Phones have ears

Surveillance and the Climate of Fear in the Last Years of the Dictatorship

Telephone tapping dates back to the invention of the telephone itself, but it was in the hands of the political police of the Salazar and Caetano regime – the PVDE/PIDE/DGS – that it became a totalitarian weapon of absolute control. This meticulous work by Alfredo Caldeira and António Possidónio Roberto uncovers the hidden world of espionage in Portugal.

More than political activity, the PIDE sought to pry into the private lives of citizens: "professional reputation", "family difficulties", "lovers", and "hobbies" were meticulously recorded to fuel power games, influence within the government, and direct reports to the President of the Council. An essential work about the past that also serves as a warning about the dangers of surveillance in the present.

Authors: Alfredo Caldeira and António Possidónio Roberto

Publisher: Edições Colibri

Year of Publication: 2023

Pages: 266 pages

Dimensions: 16 x 23.2 cm (Paperback)