A técnica e o golpe: A "narração ensaística" em José Cardoso Pires e Curzio Malaparte

The primary objective of this paper is to provide a comparative reading of Curzio Malaparte’s The Technique of Revolution and José Cardoso Pires’ Censorship as a Technique. It is possible to recognize affinities between Malaparte’s essay and Cardoso Pires’ one, especially as far as methodology is concerned. Both works share a particular view on dictatorship. Malaparte’s essay is focused on the technical functioning of modern coup d’état regardless of its specific intention, while Cardoso Pires develops a non-ideological analysis on Salazar’s censorship. Both revolution and censorship are considered from the point of view of their technical efficiency, thus enabling the authors to discuss also subversive strategies against them. My analysis provides an interpretation of this modus operandi that highlights how Cardoso Pires merges essay and narrative in order to question the Portuguese reality.