Isabel do Carmo
Biography
Maria Isabel Augusta Cortes do Carmo was born on September 12, 1940, in Barreiro. Her father was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP). She participated in actions of the Youth Movement for Democratic Unity (MUD) and in the campaigns of Arlindo Vicente and Humberto Delgado in 1958. At the age of 18, she joined the PCP. She was a member of the Medicine cell and the party’s clandestine organization of doctors. She was involved in the academic crisis of 1962, joining the leadership of the University Sector and the Pro-Medicine Association Commission. In 1968, she participated in the founding of the Women’s Democratic Movement (MDM). She joined the Democratic Electoral Commission (CDE) in Lisbon and was involved in the creation of the Socialist Grassroots Commissions (CBS). In 1969/1970, she broke with the PCP. Together with Carlos Antunes, she founded the Revolutionary Brigades (BR) in 1971 and the Revolutionary Proletarian Party (PRP) in 1973, the year in which she went underground. She was arrested by the PIDE/DGS in 1970 and 1972, following the assassination of Ribeiro Santos.
After April 25, she was editor of the newspaper Revolução and a member of the PRP/BR leadership. She was arrested in 1978 and tried in 1980 at the Boa Hora Court, being released in 1982. She was awarded the Order of Liberty by President Jorge Sampaio on April 25, 2004. She was a member of the governing bodies of the Movimento Não Apaguem a Memória (NAM) and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Aljube Museum of Resistance and Freedom. She is the author of several books and remains actively involved in civic, cultural, and political activities.
Date of Collection: 2019.04.24
Keywords: Workers, Family, Students, Prison, Comunist Party, Clandestine, Isolation, Caxias, Interrogations, PIDE, Torture, Women, Armed Struggle, Prison after April 25th.
