days, however, it became clear that the uprising had released long pent-up frustrations when thousands, and then tens of thousands of Portuguese poured into the streets celebrating the downfall of the regime and demanding further change. The coercive apparatus of the dictatorshipsecret police, Republican Guard, official party, censorshipwas overwhelmed and abolished. Workers began taking over shops from owners, peasants seized private lands, low-level employees took over hospitals from doctors and administrators, and government offices were occupied by workers who sacked the old management and demanded a thorough housecleaning. Very early on, the demonstrations began to be manipulated by organized political elements, principally the communists and other groups farther to the left. Radical labor and peasant leaders emerged from the underground where they had been operating for many years. Mário Soares, the leader of the Socialist Party of Portugal (Partido Socialista – PS) and Álvaro Cunhal, head of the Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Português – PCP) returned from exile to Portugal within days of the revolt and received heroes' welcomes. Who actually ruled Portugal during this revolutionary period was not always clear, and various bodies vied for dominance. Spínola became the first interim president of the new regime in May 1974, and he chose the first of six provisional governments that were to govern the country until two years later when the first constitutional government was formed. Headed by a prime minister, the moderate civilian Adelino da Palma Carlos, the government consisted of the moderate Democratic People's Party (Partido Popular Democrático – PPD), the PS, the PCP, five independents, and one military officer. Beneath this formal structure, several other groups wielded considerable power. In the first weeks of the revolution, a key group was the National Salvation Junta (Junta de Salvação Nacional), composed entirely of high-ranking, politically moderate military officers. Working alongside it was a seven-member coordinating committee made up of politically radical junior officers who had managed the uprising. By the end of May 1974, these two bodies worked together with other members in the Council of State, the nation's highest governing body. Gradually, however, the MFA emerged as the most powerful single group in Portugal as it overruled Spínola in several major decisions. Members of the MFA formed the Continental Operations Command (Comando Operacional do Continente – COPCON) composed of 5,000 elite troops with Major (later Brigadier General) Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho as its commander. Known universally by