| Summary: | The fall of the two peninsular authoritarian regimes took place in a very different way, but quickly the two countries began parallel paths that would lead them to a common destination: the European integration and full insertion in the Western bloc. This confluence was, however, feared by Portugal which historically had sought to differentiate himself from its only and largest neighbor. Based on diplomatic documentation recently declassified, this article traces the evolution of the relations between the two countries in the early years of the new democratic regimes, with Iberian enlargement as a backdrop. Despite the speeches and steps taken towards closer ties, these were years of tension. It was not democracy that implemented a new phase in the bilateral relationship. Only the inclusion in a larger space would dilute old suspicions.
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