a mí no me des postre que ya no puedo más don't serve me any dessert, I can't eat anything else

ya no puedo más con este niño I'm at the end of my tether with this child

no podía más, y ese estúpido que no salía del cuarto de baño I was desperate o I was bursting to go and that idiot wouldn't come out of the bathroom ( colloq)

ya no puedo más, me está desquiciando I can't go on like this, it's driving me mad

no poder (por) menos que: uno no puede menos que sentirse halagado one can't help feeling flattered

no puedo menos que expresar mi profunda decepción I feel I must say how deeply disappointed I am

no pudo menos que reconocer que teníamos razón she had no alternative but to admit that we were right

1 ( fam)

(vencer, ganar): él es más alto pero tú le puedes he's taller than you but you can beat him

tu papá no le puede al mío your dad's not as strong as mine

a gracioso no hay quien le pueda as a comic, there's no-one to beat him o he's unbeatable

( Méx fam) (doler): tu desprecio le puede mucho she's very hurt by your disdainful attitude, your disdainful attitude hurts her deeply

nos pudo mucho la muerte de Julio we were greatly saddened o terribly upset by Julio's death

(con idea de eventualidad, posibilidad): puede aparecer en cualquier momento he may turn up at any moment

de él se puede esperar cualquier cosa anything's possible with him

no sé dónde lo puedo haber puesto I don't know where I can have put it

no hagas nada que pueda resultar sospechoso don't do anything that might look suspicious

puede haber venido mientras no estábamos he may have come while we were out

hace horas que están reunidos ¿de qué pueden estar hablando? they've been in that meeting for hours, what can they be talking about?

te podrías or podías haber matado you could have killed yourself!

un error así puede costar millones a mistake like that could cost millions

no podía haber estado más amable she couldn't have been kinder

llaman a la puerta — ¿quién podrá ser a estas horas? there's someone at the door — who can o could it be at this time?

podría volver a ocurrir it could happen again

Pilar no pudo haber sido it couldn't have been Pilar

B ( en tercera persona):

¿nos habrá mentido? — no sé, puede ser do you think he lied to us? — I don't know, he may have done o it's possible

no puede ser que no lo sepa he must know

no puede ser que ya haya terminado he can't have finished already

si puede ser or ( Esp) a poder ser preferiría la cuarta fila if possible, I'd prefer row four

me habría gustado verlo pero no pudo ser I would have liked to see him but it wasn't possible o it wasn't to be

puede (ser) que tengas razón you may o could be right

puede (ser) que no nos haya visto he may not have seen us

¿vas a votar para ella? — puede que sí or puede are you going to vote for her? — maybe o I may

¿lo vas a aceptar? — puede que sí, puede que no are you going to accept it? — maybe, maybe not

1 (control, influencia) power

el poder de la prensa the power of the press

tiene mucho poder en el pueblo he has a great deal of power o influence o he is a very powerful man in the village

la Familia Real no tiene ningún poder the Royal Family has no power

Constantinopla cayó en poder de los turcos Constantinople fell to the Turks

estamos/nos tiene en su poder we are/she has us in her power

2 ( Pol):

el poder power

estar en el poder to be in power

tomar el poder to take o seize power

asumir el poder to assume power

detenta el poder desde hace 20 años ( frml); he has held power for 20 years

lleva cuatro años en el poder he has been in power for four years

toda la vida buscó el poder y la gloria all her life she sought power and fame

el poder en la sombra the power behind the throne

el poder corrompe power corrupts

(posesión): la carta está en poder de las autoridades the letter is in the hands of the authorities

hay que evitar que llegue a su poder we have to stop it falling into his hands

obra en su poder la copia del acta ( frml); you have in your possession a copy of the minutes

la solicitud ya pasó a poder de la oficina central the application has already been passed to our head office

