“It is important to recognize that your complicity and commitment [de Alfredo da Silva] with the Estado Novo economic policy guidelines, they were the decisive and decisive elements for the development of the CUF expansion strategy, ”economist José Luis Cardoso said this afternoon at the National Conference that marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Portuguese industrialist. … Despite the recognition of the close relationship of Alfredo da Silva with the politicians of the time, namely with Antonio de Oliveira Salazar as Minister of Finance, the expert emphasized that the businessman did this in the name of the economic sustainability of his business. In the mid-twenties of the last century, there were already many of them, but they suffered from the economic difficulties that the country faced. “The post-war political as well as the economic and financial crisis has had consequences that have strongly influenced the companies of the CUF group since the 1920s and, above all, the expansion of its banking activities through Casa Totta,” he says.

The founder of one of the largest national groups asked for help, suggested policies that would benefit his business, and praised others for the government in frequent correspondence with Salazar. “I believe this will be absolutely decisive for the solutions that Salazar and Banco de Portugal have certainly found,” says the expert. By the way, José Luis Cardoso even argues that the support given to Alfredo da Silva’s regime, in particular in the transportation of arms and troops to Franco during the Spanish Civil War, may justify attributing a public concession to the Rocha do Conde de Obidos shipyard.

“Alfredo da Silva was an experienced translator and manager of this relational network. He met and dealt with political heroes from four different regimes – the Constitutional Monarchy, I Republic, Military Dictatorship and Estado Novo – never losing sight of his point of view and vision of the strategic priorities of Portuguese economic development, ”the economist said. And it was this ability to relate to political power in many cases that allowed the expansion of the CUF Group to be promoted. However, despite the business successes achieved, not everything went smoothly, and these contextual difficulties were in part one of the highlights of the first day of the National Conference.

The event, organized by Expresso with the support of the Amelia de Mello Foundation, took place this afternoon in the auditorium of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon and will continue on Wednesday 30th with a rich and varied program. The life and path of this industrialist will continue to be analyzed tomorrow, starting at 9am, live on Facebook Expresso.

Meet the conclusions:

visionary businessman

• Remarkably entrepreneurial and experienced in business management, Alfredo da Silva decided to build his own inheritance-financed business empire instead of taking over the management of the family’s existing assets. She staked on participation in several national companies, expanding her influence over the years. “Alfredo da Silva has contributed to the industrialization of the country by responding to Portugal’s economic backwardness with a number of business initiatives,” said Manuel Braga da Cruz, President of the 150th Anniversary Celebration Commission.

• These commercial incursions include the introduction of electric vehicles in Portugal through Carris, of which he was the administrator, as well as facilitating mergers to create larger organizations or investing in fertilizer production. “Portugal needs more entrepreneurs, more creative initiative for economic growth and greater social justice,” says Braga da Cruz.
• As the expert on economic history Jaime Reis recalls, illiteracy at the end of the 19th century was one of the most serious problems for the country’s development. “The illiteracy rate in Portugal was 75%, which is a very big disadvantage for a country that is striving for progress in industrialization,” he notes. Alfredo da Silva recognized this difficulty and solved it by creating industrial schools, complemented by the creation of a labor market with verbal and non-verbal contracts. This allowed workers to be trained and trained only once, staying in their positions for decades with “pay increases.” This will be a small indicator of your vision for the future, anticipating what many decades from now will be known as talent retention.