After the outbreak in 1969 (April 17) of a crisis opposing the students to the dictatorial government of Marcelo Caetano, the festivities, as well as all other manifestations of the academic traditions, were suspended by the students as an act of protest (decided on May 8, 1969). This was known as the "luto académico" (Portuguese for academic mourning). However, between 1945 and 1974, there were three generations of militants of the radical right at the University of Coimbra and other universities, guided by a revolutionary nationalism partly influenced by the political sub-culture of European neofascism. The core of these radical students' struggle lay in an uncompromising defence of the Portuguese Empire in the days of the authoritarian regime.