The Cork, the Ideologue, the Playboy

Before the April revolution, the three soldiers who are dominating the Lisbon government were virtually unknown outside Portugal. Today, they are international figures at the center of one of the century's most portentous, unpredictable political upheavals. These, for the moment at least, are the men responsible for Portugal's uncertain future:

FRANCISCO DA COSTA GOMES, President, is known in Lisbon political circles as "the cork"; that is because he always manages to bob to the surface after every storm. Conciliatory and pragmatic, always searching for ways to avoid conflict, Costa Gomes, 61, is the kind of avuncular friend that others turn to in moments of crisis. Thus, although he did not take an active role in the April 1974 revolution, he was the first choice of the captains and majors who led the armed forces to head the Junta of National Salvation. After the coup succeeded, he was appointed chief of staff of the armed forces by the new government. When his old friend Antonio de Spinola was ousted as President of the revolutionary government, Costa Gomes was the logical man to take over the top job.

Born in 1914 in the northern Portuguese town of Chaves (renowned for its smoked ham), Costa Gomes entered the military at an early age, graduating from cavalry school at 19. He rose slowly through the ranks, earned a degree in mathematics from the University of Oporto in 1944, and served two years of NATO duty in Norfolk, Va. He commanded Portuguese forces in Angola from 1970 until 1972 and was armed forces chief of staff until shortly before the coup, when he and Spinola were sacked during the old regime for refusing to sign an oath of allegiance to former Premier Marcello Caetano.

As President, Costa Gomes has done away with much of the pomp and ceremony that previously surrounded the office. He rarely wears a uniform and is not excessively demanding of his staff, with whom he maintains a casual, non-military relationship. They show up at the presidential offices in Belem Palace in shirtsleeves without ties and call Costa Gomes "Chico," short for Francisco. He is said to be an easygoing boss. Married and the father of one son aged 19, he has a quiet, unassuming private life; his main amusements are horseback riding and swimming. Occasionally, he will visit musical cabaret comedies in Lisbon, an activity he prefers to keep out of the public eye.

Costa Gomes is considered by some political observers to be the shrewdest of the country's ruling triumvirate; certainly he is the most prudent and moderate. His critics charge that the President is an opportunist who fears taking risks and waffles until the game is nearly over and a winner is emerging. At that moment, Costa Gomes marches to the front and takes control. So far, it has proved to be a successful strategy, but of course, sometimes even corks sink.

VASCO DOS SANTOS GONC,ALVES, Premier, is the ideologue of Portugal's top leadership and probably its most intellectual figure. One of the chief architects of the revolution, Gonc,alves, 54, is described by his supporters as "austere and scholarly," a man passionately committed to the cause of social justice in Portugal. His detractors say he is volatile and emotionally unstable, a self-righteous, temperamental missionary who fervently believes he knows what is best for the Portuguese people --whether they like it or not.

The son of a famous soccer star of Lisbon's Benfica team, Gonc,alves spent most of his active military career as an engineer. While still in the army, he earned considerable civilian income as stockholder and manager of a construction firm. A veteran of the wars in both Mozambique and Angola, he was an early opponent of (and frequent plotter against) the Salazar and Caetano regimes. The leftist ideas he picked up in the military also made him an opponent of Spinola after that conservative general became President. When the M.F.A. decided a year ago that the revolution was not moving fast enough, radical officers readily turned to Gonc,alves, who became Premier. He refuses to say whether or not he has ever been a member of the Communist Party, and, in fact, many foreign observers who have met him are convinced that he has some muddled notions about Marxism and that many of his economic ideas are hopelessly simplistic. But there is no doubt that he is the chief spokesman for Communist interests within the M.F.A.

Gonc,alves can be counted on to represent those interests energetically, indeed relentlessly. Both admirers and detractors agree that Gonc,alves is consumed by his work. He is known as "the man who never sleeps," perhaps as much for his insomnia as his administrative zeal. At his office in the Sao Bento Palace, he drives his staff relentlessly and has a reputation for exploding in anger when dissatisfied with its work --although he is regarded as a somewhat slapdash executive himself. Devoted to his family (two children), Gonc,alves relaxes by swimming at the deserted, rocky Guincho Beach on the Atlantic coast, where he owns a simple cottage. Gonc,alves often chooses an area of giant waves and a powerful undertow; characteristically, he seems to welcome the danger.

OTELO SARAIVA DE CARVALHO, Security Chief, is the closest thing the Portuguese revolution has to a genuine popular hero. Theatrical and flamboyant, he is described by one observer as an "ebullient, mischievous man with a flair for outrageous statements," and by another as "the only one [in the troika] who's got balls." Saraiva de Carvalho is popularly known by his first name --or, as adoring crowds chant it, "O-tell-u." His power base is COPCON, the 70,000-member military force that after the revolution assumed responsibility for public peace from the discredited Caetano police. His command of COPCON has made Saraiva de Carvalho the fastest rising star in Portugal. Still, he has his detractors. Spinola is reported to have once said that Saraiva de Carvalho "should never have got above sergeant." Many Portuguese regard him as a not-too-bright, womanizing playboy--hence his unflattering sobriquet "O tolo" (the brainless one).

Despite his playboy image--reinforced by his jaunty way of peacocking about in an ever-crisp uniform--Saraiva de Carvalho has proved himself to be a tough, if opportunistic leader. Born in 1936 in Lourenc,o Marques, the capital of Mozambique, he first aspired to a theatrical career--in fact his parents named him for Shakespeare's Othello. Since his family lacked money for acting lessons, he joined the army instead. He served for five years in Angola and for three in Guinea-Bissau under Spinola, who, in a never forgotten slight, excluded the brash young captain from his inner circle of trusted officers.

Saraiva de Carvalho got his revenge last year when he helped oust Spinola from the presidency; at 38, he had become the youngest brigadier general in Portugal's history. Saraiva de Carvalho's true political ideas are something of a mystery. Most recently, he has associated himself with Portugal's ultraleftists and backed the creation of councils of workers and peasants that would express the will of the people and link them with the M.F.A. But his radicalism seems to be of an independent variety that would keep Portugal as distant from Moscow as from Washington. Many foreign observers believe Saraiva de Carvalho is essentially an opportunist who might even join with military moderates to topple Gonc,alves and the Communists. The one certain thing is his disdain for politicians. Returning to Lisbon last week after a nine-day visit to Cuba--where he participated enthusiastically in the anniversary celebrations of Fidel Castro's revolution--he announced at the airport that last April's elections, which gave the Socialists a plurality, were irrelevant. Said he: "The dynamic of the revolution is what counts."

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