Former military man from April Manuel Franco Charais – dedicated to painting and motorhomes in the last years of his life – died this Tuesday, aged 93, said his wife, Stela Barreto, in a publication in the social media.
Lieutenant colonel when he joined the conspiracy that led to the 25th of April, Franco Charais collaborated in writing the program of the Armed Forces Movement and, between 1974 and 1982, he was part of the Coordinating Commission of the MFA, State Council, Revolution Council and commanded the Central Military Region.
Franco Charais and Ramalho Eanes Photo The Capital
As one of those responsible for the release of political prisoners detained in Caxias, he recounted this episode of the Revolution, in an intervention at the 25 de Abril Association, later reproduced in the newspaper â “Reference†, in September 2017. “I received a telephone communication from a navy officer in charge of Caxias prison who, subject to pressure from the population to release the prisoners, had received an order of General SpÃnola to free politicians and keep those with common crimes in prison. I thought about presenting the matter to CEMGFA but decided to ask Captain Menino Vargas to go to Caxias with my order so that all the prisoners were released. And so it happened.”
The 25 de Abril Association issued a statement of regret, lamenting the loss of “one of its best†, signed by Vasco Lourenço, in which it classifies Charais as “one of the main architects of the 25 de Abril†€. According to the information, “Franco Charais would be in this consolidation process, one of the main leaders of the MFA, whether in the Coordinating Commission, in the Command of the Military Region of the Center, in the State Council , in the Council of Twenty or in the Council of the Revolution, where it would remain until its extinction in October 1982†.
Retired Army Lieutenant General, Manuel Ribeiro Franco Charais was born in Porto, in Cedofeita, on February 24, 1931. He carried out military missions in mainland Portugal, Azores, Madeira, Angola and Mozambique.
He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Freedom, the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service with Palm and the Degree of Knight of the Order of Aviz.
For 14 years, he developed a technical cooperation project with Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and S. Tomé and Principe.
A self-taught painter, he currently dedicated himself entirely to the plastic arts, having participated, together with his wife, in exhibitions in several Portuguese cities and also in Spain, Germany, Austria and France . Already after 90 years of age, he continued to drive his motorhome, traveling around the country.
