The FLA was founded by José de Almeida in
London, on April 8, 1975. Almeida, a former representative of the Acção Nacional Popular (English:
Popular National Action Party) in the National Assembly, modeled his actions on the
Madeira Archipelago Liberation Front (FLAMA). In the beginning, the movement was responsible for violent intimidation tactics groups or organizations counter to their own political sensibilities. covert actions of the Frente de Libertação dos Açores were possible, though, through nascent support.
Protest Members of the FLA in Ponta Delgada, along with right-leaning members of the PPD and CDS and property-owners hoping to cause a change in government policy, associated with price of milk, meat, canned goods and potential agrarian reform, organized a protest on the 6 June 1975. Rapidly, the protest degenerated and the crowd marched on the Palace of Conceição, to demand the resignation of Civil Governor
António Borges Coutinho, with cries of
"Viva a Independência" and
"A FLA basta para o MFA" heard. The group then approved several internal motions to force the transfer of members of the PCP and their sympathizers (including 3 parish priest) off the islands. By 21 October, the FLA was denounced by their critics as acting with impunity on the islands of Terceira and São Miguel, with the support of civil and military authorities.
Decline and subsequent revival Even though the organization gained support for some time, it entered a state of dormancy beginning in the late 1970s.
Autonomy was granted to the Azores and
Madeira (where a similar organization existed) by the
Constitution of 1976, cooling the explosive situation, and the communist threat slowly eroded. The geo-political strategic importance of the Azores continues to be debated by regional and international interests. The FLA elected a new president in 2006, Rui Medeiros. The group began to make press statements regarding various political issues on the islands. Medeiros stated in an interview that "armed combat today would make no sense," and wishes for the group to be represented as a political party. It is still a clandestine organization, and has not disclosed its membership numbers, though Medeiros claimed that the FLA consists of "hundreds" of members. Owing to economic issues resulting from the Portuguese financial crisis, during the late 20th century and early 21st century,
FLA graffiti began to appear in many of the islands of the archipelago. Although not a political support of the party, the graffiti was seen as an anti-establishment instigation by youth and party faithful. ==References==