Books in the Aljube – O Alentejo e a Luta Clandestina. António Gervásio – um Militante Comunista
Gervásio entered the Communist Party as a young man in 1945, when the war was bringing misery to the lands around Montemor and Lavre and wages were discussed with the agrarian in the “day squares”, but always with the Guard post as right place for those who wouldn’t give up the fight. 1500 were cornered in the Praça de Touros in May of that year, and from there they did not leave without some being arrested – or tortured to death, as happened to Germano Vidigal, leader of the Civil Construction Union.
Other deaths followed over the years, but the 8-hour struggle was won by agricultural workers in 1962. António Gervásio was very proud of this victory, achieved at the cost of a lot of struggle and the strong organization set up by his party across the Alentejo.
His message of persistence and confidence passed on to many of the people of Montemor who came to honor him at the Museu do Aljube. He passed it on to Margarida Machado, daughter of her friend João Machado – Machadinho, as he was known in Montemor – and, equally, although in a different way, to the historian Teresa Fonseca, an adopted daughter from the land that she knows like no one else.
