Carnation Revolution: What now? Rethinking iberism(s) with José Saramago and Natália Correia

Abstract

The aim of this article is to address the issue of Iberianism(s) in its political and cultural dimensions, from the perspectives offered by José Saramago in his novel A Jangada de

Pedra (1986) and Natália Correia in her essay Somos todos hispanos (We are all Hispanics) (1988). This work seeks to assess the convergences and ‘iberist’ divergences of the two writers and political actors of the post-25 April cultural scene in the public discussion about Portugal's post-imperial and European position. While Saramago denounces and emphasises the Iberian Peninsula's peripheral political position not only in relation to the centralising force of Europe, but also to the hegemonic power of the United States, Natália Correia calls for an essentially cultural ‘Iberian community’ or

‘Ibero-Afro-American community’. According to an analysis of the works, both advocate a ‘cultural Iberianism’, based on a cultural communion between Portugal and Spain, in order to respond to a new community context, i.e. the joint accession to the European Economic Community (1986).