"Povo MFA" Political Poster (1975)

Basic Information
Official collection record from the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the UK, which confirms:
Artist: João Abel Manta
Date: circa 1975
Type: Lithograph poster
Commissioned by: The cultural outreach program of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) of Portugal.
Additional Details
Dimensions: Height 697 mm * Width 421 mm
Image and Text: The image depicts a farmer and a soldier standing side by side. The poster bears the slogan "MFA, POVO / POVO, MFA."
 

MFA, POVO / POVO, MFA is a political poster created around 1975 by the Portuguese artist João Abel Manta during the Carnation Revolution. The poster shows a farmer and a soldier standing side by side with the slogan “The Armed Forces Movement belongs to the people, and the people belong to the Armed Forces Movement,” symbolizing the unity between the military and ordinary citizens.

The work presents the MFA (Armed Forces Movement) not as a ruling power, but as a “people’s army” working together with society to promote democracy and social reform. The farmer represents the working people, while the soldier symbolizes the revolutionary military force. Their equal standing reflects the revolutionary ideals of equality, democracy, and collective unity.

With its simple and direct visual style, the poster became an important example of Portuguese revolutionary propaganda art and captured the hope and idealism of that historical moment.