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Salazar began immediately to construct his Estado Novo. He announced that the New State would be based on two great calls for social reform—the Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII and the Quadragesima Anno of Pius XI (see RELIGION). But however lofty may have been his inspiration, Salazar's execution was on a quite different pattern, one already known and hated as Fascism: free thought was abolished, the individual became subordinated to the state, the human bill of rights was suppressed and the secret police became the main arm of government. Soon little boys, well-shod and sporting Balilla-like uniforms, were marching in the wake of Salazar's blackshirt-type Legido (Legion), which gave the stiff-arm salute and chanted: "Who leads? SALAZAR!"
The Quiet Life. It is doubtful if Salazar likes either the salute or the slogan. Unlike all other modern dictators, he hates parades, pomp or cheers. When he rides to ceremonies with President Carmona, the old soldier preens and beams; Salazar slinks back in the car, a scowl on his handsome face with the Savonarola-hard mouth. Asked why he refused to respond to cheers, Salazar gave a characteristic answer: "I could not flatter the people without being a traitor to my own conscience. Our regime is popular but it is not a government of the masses, being neither influenced nor directed by them. These good people who, moved by the excitement of the occasion, cheer me one day, may rise in rebellion the next day for equally passing reasons. . . ."
Salazar has never married and, until very recently, there has been no woman in his life. Several years ago he adopted two little girls. He rises at 6:30 every morning, has a roll and coffee and attends Mass, then goes to his office, where his first chore is to arrange the flowers on his desk. He works until 1 p.m. With a light lunch he has port, usually diluted, and never more than three-quarters of a glass. After lunch he rests and takes an hour's walk, sometimes with his adopted daughters, sometimes alone and unguarded on Lisbon's streets. At 4 he returns to his office and works till 7:30. All important decisions of all Ministries are made by Salazar.
Woman in the Garden. Salazar relieves this dull routine by tending his magnificent flower garden at Santa Comba. It was there, and through the medium of the flowers he loves, that he met the woman who has in the last few months made an extraordinary difference in his life. When he decided to give a reception for Dona Amelia de Orleans e Braganga, mother of Don Duarte Nufio, the pretender to Portugal's throne, his advisers suggested that the Countess de la Seca, a widow with two young children, should act as hostess. When the Countess took over the flower arrangement for the party, Salazar was so impressed by her taste that he wrote her a short note. She replied with a long letter and Salazar asked permission to call on her. The Countess received him at tea. Since then she has been official hostess at his social affairs, which have increased in number, and his manner has become less introspective and austere. He takes more interest in clothes and food, and even in the pomp and trappings of office.