Synopsis

On 28 May 1926, a military coup led by Gomes da Costa established a dictatorship in Portugal that lasted 48 years. The same year saw the creation of the country's first political police, the forerunner of the infamous PIDE. Although renamed several times, the institution maintained the same headquarters, leadership, and mission: protecting the authoritarian regime through surveillance and repression. Before PIDE explores the origins of Portugal's political police between 1926 and 1945, examining its role in consolidating the Military Dictatorship and the Estado Novo. The series investigates the rise of key figures such as Agostinho Lourenço, the suppression of opposition movements, and the development of the repressive apparatus that shaped modern Portuguese history.