
In Pereira Declares by Antonio Tabucchi, Dr. Pereira contributes to the Lisboa, a cultural newspaper that is heavily affected by censorship of the Portuguese Government.  The Political Police monitor the citizens and their political views.  Pereira stumbles across a young man named Monteiro Rossi.  Rossi is a radical leftist who creates an unsafe environment for himself by speaking out against the government and the fascist leader Antonio Salazar.  Eventually the Political Police find Rossi and tell Pereira they are going to help Rossi regain “his sense of patriotism” (126). This leads to the brutal murder of Monteiro Rossi. The Political Police do this in order to show the citizens how they deal with radicals who are thought to be spreading their beliefs. This depicts the harsh conditions in Lisbon during the Salazarist era. Dr. Pereira’s life drastically changes when he meets Rossi.  Rossi forces him to open his eyes and observe what is happening around him, which sparks action.  The conditions created by Antonio Salazar in Portugal along with the conditions being endured due to the rising tension in Europe limit Dr. Pereira in his writing of the culture page of his local newspaper.

The combination of the lead up to World War II and the Spanish Civil War adds to the cruelty of the Portuguese Government. The government gets fear struck into them.  The fear rises once Mussolini sends “Franco a whole fleet of submarines and the Germans are backing him with their Air Force” (99).  Dr. Cardoso tells Pereira this because it shows the strong nationalism that the Italians and Germans have, foreshadowing a future conflict. Nationalism is the belief that the person’s country is better the rest, and sometimes this can be harmful.  This was the case in Italy and Germany.  Although they allied, they were both confident they had the best country in the world and were not scared to let everyone know.  Pereira hears the news about the aid Germany and Italy provided for Spain. He knows that the Lisboa cannot publish an article detailing the attacks without becoming a subject of the Political Police’s investigation.  This censorship keeps the Portuguese People in the dark and they begin to wonder what is happening around them.  The government likes the censorship because it keeps the citizens reliant on what the government lets them know.  The Spanish dictator, Franco, was able to gain control of his country because of the support of allying countries.  “The Spanish Civil War ended on April 1, 1939 with surrender of the Republicans to the Nationalists” and fear was struck into the government of Portugal because of the shared border (Holguin). Italy and Germany were key factors in turning Spain into a country with a fascist leader because these two countries felt that everyone should have the same sense of nationalism as they did, in terms of loving their country.  While the Republic received support from the Soviet Union, it was not enough to keep the Spanish Fascists from gaining control. The Portuguese government feared the damage a group of people with a mission could do to a standing government. With a rebellious leader and the support of his idea, the power could be taken away through conflict. The tension is created because of the fear struck into the government and the conditions looming in the rest of Europe.

The censorship of the Political Police and the instability along with the authority of the government creates an environment that is no longer safe for average citizens to be residing in.  The censorship is more prevalent in Lisbon than in any city in Portugal “in part because it was the seat of much of the country’s governmental apparatus” (Solsten).  Dr. Pereira is forced to flee the country after publishing an article about the murder of Rossi.  The article gave accurate facts and did not state opinions. It was the first time Pereira did anything against the government.  But it did put down the government by making the citizens see them as murderers. This made Portugal no longer safe for Pereira. The reason Pereira writes his obituary and feel is to help Portugal and show the injustice the government has created.  He signs his name at the end of the obituary which he has never done before because he realizes he is a well-respected author and his work could spark a change. While Pereira did have this change in mind, he is aware that it is still the morally correct thing to do in the situation. This shows that the government is becoming more oppressive, and starting to come after people who are just writing simple obituaries of writers from Portugal, even if they favor the views of the Portuguese Government. The government is not only attacking the citizens who plan things against the government but also those who are sharing their political beliefs that differ from theirs. Pereira consults with a friend, Dr. Cardoso, who is scared about the direction Salazar is taking his country.  Cardoso thinks “it is better for [him] to go to France before the disaster strikes.”(100).  This frightens Pereira because up to this point he did not truly understand the magnitude of the conditions that his country is facing. Cardoso also speaks about the fear for his life and informs Pereira he is fleeing to France. Cardoso advises Pereira to accompany him but Pereira feels that his life is not in any danger because of the simple lifestyle he lives.  Another reason for him to stay is that he does not feel that the French stories are subversive enough for him to write about.  Pereira proves that he doesn’t fully comprehend what’s going on around him when he is at a restaurant and his favorite waiter Manuel has to deliver news.  Manuel informs him of the English and French ships being bombed by the Italians.  Pereira writes for a newspaper, meaning his job is to stay informed and inform others. But instead he lives in his own world and has a waiter deliver news to him. The conditions in 1938 Lisbon create a city in which its citizens fear for their lives daily.

Tabucchi creates a character that has to be very careful in what he writes due to the ensuing conditions of the time period.  In this time, “dissent and criticism were forbidden” (Solsten).  This disables him from being able to share his true opinion.  But until the end of the novel, he is able to successfully keep his head down and not write anything that draws attention for the Portuguese Government or that from the Political Police. Rossi‘s cousin was arrested for attempting to recruit people to join his radical movements. This is important because in most settings this is not a crime. The current conditions and the instability of governments surrounding Portugal call for intervention.  Monteiro Rossi’s life is dominated by oppression and his search for safety. Rossi is forced to take many actions that put himself and others around him at risk. He has to put Pereira in an awkward position by asking him to help him find a place to reside.  Rossi is also forced to live in Pereira’s study room because of the Political Police, who eventually “give him a lesson on patriotism” (129). There comes a time where Pereira realizes that he must write a controversial obituary that will force him to flee his country. The reason Pereira decides to publish the article is because he wants to make a difference, he believes that if everyone is fully aware of the government powers, someone may take action.  The odds of this happening are small, but even if one conversation is had, a terrible environment could be changed.

Antonio Salazar and the current European conditions create an environment that forces the Portuguese citizens to live in fear for their lives.  Dr. Pereira is affected by the fascist state and is not allowed to publish his opinion, but rather has to publish an opinion that would agree with the government.  The average citizen must live in fear that the Portuguese government is watching all of their actions.  They also live with the European conflicts arising with countries bordering them, and other countries very close in proximity. Lastly, the time period is important because Pereira’s writing and decisions about publications are affected by the fascist government.  Dr. Pereira lives in a time period that affects his everyday life along with the decisions he has to make regarding his newspaper, the Lisboa, in Pereira Declares by Antonio Tabucchi.
