Even in early 1974 the withering of the old social basis of Salazar's regime and the fragmentation of the coalition of interests which long sustained the dictatorship were largely hidden from view. Many outside observers, in fact, were impressed by the solidity of the regime and even saw it as a model of corporatism triumphant. But as the fighting with the African liberation movements entered a second decade, bitter differences reemerged at the top of the military hierarchy and these disputes were more difficult to hide. Several of the civilian governors and military commanders in Africa were ambitious men who became important public figures in Lisbon. General Spínola, commander-in-chief of Guinea, was one of them, but the least typical.