(derecho, atribución): tiene amplios/plenos poderes para investigar el asunto he has wide-ranging powers/full authority to investigate the matter

la entrega or transmisión de poderes the handing over o transmission of power

los poderes de la junta son ilimitados the junta has unlimited powers

los poderes que le han sido conferidos the powers which have been vested in him

la separación de poderes entre la Iglesia y el Estado the division o separation of power between the Church and the State

división

2 ( Der) (documento) letter of authorization; (hecho ante notario) power of attorney

casarse por poder( AmL) or ( Esp) por poderes to get married by proxy

1 (capacidad, facultad) power

su poder de convicción or de persuasión her power of persuasion

el poder del amor/de la sugestión the power of love/of suggestion

tiene poderes extrasensoriales he has extrasensory powers

2 (de un motor, aparato) power

masculine absolute power

masculine (de una divisa, un sueldo) purchasing power, buying power; (de una persona, un grupo) purchasing power, spending power

masculine divine power

masculine:

el poder ejecutivo the executive

mpl institutions which hold effective control

mpl power of attorney

mpl:

los poderes públicos the authorities

masculine:

el poder judicial the judiciary

masculine:

el poder legislativo the legislature

* * *

◊ puedo ir ahora o mañana I can go now or tomorrow;

a) ( expresando idea de permiso):

◊ ¿puedo servirme otro? can o may I have another one?;

b) ( solicitando un favor):

◊ ¿puedes bajar un momento? can you come down for a moment?;

◊ no podemos hacerle eso we can't do that to her

◊ ¿puedes con todo eso? can you manage all that?;

◊ ya no puedo más I can't go on like this

◊ no podía haber estado más amable she couldn't have been kinder;

◊ nos pudo mucho la muerte de Julio we were terribly upset by Julio's death

a) (control, influencia) power;

◊ tiene mucho poder he has a great deal of power;

b) (Pol)

◊ el poder power;

◊ la carta está en poder de … the letter is in the hands of …

a) (derecho, atribución) power;

◊ tener amplios poderes para hacer algo to have wide-ranging powers to do sth

b) (Der) ( documento) letter of authorization;

a) (capacidad, facultad) power;

◊ su poder de convicción her power of persuasion;

b) (de motor, aparato) power

* * *

poder¹ nm

1. [mando, autoridad] power;

la gente con más poder en la organización the most powerful people in the organization;

estar en el poder to be in power;

hacerse con o [m5] tomar el poder to seize power;

perder el poder to lose power;

el poder corrompe power corrupts;

la separación de poderes the separation of powers;

de poder a poder: un enfrentamiento de poder a poder a heavyweight contest;

el partido se disputó de poder a poder it was a close contest between two excellent sides

el poder ejecutivo [el gobierno] the executive;

los poderes fácticos the centres of power in society;

el poder judicial [los jueces] the judiciary;

el poder legislativo [las cortes] the legislature;

poderes públicos (public) authorities

2. [posesión, control]

obra en su poder un documento comprometedor she has in her possession a compromising document;

tienen en su poder a varios rehenes they have taken a number of hostages;

el pueblo cayó en poder del enemigo the town fell to the enemy;

la casa pasó a poder del banco ownership of the house was transferred to the bank

3. [capacidad] power;

un producto con gran poder de limpieza a very powerful cleaning product;

tener poderes (paranormales) to be psychic, to have psychic powers

poder calorífico calorific value;

poder de convicción persuasive powers;

poder de convocatoria: [m5] tener poder de convocatoria to be a crowd-puller;

4. [autorización] power, authorization;

dar poderes a alguien para que haga algo to authorize sb to do sth;

tener plenos poderes para hacer algo to be fully authorized to do sth;

por poderes by proxy;

casarse por Esp [m5] poderes o Am [m5] poder to marry by proxy

♦ vi

1. [tener facultad, capacidad] can, to be able to;

no puedo decírtelo I can't tell you, I'm unable to tell you;

ahora mismo no podemos atenderle, llame más tarde we can't o we are unable to take your call right now, please call later;

¿puede correrse un poco, por favor? could you move up a bit, please?;

al final pudo salir de allí in the end she managed to get out of there;

¡así no se puede hacer nada! we'll never get anywhere like this!;

de poder ir, sería a partir de las siete if I manage to o can make it, it will be after seven;

en cuanto pueda as soon as possible;

si puedo, te llamaré I'll call you if I get the chance

2. [tener permiso] can, may;

no puedo salir por la noche I'm not allowed to o I can't go out at night;

¿podríamos ir contigo? could we go with you?;

¿podría hablar un momento con usted? could I have a word with you?;

¿se pueden hacer fotos? can we o are we allowed to take photos?;

¿puedo fumar aquí? may o can I smoke here?;

no se puede fumar you're not allowed to smoke;

¿se puede? may I come in?;

¿se puede saber dónde te habías metido? might I know o would you mind telling me where you were?

