The strong moment of corporatism: Estado Novo and liberal professions

Abstract

The state that was formed after the victory of the 1930 Revolution needed to attract the support of social groups to affirm itself. Negotiations with liberal professions involved the expansion of public positions, professional regulations, and a corporatist type of representation of interests. This article is concerned with investigating the latter point. The corporatist mechanism created a direct and permanent channel for the presentation of the demands of the professions to the State, concretized in union entities and professional councils. At the same time, it allowed the State to control this social group, especially after the dictatorship established at the end of 1937. Nevertheless, this control needed continuous updating on the part of the regime and was weakened when the latter entered into crisis, which opened space for part of the corporate apparatus, such as the OAB (the Bar Association) and the Trade Union of Lawyers, to be taken over by opposition forces.