^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

The Armed Forces Movement (Portugal)

Movimento das Forças Armadas (M.F.A.)

2:3 image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 Nov 2024

Introduction of M.F.A.
M.F.A. Flag

See also:

Introduction of M.F.A.

The Armed Forces Movement (M.F.A.) was an organisation of lower-ranking officers in the Portuguese Armed Forces. It was responsible for the Carnation Revolution of 1974, a military coup in Lisboa, that ended Portugal´s New State regime and the Portuguese Colonial War, which led to the independence of Portugal´s overseas territories in Africa. The M.F.A. established the Junta de Salvação Nacional as the provisional national government 1974 to 1976, when power was ovehanded to a civil government, elctd by the people. Finally, the Portuguese legislative election, 1976 took place on 25 April, exactly one year after the previous election, and two years after the Carnation Revolution. These elections could be said to be the definitive end of a period of revolution.
Source: English WIKIPEDIA
António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 Nov 2024

M.F.A. Flag

It is a dark green flag with a large circular logo centred on it, its diameter around 2/3rds of the flag’s height. The logo/icon itself is a mostly white disc, with a black lower segment, limited by a horizontal chord 3/10ths off the bottom edge of the disc. On the black area, the lettering "MFA" in red capitals, the "M" shaped in a zigzag letter form made from two vertical lines and two slanted to the upper hoist. On the white area a stilised carnation, with green stem and calyx, and red petals, vertically symmetric overall, emerging from what seems to be a cracked nut or seed, red with thick green edging and stalk (looks quite like a Pac-Man pointing up).
The flag is a succint interpretation based on a botanical simile: The Armed Forces Movement (M.F.A. — Movimento das Forças Armadas), the military uprising that started the 25 April events as the root of a plant, which flower is freedom and which fruit is democracy. Keeping with this metaphor, some depictions of this icon seem to show brown soil — but most show it black and that is how it is currently used, namely by A25A itself, see this photo and other similar entities promoting the memory of the Carnation revolution.
This is however not the logo of the M.F.A., as far as I know. In the 1970s, secretely prepared military uprisings had "branding" low on their list of priorities, as one may imagine. Several symbols emmerged (and, as gossip goes, red carnations were a fortuitous, unplanned detail), and this one might have been created years later. I personally remember one other M.F.A. logo with the letters making up a stylized hand in the well known V-sign — see [ https://a25abril.pt/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/MFA.png ]; this one has no current use and was likely never used on flags.
Source: this photo
António Martins-Tuválkin, 27 Nov 2024