3. [ser capaz moralmente] can;

no podemos portarnos así con él we can't treat him like that;

¿cómo puedes decir una cosa así? how can you say such a thing?

4. [tener posibilidad, ser posible] may, can;

puede volver de un momento a otro she could come back any moment;

puedo haberlo perdido I may have lost it;

podías haber cogido el tren you could have caught the train;

puede estallar la guerra war could o may break out;

¿dónde puede o [m5] podrá estar? where can it have got to?;

¡habría podido invitarnos!, ¡podría habernos invitado! [expresa enfado] she could o might have invited us!;

ya podemos despedirnos de un aumento de sueldo we can forget our pay Br rise o US raise now

5. [tener fuerza]

¿puedes con todas las bolsas? can you manage all those bags?;

no puedo con este baúl, ¿me ayudas a levantarlo? I can't lift this trunk on my own, can you give me a hand?;

no poder con algo/alguien [no soportar] not to be able to stand sth/sb;

no puedo con la hipocresía I can't stand hypocrisy;

¡contigo no hay quien pueda! you're impossible!

6. Méx [doler] to hurt

7. [en frases]

es avaro a más no poder he's as miserly as can be;

llovía a más no poder it was absolutely pouring down;

la pierna me dolía a más no poder you can't imagine how much my leg was hurting;

no poder más [estar cansado] to be too tired to carry on;

no pude por menos que reírme I had to laugh, I couldn't help but laugh;

¡ya podrás, con una máquina como esa! anyone could do it with a machine like that!;

no puedo con mi alma I'm ready to drop

♦ v impersonal

puede que llueva it may o might rain;

puede que se haya equivocado she may be wrong;

¿vendrás mañana? – puede will you come tomorrow? – I may do;

puede que sí o puede que no maybe, maybe not;

puede ser perhaps, maybe;

si puede ser, a poder ser if (at all) possible;

lo siento, pero no va a poder ser I'm sorry, but it's not going to be possible;

puede ser que no lo sepa she may not know;

¡no puede ser que sea ya tan tarde! surely it can't be that late already!

♦ vt

1. [ser más fuerte que] to be stronger than;

tú eres más alto, pero yo te puedo you may be taller than me, but I could still beat you up;

mi coche le puede al tuyo my car is faster than yours any day

2. Méx [doler]

le pudo su derrota, todavía no se repone losing really got to her, she still hasn't got over it

* * *

I v/aux

1 capacidad can, be able to;

no pude hablar con ella I wasn’t able to talk to her

2 permiso can, be allowed to;

¿puedo ir contigo? can o may I come with you?

3 posibilidad may, might;

¡podías habérselo dicho! you could have o you might have told him

II v/i

poder con ( sobreponerse a) manage, cope with;

me puede he can beat me;

es franco a más no poder fam he’s as frank as they come fam ;

comimos a más no poder fam we ate to bursting point fam ;

no puedo más I can’t take any more, I’ve had enough;

a poder ser if possible;

puede ser perhaps, maybe;

¡no puede ser! it can’t be!, that can’t be right!;

puede que perhaps, maybe;

puede ser que no lo sepa maybe o perhaps he doesn’t know;

¿se puede? can I come in?, do you mind if I come in?;

no pude menos de insultarle insulting him was the least I could do

III m tb POL power;

en poder de alguien in s.o.’s hands;

plenos poderes pl full authority sg ;

por poderes, L.Am.

por poder JUR by proxy;

los poder es públicos the authorities

* * *

poder {58} v aux

1) : to be able to, can

no puede hablar: he can't speak

2) (expressing possibility) : might, may

puede llover: it may rain at any moment

¿cómo puede ser?: how can that be?

3) (expressing permission) : can, may

¿puedo ir a la fiesta?: can I go to the party?

¿se puede?: may I come in?

poder vi

1) : to beat, to defeat

cree que le puede a cualquiera: he thinks he can beat anyone

2) : to be possible

¿crees que vendrán? - puede (que sí): do you think they'll come? - maybe

poder con : to cope with, to manage

¡no puedo con estos niños!: I can't handle these children!

no poder más : to have had enough

no puede más: she can't take anymore

no poder menos que : to not be able to help

no pudo menos que asombrarse: she couldn't help but be amazed

poder nm

1) : control, power

poder adquisitivo: purchasing power

2) : authority

el poder legislativo: the legislature

3) : possession

está en mi poder: it's in my hands

4) : strength, force

poder militar: military might

* * *

poder¹ n (en general) power

poder² vb

1. (capacidad, posibilidad) can / could / to be able to

Recuerda que can es presente, could es pasado o condicional y be able to es para los demás tiempos

2. (permiso) can / may

3. (probabilidad) may / could / might

1) (earlier than: before the war; He'll come before very long.) antes (de)

2) (in front of: She was before me in the queue.) delante (de), antes (de/que)

3) (rather than: Honour before wealth.) antes que

- beforehand

before¹ adv

1. anterior

2. antes

3. ya

before² conj antes de que / antes de

before³ prep

1. antes de

2. delante de

tr[bɪ'fɔː^SMALLr/SMALL]

preposition

1 (earlier) antes de

■ spring comes before summer la primavera viene antes del verano

■ they arrived the night before the party llegaron la noche antes de la fiesta

2 (in front of) delante de; (in the presence of) ante; (for the attention of) ante

■ he's before me in the queue va delante de mi en la cola

■ he appeared before the judge compareció ante el juez

■ he presented the project before the committee presentó el proyecto ante el comité

3 (rather than) antes que

■ death before dishonour la muerte antes que la deshonra

4 (ahead) por delante

■ he's got all his life before him tiene toda su vida por delante

5 (first) primero

■ ladies before gentlemen las señoras primero

conjunction

1 (earlier than) antes de + inf, antes de que + subj

■ don't forget to say goodbye before you go no te olvides de despedirte antes de irte

■ he left before we arrived se fue antes de que llegásemos nosotros

2 (rather than) antes de + inf

■ he would starve before he asked them for money preferiría morir de hambre antes de pedirles dinero

adverb

1 (earlier) antes

■ he had arrived two hours before había llegado dos horas antes

2 (previous) anterior

■ the day before el día anterior

3 (already) ya

■ we've seen it before ya lo hemos visto

4 (position) delante, por delante

■ they were attacked before and behind les atacaron por delante y por detrás

\

as never before como nunca

Before Christ antes de Cristo

before God ante Dios

before long dentro de poco

long before mucho antes de

not long before poco antes de

pride comes before a fall un exceso de orgullo conduce a la caída

to put the cart before the horse empezar la casa por el tejado

the one before el anterior, la anterior

before [bɪ'for] adv

1) : antes

before and after: antes y después

2) : anterior

the month before: el mes anterior

before conj

: antes que

he would die before surrendering: moriría antes que rendirse

before prep

1) : antes de

before eating: antes de comer

2) : delante de, ante

I stood before the house: estaba parada delante de la casa

before the judge: ante el juez

• antes adv.

• delante adv.

• antes de que conj.

• ante prep.

• antes de prep.

• delante de prep.

1) ( preceding in time) antes de

2)

a) ( in front of) delante de, ante (frml)

b) (in rank, priority)

a) ( earlier than) antes de que (+ subj), antes de (+ inf)

b) ( rather than) antes que

adverb ( preceding) antes

1. PREP

1) (in time, order, rank) antes de

2) (in place) delante de; (=in the presence of) ante, delante de, en presencia de

3) (=facing)

4) (=rather than)

2. ADV

1) (time) antes

2) (place, order) delante, adelante

CONJ (time) antes de que; (rather than) antes que

* * *

1) ( preceding in time) antes de

2)

a) ( in front of) delante de, ante (frml)

b) (in rank, priority)

a) ( earlier than) antes de que (+ subj), antes de (+ inf)

b) ( rather than) antes que

adverb ( preceding) antes

¹ = force, strength, power, leverage, authority, clout, might, muscle power, power of attorney, sway.

Ex. Her reason admitted the force of his arguments, but her instinct opposed it.

Ex. The strength of the acetone rinsing on the strength of the paper is investigated, and its efficiency in removing NM2P is also examined using gas liquid chromatography.

Ex. She added that she felt sorry for the assistant because he had so little power.

Ex. At certain times, dubious interpretations of the rules have even been used as leverage in gaining ground on matters of dispute between Community partners.

Ex. One of the great virtues of networking is that it democratizes access to information and access to authority.

Ex. IT executives would like to see their role in the organization elevated, giving them more ' clout', stature and visibility.

Ex. Gradually many of these conquerors came to realize that, although military might was necessary to gain control over an area, sheer force of arms was not sufficient to govern effectively.

Ex. Their development, particularly for replacing human muscle power, has been in parallel with that of information technology, but largely independent of it.

Ex. A power of attorney is a legal instrument that is used to delegate legal authority to another.

Ex. During this period Africa was influenced by external forces as the Islamic states of the north extended their sway south.

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* abusar del poder = lord over, lord it over.

* abuso de poder = abuse of power.

* altas esferas del poder, las = echelons of power, the.

* ansioso de poder = power-hungry.

* asumir poder = assume + power.

* ceder las riendas del poder = hand over + the reins of power.

* círculo de poder = circle of power.

* con ansias de poder = power-hungry.

* conceder poderes = give + powers.

* con hambre de poder = power-hungry.

* con poder = powerful.

* con sed de poder = power-hungry.

* control del poder = hold on power.

* dar poderes = give + powers.

* dejar sin poder = disempower.

* división de poderes = division of powers.

* ejercer poder = wield + power, exercise + power.

* en el poder = in office.

* equilibrio de poder = balance of power.

* estructura de poder = power structure.

* frecuentar los pasillos del poder = stalk + the corridors of power.

* gente de poder = wielders of power, powerful people.

* gobierno en el poder = ruling government.

* grupo de poder = power group.

* hambriento de poder = power-hungry.

* igualdad de poder = parity of power.

* inversión de poderes = power reversal.

* jerarquía de poder = scalar chain.

* llevar al poder = bring + Nombre + to power.

* los poderes fáticos = the powers-that-be.

* los que detentan el poder = the powers-that-be.

* lucha de poderes = power struggle.

* lucha por el poder = power struggle.

* luchar de poderes = battle of wills.

* partido en el poder, el = ruling party, the.

* pasar las riendas del poder a = hand + the reins over to.

* pasillos del poder, los = corridors of power, the.

* perder poder = lose + power.

* pérdida de poder = disempowerment.

* poder adquisitivo = spending power, purchasing power, buying power.

* poder colectivo = collective power.

* poder curativo = healing power.

* poder de atracción = drawing power.

* poder de curación = healing power.

* poder de discriminación = discretion.

* poder de enganche = holding power.

* poder del estado = state power.

* poder de negociación = bargaining power.

* poder de representación = power of representation.

* poder de retención = holding power.

* poder divino = divine power.

* poder económico = economic leverage.

* poder ejecutivo = chief executive, executive arm, executive power.

* poder ejecutivo, el = Executive, the.

* poder estatal = state power.

* poder imperial = imperial power.

* poder judicial = judicial arm, judicial system.

* poder judicial, el = judiciary, the.

* poder legal = statutory power.

* poder legislativo = legislative power, legislative arm.

* poder mágico = magical power, magic power.

* poder notarial = power of attorney.

* poder político = political power.

* poder presidencial = presidential power.

* poder público = public power, public authority.

* poder remunerativo = earning power, earning capacity.

* poder sobrenatural = supernatural power.

* política del poder = power politics.

* por poderes = by proxy.

* posición de poder = position power.

* quitar el poder = disempower.

* relación de poder = power relationship.

* relaciones de poder = power relations.

* sediento de poder = power-hungry.

* subida al poder = seizure of power.

* subir al poder = rise to + power.

* tener el poder = be the boss, call + the shots, call + the tune, rule + the roost.

* tener el poder de = have + the power to.

* tener las riendas del poder = hold + the reins of power.